Digital Rights Research Grant

Introduction

The Digital Rights Research Grant programme provides a platform for researchers, postgraduate students and civil society organizations to conduct primary research on a wide range of critical digital rights issues. It will culminate in a research paper initially hosted on our website.

PrivacyCo, the parent company of Top10VPN.com, is committed to funding research that helps advance digital rights around the world and is inspired by the need to promote open, inclusive, and safe digital spaces for all.

We are passionate about the need to establish a more diverse and inclusive digital rights discourse, and are particularly interested in working with those frequently underrepresented in popular digital rights debates. We are committed to amplifying the voices of our new research partners to help bridge the divide between researchers, civil society organisations and journalists.

The grant will provide an opportunity to expand our network of research partners. We seek candidates from across the spectrum of sectors, including researchers, non-governmental organisations, journalists, and academics. Proposals from both individuals and groups are welcomed.

We will be accepting applications on a rolling basis, with candidates invited to apply for up to US$10,000 in funding. Approval will be dependent on the quality and originality of the proposed research and its potential to shape and influence digital rights debates. We are open to discussing additional travel allowances and funds to help support advocacy efforts where appropriate.

Each of the proposals will ideally fall into one of the following thematic areas of focus, although applications outside this remit are also encouraged.

Areas of Focus

Invasive Surveillance Tech

From the use of invasive spyware solutions to track human rights defenders, to the increasingly widespread adoption of facial recognition technology, the global proliferation of surveillance poses a significant risk to citizens’ right to privacy around the world.

We’re interested in funding research that sheds light on this secretive industry and offers new understandings of how increased surveillance threatens civil liberties. Examples may include tracking China’s surveillance exports around the world, investigating the use of monitoring technologies by law enforcement agencies, or unearthing biases within the creation and deployment of surveillance technologies around the world.

Internet Shutdowns & Information Controls

Network interference and internet shutdowns are rapidly becoming a staple method of stifling the free flow of information during politically sensitive moments around the world. They risk exacerbating unstable conditions, frequently obscure human rights abuses, and fuel violence during protests.

The Digital Rights Research Grant is ideal for researchers who want to investigate the cause, impact and underlying technological processes of network interference and internet shutdowns around the world. Prospective applicants may also consider investigating censorship circumvention technologies, the broader trend of information controls and how they reflect and shape geopolitical interests.

Algorithmic Discrimination

The rapid adoption of automated decision making and artificial intelligence technologies by public bodies, private companies, and educational institutions is radically transforming society. Much of this technology has been introduced without due diligence and risks exacerbating societal inequalities on a huge scale.

The Digital Rights Research Grant welcomes proposals that investigate the creation and implementation of these technologies, with particular focus on how they are shaping broader society. Examples may include analysis of automated hiring practices, investigating the use of university proctoring software, or uncovering the use of automated decision-making technologies by public bodies.

How to Apply

We invite candidates to submit a one page concept note containing a brief outline of the proposed research, methodology, and a short author biography.

After reviewing the concept note, the successful candidate(s) will then be invited to provide a full project outline, with details on the proposed duration of the research and proof of feasibility. Evidence of engaging with the ethical considerations of the research methodologies will also be required.

The deadline for initial proposals is March 31st and will continue on a quarterly basis. Once complete, the findings of the research will be published in full on PrivacyCo’s main website, Top10VPN.com.

For any queries, or to submit a concept note, email: samuel@privacy.co

About PrivacyCo

PrivacyCo, the parent company of Top10VPN.com, has conducted research on a wide range of digital rights issues, from calculating the cost of internet shutdowns, to documenting the use of surveillance during the Covid-19 pandemic. These reports have subsequently been cited in leading global publications, including the New York Times, BBC, Financial Times, CNN, and WIRED.

The digital rights research grant will be overseen by our Digital Rights Lead, Samuel Woodhams. His work has been cited by the United Nations, in written testimonies to the US Senate and Congressional Commissions, as well as by academics at Yale, Harvard and the University of Oxford.