I wanted to reach out in my new role as the Vice President of Research for the Open Technology Fund (OTF). We are an independent non-profit organization dedicated to advancing internet freedom in the world’s most repressive environments.
I am reaching out to highlight our Internet Controls Fellowship Program (ICFP) which might be of interest to your networks.
OTF funds the applied research, development, implementation, and maintenance of technologies that provide secure and uncensored internet access to enable citizens worldwide to exercise their fundamental human rights online.
The ICFP fellowship program supports individuals doing research to examine restrictions on the free flow of information by repressive governments. In particular, ICFP fellows track Internet interference practices and investigate emerging means of overcoming censorship in repressive environments - the countries, regions, or areas worldwide where Internet freedom is most threatened. (see fellowship call below, deadline for application is March 13th).
I would really appreciate it if you would be able to share it with the community.
Kind regards,
--
Dr. Corinne Cath
Vice President of Research
Open Technology Fund | w: opentech.fund | t: @OpenTechFund
Signal: +1 202 209 6820
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Open Technology Fund Information Controls Fellowship Program (ICFP) Call
The Open Technology Fund (OTF) is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to advancing internet freedom in the world’s most repressive environments. OTF supports the applied research, development, implementation, and maintenance of technologies that provide secure and uncensored internet access to enable citizens worldwide to exercise their fundamental human rights online.
OTF’s Information Controls Fellowship Program (ICFP) is open for applications for its ninth fellowship cohort, with a final deadline of March 13, 2022. The application and additional information can be found here.
About the Program
The ICFP fellowship program supports individuals doing research to examine restrictions on the free flow of information by repressive governments. In particular, ICFP fellows track Internet interference practices and investigate emerging means of overcoming censorship in repressive environments - the countries, regions, or areas worldwide where Internet freedom is most threatened. Efforts that focus on investigating the security and privacy of tools used in these contexts are also supported.
The ICFP program offers flexibility for candidates with fellowships available for three, six, nine, or twelve months in duration. This allows for the support of a wider range of proposed efforts, from those that are relatively short-term to projects that are larger in scope. The fellowship offers a monthly stipend of $5,000 along with stipends for travel and equipment.
Independent Study with Organizational Support
All ICFP fellows are based with a host organization, these can also be academic departments, for the duration of their fellowship term. Host organizations should demonstrate the ability to assist the applicant in carrying out the proposed scope of work. Applicants can propose any host organization on their application as long as sufficient justification for the selection is provided. For example, if you’re proposing to work on a project studying how misinformation spreads online, then your proposed host organization should be equipped to provide expert guidance on this topic. OTF welcomes host organizations from non-academic organizations as well as those that are based outside of the United States.
Or vice versa, if you are affiliated with an organization and want to host an ICFP fellow at your organization, please email icfphost@opentech.fund for more information.
Supported Topical Areas of Study
Past fellows have explored a range of topics and technological focuses, including country and region-specific information controls studies; the development of research-focused software tools used to investigate Internet censorship as well as those that can circumvent online censorship; studies around targeted digital attacks aimed at at-risk users; and research into security vulnerabilities in technologies used by at-risk communities.
To get a better sense of the types of efforts supported through the ICFP program, you can read about the current (eighth) cohort of fellows here, and past classes here (rounds one, two, three, four, five, six, and seven).
Questions?
If you have any questions, please post them in this public spreadsheet and they will be answered in a prompt fashion. If your question is not appropriate for a public forum, please email icfp@opentech.fund.
If the fellowship is not a good fit for you, please check out the additional avenues for funding that OTF offers through our other funds, including the Internet Freedom Fund (IFF).