Call for Applications Information Controls Research Program 2026

Call for Applications - Information Controls Research Program 2026

The Information Controls Research Program (ICRP) from the Open Technology Fund (OTF) supports applied research into how authoritarian governments in the most repressive information environments are restricting the free flow of information, cutting access to the open internet, and implementing censorship mechanisms. 🌐 The Citizen Lab will be returning as a Host Organization for the 2026 ICFP program.

Program Details

The program offers three, six, nine, or twelve-month stipends, usually extended to postdoctoral and doctoral students, and experienced researchers with demonstrated ability and expertise. A monthly stipend of $7,000 USD is provided, alongside a travel stipend up to $5,000 USD and an equipment stipend up to $5,000 USD, depending on the project. Funding awards are performance-based contracts, with dispersal upon completion of stated objectives, activities, and deliverables per a schedule outlined in the contract. Monitoring of progress includes monthly reports and discussions, with host organizations providing “traffic light” reports to OTF evaluating the researcher’s progress.

Application Window

The 2026 application window is from July 27, 2026, until September 7, 2026. Interested candidates must submit a concept note by September 7, 2026, via OTF’s online application system. The estimated earliest project start date is March 1, 2027.

Eligibility Requirements

Typically, ICRP researchers have extensive experience in fields such as computer science, engineering, information security research, software development, social sciences, and data visualization, among others. Successful applicants must demonstrate how research outputs will be applied to the internet freedom community and/or how they will contribute to the development and improvement of internet freedom tools used in the most information-restricted environments. Proposed projects should exhibit originality, substance, precision, and relevance to OTF’s mission to advance global internet freedom in the most information-restricted environments.

A critical eligibility requirement specifies that applicants (and/or their subsidiaries, affiliates, parent organizations, host organizations, etc.) engaged in the development, production, sale, and/or marketing of any surveillance software, hardware, or associated technology are ineligible. Furthermore, projects should include a technical component or technical output. For instance, one past researcher created a dashboard with internet shutdown data and analysis for others interested in the topic, providing a tangible example of the expected technical intelligence outputs.

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