Internet Freedom Fund
The Open Technology Fund’s Internet Freedom Fund supports practical technology and research that help people withstand censorship and surveillance in repressive environments. It also supports the wider digital security community and collaboration among internet freedom practitioners.
Key Details
- Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
- Projects may run for up to 24 months; the preferred project duration is 6–12 months.
- Applicants generally receive an initial response about 6–8 weeks after submitting a concept note.
Funding or Award
- Individual awards range from $10K to $900K. OTF describes $50K – $200K as the preferred request range.
- Funding takes the form of a performance-based contract signed with the applicant. Payments are made in US dollars after agreed objectives, activities and deliverables are completed, according to the contract’s payment schedule.
Focus Areas
Technology Development
- Develop internet freedom technologies from prototype through deployment, including infrastructure serving human rights and internet freedom communities.
- Build open-source circumvention tools or improve existing tools’ security, usability, adaptability and accessibility.
- Improve ways to redistribute content behind government firewalls, develop next-generation tools, or strengthen infrastructure security standards, quality assurance and operating practices.
Applied Research
- Monitor and analyze censorship and other threats, including where restrictions occur, how they work and which content they target.
- Investigate new circumvention methods or improvements to existing tools.
- Study the internet freedom community’s roles and contributions.
- Research the needs of people facing repressive surveillance and censorship, including improvements to tool usability and localization.
Improving the Digital Security Ecosystem
- Propose changes that strengthen regional or global digital security networks, including infrastructure, coordination and collaboration among practitioners and threat researchers.
- Explain how the work complements existing efforts and creates a wider improvement to the ecosystem.
- One-off training, training-of-trainers and organizational capacity building cannot be the project’s primary outcome. Emergency training may instead fit the separate Rapid Response Fund.
Events and Community Convenings
- Organize focused research and development gatherings that improve collaboration on privacy, circumvention and digital security.
- Bring communities together to identify needs, share resources and exchange knowledge about censorship and surveillance, with broad and diverse participation.
Eligibility
- Individuals and commercial or nonprofit organizations may apply, without restrictions based on age, nationality, creed or sex.
- OTF cannot fund applicants in countries subject to applicable US trade restrictions or export sanctions determined by OFAC.
- OTF prioritizes first-time applicants, people and organizations underrepresented in the field, and work addressing underfunded areas.
Application Process
- Submit a short concept note through the official application system.
- If invited, develop the idea into a full proposal. Competitive proposals receive a final review from the Internet Freedom Fund Advisory Council.
- Review considers fit with OTF’s mission, practical relevance to an existing or emerging problem, cost effectiveness, sustainability beyond the grant and complementarity with existing work.
Rules and Conditions
- An OTF program manager oversees monitoring and evaluation throughout the contract, using the goals, deliverables and measures agreed in the proposal.
- Basic internet connectivity is generally outside scope, with limited exceptions for politically motivated shutdowns.
- General ICT-for-development work, civic technology and broad digital literacy initiatives are outside scope.
- Legal analysis and policy advocacy are generally excluded; narrowly focused technical research informing such work may be considered.
- Contract payments must comply with applicable laws, regulations and ethics requirements.