Call for Proposals: Research for a Transparent and Resilient Information Ecosystem

Deadline: 28-Apr-23

The European Media and Information Fund has announced a Call for Proposals on Research for a Transparent and Resilient Information Ecosystem aims at supporting wide and deep scientific studies on the disinformation phenomenon, encompassing its causes, societal impacts and possible responses.

This Call aims at supporting wide and deep scientific studies on the disinformation phenomenon, encompassing its causes, societal impacts and possible responses and solutions, such as to generate more and better knowledge through innovative collaborations between different disciplines and entities, including academic researchers, technology providers, media and/or civil society organisations. Its key objective is to foster an inclusive approach, embedded in ambitious, trans-disciplinary, data-driven and, where relevant, transnational projects, rather than a series of smallscale studies in single disciplines.

In particular, grants will fund the production of studies on fundamental epistemological issues linked to the digital transformation of the media landscape, including research on the effects of digital media and technologies, such as AI, on human cognitive processes, civic behaviour, social interactions, trust and democratic participation.

Reserach Topics

• In terms of research topics, applicants are invited to present proposals addressing one or more of the research areas listed in EDMO’s Scientific Focus, taking into account the specificities of the information environment in the targeted geography and with a view to:
  • Filling existing gaps in relevant literature by combining perspectives from different disciplines, or
  • Deploying new methodologies to answer fundamental human and societal questions surrounding disinformation, or
  • Laying out standards/frameworks/approaches to better understand social harms resulting from different forms of media manipulation, or
  • Exploring possible remedies to these harms, and potential institutional, regulatory and/or technological solutions to counter disinformation
• For example, proposals could focus on:
  • Topics, media platforms and data that, so far, have received little scholarly attention. With certain online media platforms and types of data being more extensively studied than others, due to differences in audience reach and/or data accessibility, new research could leverage the novel possibilities for data access under the strengthened Code of Practice on Disinformation in order to explore areas still understudied;
  • The development and implementation of structural indicators to reliably measure the impact of disinformation on different audiences in light of the measures taken by the signatories of the Code of Practice on Disinformation to mitigate associated risks;
  • Methodologies for tracing the mechanisms used to monetise disinformation content and/or spread disinformation paid-for content, including the development of relevant systemic metrics, in light of the measures taken by online platforms and the advertising industry under the Code of Practice;
  • The functioning of recommender systems and algorithms that prioritise online content, with a view to improving the discovery or findability of trustworthy information sources, notably in light of the measures taken by online platforms under the Code of Practice. This may include research and concrete experiments with different types of trustworthiness indicators for news sources;
  • The economic and socio-political incentives to spread disinformation, the disinformation actors and networks operating within specific geographies, as well as the factors within a society that foster the impact of disinformation on public opinion-forming, with a view to developing pre-emptive approaches to disinformation threats, including predictive models of dissemination patterns.
  • The effects of new technologies, such as AI, on cognitive processes, civic behaviour and trust, as well as the emergence of new forms of social interactions and democratic participation enabled by digital media;
  • The levels of trust present in European societies, their evolution over time, and how these can be preserved and built upon in order to increase resilience against disinformation;
  • The manner in which persistent information overabundance in the contemporary media sphere affects both individuals and society at large, and how access to professional journalistic content could be enhanced. This may require a combination of innovative theoretical approaches with practical testing of remedial measures, including new business models for news media;
  • The creation and use of testing environments (sandboxes) to experiment with methodological solutions, including software applications for the detection of instances of disinformation and/or analysis of its online propagation patterns, or reverse engineering of closed-off or encrypted networks;
  • Potential future harms to content authenticity and trust in news media that may arise from the spread of AI-generated content;
  • Possible means to remedy any of these and other harms caused by media manipulation;
  • Institutional, regulatory or technological solutions to counter disinformation.

Funding Information

• The grant will be defined by applying a funding rate of 100% to the eligible costs actually incurred and declared by the beneficiary, up to a maximum of € 400 000.
• The allocation for this Call is € 1 600 000.

Eligible Activities

• Activities may be developed at local, regional, national, or international levels across the territory of the EU, EFTA and the UK. Cross-border activities within the EU, EFTA and the UK territories are eligible.
• The following types of activities are eligible:
  • research activities, including data collection and analytics;
  • production of original content in the form of studies, analyses, and mapping projects;
  • creation and use of testing environments (sandboxes) to experiment with methodological solutions to improve the detection of disinformation, or to provide original approaches to explore and expose disinformation campaigns and related harms, or to enhance the reach of quality information;
  • actions aiming at the creation and improvement of networks, exchanges of good practices, and uptake of innovative methodologies and relevant technologies;
  • usage of innovative tools, capable of improving the analysis of systemic risks within specific information environments and digital media ecosystems, as well as the effectiveness of remedial actions;
  •  awareness and dissemination actions, including conferences, seminars, events, in the context of the listed activities.
• Eligible activities shall be those that will be developed in addition to the applicant’s current activities and that will foster more and better knowledge about disinformation through innovative collaborations between different disciplines and entities, in Europe.
• Proposals should include concrete deliverables, subdivided into work packages, and set clear, objectively verifiable and quantifiable performance indicators for the interim report and the end of the project. The estimated reach should be substantiated by an outreach plan identifying appropriate means of communication and dissemination, including links to EDMO’s website.
• Activities deriving from cooperation with news media, online platforms, educational institutions, research and/or civil society organisations not directly involved in the projects are viewed positively as they may be effective means to gain relevant insights or to extend the outreach of the funded activities.
• All actions will respect the academic autonomy of universities and research organisations, as well as the editorial independence of media organisations involved in the consortium, while allowing the grantees to select those research strands and interventions they find most appropriate, taking into account the specificities of the information environment in the targeted geographic area.

Eligibility Criteria

• To be eligible, any proposal must be submitted by a group of legal entities (partnerships or consortia) abiding by recognised ethical and professional standards such as the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity or the specific standards applicable to their field of activities (e.g., Code of Principles of the International Fact-Checking Network, deontological Codes for the Journalistic Profession applicable in their country of establishment).
• Should an applicant not be a signatory to any code, it should explain how it ensures de fac to adherence to the ethical and professional standards applicable to the type of activities carried out by its organisation.
• The following types of organisations may apply and be funded as Lead Applicants or members of the consortium:
  • Non-profit organisations, including public service media
  • Universities
  • Educational institutions
  • Research centres
  • Non-governmental organisations
• For-profit organisations of any status and size operating as fact-checkers, news media organisations, technology providers or research companies, on that the consortium integrates one or more entities.
• Only applications submitted by legal entities established in the EU, EFTA or the UK are eligible. Organisations based in other countries may be part of a consortium, but their activities are not funded.
• Specific tasks may be subcontracted out to entities or natural persons irrespective of their place of establishment.
• Natural persons may be part of a consortium, but a natural person cannot lead the project. Activities and expenses pertaining to natural persons shall be allocated to the Lead Applicant.
• State-controlled organisations – other than universities, research centres, educational institutions, and public media organisations with editorial independence – are not eligible to receive funding and cannot lead a consortium, but they may take part in the action/project at their own costs.
• Consortia cannot be solely composed of entities affiliated with the Lead Applicant.

For more information, visit Research for a Transparent and Resilient Information Ecosystem.