The Public Access Design program is open to New York City-based community organizations and advocacy groups working on complex policy or planning issues that need visual explanations.

Applicants should propose topics that relate to particular advocacy or education efforts, and have a credible plan for distributing the completed project to their target audience. Applicants are also encouraged to have access to the target audience for feedback during the design process.

A jury will meet every two months to select one project proposal and pair a Public Access Design Fellow with CUP and the advocacy partner.

The project team will then collaborate to produce a final product over the next four to five months. Advocacy partners should expect to attend regular meetings during the project period, and to provide the background information for the project.

Organizers can choose the media format that best meets their needs from four options, each designed to be easily completed within the four- to five-month project time frame. The formats offered this year are:

CUP manages the collaborative process, provides production costs, and helps staff each project with additional design support, research, and writing as needed.

Advocates have the right to use completed projects in their outreach efforts and republish the work (at cost) in perpetuity. For print-based projects, advocates will receive 1,000 copies of the print materials to distribute directly to their constituents, and have the opportunity to print additional copies at cost at the time of printing.

We seek community organizations and advocacy groups with a complex social justice issue that would benefit from a visual explanation, and an interest in working collaboratively to produce a visual tool.

Strong applicants will have firsthand knowledge of the project topic, access to and a relationship with the constituency affected by that topic, and the capacity to participate in regular meetings and provide feedback throughout the process. Proposed topics should be bounded enough to work within the Public Access Design time frame and format options.

The jury will use the following criteria to evaluate project proposals:

• Is the topic clearly articulated?
• Does the project address a social justice issue?
• Would the topic clearly benefit from visual explanation? 
• Is there a credible distribution plan and a clear constituency with a need for the tool?
• Is the project tied to a larger effort or organizing campaign around this issue?
• Would the final product engage and educate a larger public? 
• Is the issue bounded enough to work within the Public Access Design time frame and format options?
• Does the advocate have the capacity to participate in the program? 
• Does the advocate have sufficient expertise in the topic?

Can we submit more than one application?
Yes, community or advocacy organizations may submit more than one project proposal.

If our application is not chosen, can we apply again?
Public Access Design juries will meet approximately every two months to select a new project proposal from advocate applicants. If your project is not selected in the upcoming jury review session, your proposal will automatically be considered once more in the next round unless you opt out of this during the application process.

After that, organizations are welcome to apply again. Please review the selection criteria upon reapplying to better understand what makes for a strong application. 

Should I apply to Making Policy Public or to Public Access Design?
Public Access Design projects are completed within a shorter time frame than Making Policy Public. To accomplish this, they are narrower in scope. Explanations of large complex systems are better left to Making Policy Public. More concise topics should be addressed through Public Access Design.

Currently, Public Access Design projects are limited to New York City-based organizations and constituencies. Making Policy Public is open to local as well as national and out-of-state issues (although we look for partners that can attend meetings locally).

Making Policy Public uses a single format – an 8” x 11” pamphlet that unfolds three times to a 32” x 22” poster. Public Access Design projects can take the form of a booklet, a motion graphic, an interactive graphic, or a fold-out. You may choose which program to apply to based on the format most appropriate to your program.

CUP accepts applications from community organizations and advocacy groups for the Making Policy Public program once a year. The next deadline for advocates to apply to Making Policy Public will be in the spring of 2013. Public Access Design applications are accepted every two months.

If neither of these programs seems like the right fit, but you still would like to work with CUP, you can hire us through our Technical Assistance program. 

Find out more about Making Policy Public
Find out more about Technical Assistance