Youth workers in Aberdeen will be asked to make Dragon’s Den-style pitches to city youngsters in order to secure funding for community schemes.
The idea is being considered after councillors agreed in June to alocate an additional £100,000 to youth work and under-12s clubs across the city because of an underspend in the local authority’s budget.
In a report to a finance committee meeting next week, council officials have recommended that £50,000 of the cash goes to schemes in Northfield, £20,000 to Torry, and £10,000 each to Seaton, Tillydrone and Woodside.
To decide which projects in each community will get the funding, youth workers will have to convince the youngsters to back their ideas in a similar way to the Dragon’s Den television series.
The report said: “Youth work providers will be invited to develop and present a ‘pitch’ of what they would deliver in relation to youth work and/or under 12s work in one or more of the identified communities.”
It added: “A process will be developed whereby young people within each identified community will be invited to vote for their preferred ‘pitch’.
The pitches could be streamed online and viewed by pupils in schools, who would be able to vote on computers, or community events could be held to hear the pitches in person.
It is estimated that up to 3,500 young people in communities would be able to participate in choosing the activities they want to be funded.