The Digital Citizen Contribution Program (DCCP) recently announced the launch of an open call for proposals to provide time-limited financial assistance for citizen-focused activities projects, research projects, or projects that are a combination of both.

Amount: up to $380,000 (The program may award up to $1,000,000 in funding for some projects with budgets of over $1,000,000.)

Deadlines:
Faculty Research Office: 1 week prior to DCCP deadline. (If you wish to have feedback on your application allow at least two weeks – contact Karen Kueneman)
Western Research: 1 week prior to DCCP deadline
DCCP: November 28

Description of eligible projects:

• Develop and publish tools to support digital media and civic literacy skills among people in Canada outside of educational institutions and/or among seniors in Canada;
• Develop and publish tools to help people in Canada identify content created and spread by bots and/or artificial intelligence;
• Develop and publish tools to prevent and address online violence against women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ communities, and other forms of technology-facilitated violence;
• Create resources to support children and parents in Canada to address and prevent cyberbullying;
• Build technical capacity and expertise among small and medium sized civil society organizations seeking to address mis-/disinformation, hate speech, and cyberbullying;
• Develop and publish tools to build resilience to mis-/disinformation stemming from foreign governments, such as the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Russian Federation targeting people in Canada, including diaspora communities; or
• Conduct research, testing and/or evaluation of tools or interventions related to any of the above priorities.

Eligibility: Applicants must hold an eligible academic research appointment at Western.

NOTES:
– You may request funding for a project spanning more than 12 months (during the 2023-2024 and 2024-25 fiscal years). If this is the case, you must then show that there is a need for a multi-year commitment and that you have the capacity to complete the project. This is demonstrated with a realistic project timeline and budget projections as well as sound governance.
-All funds must be spent and all projects must be completed by March 31, 2025.

Applications and more Information: contact the Digital Citizen Initiative Team at pch.icn-dci.pch@pch.gc.ca to request an application package. Details on how to apply can be found on the Digital Citizen Contribution Program page.