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Open Call: REINFORCING Grant on “Responsible Digitalization”

Deadline: 30-Jan-25

REINFORCING is currently accepting applications its grant program to support organizations and territories to experiment with ORRI approaches around the topic of “Responsible Digitalization” and implement actions to open their research and innovation processes and align them to societal needs and expectations.

Digitalization of society has become pervasive during the last decade. The expansion of the Internet, the Web and mobile devices has critically modified the way that citizens interact with the physical and legal environment in an unprecedented manner. The rapid advancement, deployment and adoption of digital technologies by modern societies has brought in significant benefits and advances. Thanks to digital technologies now they can work remotely, trace the sugar levels in blood, observe a fetus into a mother’s womb, traveling abroad without maps or communicating with a Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the REA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. person that speaks a foreign language. Digitalization has also been accelerated, thanks to the pandemic, and many digital transformation processes into society have been speed up due to the virtualization impetus that occurred during the COVID-19 crisis.

However, and together with these benefits, several drawbacks have also emerged too. The rapid digitalization of the physical and legal spaces has also brought significant backlashes. That is why different problems associated to digital technologies are attracting an increasing attention from public opinion such as digital divides, the proliferation of misinformation and propaganda on the online environment, privacy concerns, the rising of “filter bubbles”, the automation of biases and discrimination, and/or labor precarity fueled by digital platforms, among others.

Specific Challenges 
  • Four specific challenges to be addressed under this ORRI Booster call have been identified for promoting “Responsible Digitalization”. This list of challenges to be addressed under this ORRI Booster call is not exhaustive nor limited to these specific ones:
    • Public engagement around digital technologies: Many digital technologies work as “black boxes” and many citizens are completely blind about their inner workings.
    • Privacy, transparency and trust in digitalization processes: The deployment of digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence or Internet of Things raises several issues around the preservation of these human values in different contexts.
    • Digital literacy and digital divides: The rapid advancement of digital technologies also creates divides in the population regarding access, knowledge and mastering of these technologies.
    • Misinformation and manipulation: Digital technologies have created new and powerful vehicles for old problems around communication and public debate. They also have raised serious threats for modern western democracies.
Funding Information
  • For this ORRI Booster call, not more than 14 organizations/consortia. implementing projects lasting 8 months will be supported with grants of up to 20,000 euros each.
Eligible Activities
  • Potential activities:
    • Training and capacity building on public engagement around digital technologies and its implications.
    • Design and implementation of co-creation processes to develop digital solutions and services in the context of “Responsible Digitalization”.
    • Future scenario or visioning workshops with different stakeholders, including citizens, that address potential ethical, legal and social implications of the deployment of digital technologies into particular contexts.
    • Design and execution of engagement strategies in digital transformation processes and/or policies into particular contexts, which are accessible and inclusive, fostering an environment where all voices are heard and valued.
  • Please note that REINFORCING doesn’t fund:
    • Activities related to technological developments and/or proof of concepts, while could support co-creation and/or visioning workshops linked to those activities.
    • Activities of any kind in which artificial intelligence-based systems or techniques are used or developed.
Eligibility Criteria
  • Applicants established in an EU country (Member State or associated country), including their outermost regions or associated countries eligible to receive HEU grants, provided that the applicants are not covered by the Council sanctions in force.
  • Applicants must be legal entities already established at the moment of the submission, such as, but not limited to, Civil Society Organizations (CSO), Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO), Higher Education Institutions, Research Centres and Small and Medium Enterprises (SME).
  • Applicants must declare their financial stability.
  • Applicants shall not have any potential conflict of interest with the REINFORCING selection process (notably they should not have legal relationship with any organization that is a member of the REINFORCING consortium, including affiliated entities).

For more information, visit REINFORCING.