The group is applying for the grant through this year's Great Regional City Challenge, a grassroots funding program designed to let residents in Northern Tasmania change the region for the better.

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More than $100,000 is up for grabs after a successful round of bids in 2020. Winning bids from last year included an investigation into surfing in Launceston's waterways, a pending UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy bid, as well as the creation of a website examining Aboriginal heritage and history in the region.

The program asks residents to vote for their preferred projects, allowing the community to decide where the money goes.

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After seeing the success of last year's challenge, Dean Cracknell, co-founder and chief executive of community engagement organisation Town Team Movement, submitted a bid on behalf of the Ravenswood residents.

"What the challenge is trying to do is ask people to come up with ideas on how they could make Launceston a better place," he said.

The idea of the Ravenswood shops project first emerged during Dean's participation with Ignite Us, a local program run with help from the City of Launceston council to promote leadership.

"The Great Regional City Challenge fits really well with what we were trying to do with Ignite Us," he added.

"Lots of people in the program are from Ravenswood so that seemed like a good place to start. It was something possible for us to do but also it would make a big impact on the participants and the local community," he said.

As a newcomer to the region after only arriving in January last year, Mr Cracknell said it was important that - if the project received the funding - the community could also participate in choosing what improvements they want for the shopping complex.

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"We don't go to a place and pretend we know everything. It's more about working with the locals," he said.

"So we want to work with participants in the program but also local people and businesses to come up with some of those ideas," he said.

Early proposals to improve the shopping complex include painting walls or adding games like hopscotch, as well as larger plans for a new mural by an Aboriginal artist.

However, the group of Ravenswood residents aren't the only ones vying for the public's votes.

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Others among the 21 applicants up for this year's round of funding include a carbon offset scheme for the Harvest Community Farmers' Market, a series of mental health lunches and a low-waste Christmas decoration venture.

Voting is now open to residents of Greater Launceston and North-East Tasmania and closes on Sunday, November 28, with winners to be announced by mid-December.

For Mr Cracknell, this year's round of funding is an opportunity not just to improve the area, but to also spark public engagement with their surroundings.

"We're just helping people discover more about themselves, but also how they might want to make a difference and contribute in a community," he said.

"That's what motivates me as a person, just seeing good things happen in the community."

To vote visit www.greatregionalcity.com.au

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