Fundational Integrity Research - Misinformation and Polarization request for proposals

Submission deadline: 6 May 2020 (5 p.m. AOE)

In this request for proposals (RFP), Facebook is offering awards to researchers interested in exploring the societal issues of misinformation and polarization related to social communication technologies. Facebook will provide a total of $2,000,000 in funding for research proposals that aim to enrich the understanding of challenges related to misinformation, polarization, information quality, and conflict on social media and social technology platforms. Facebook goal for these awards is to support the growth of the scientific community in these spaces and to contribute to a shared understanding across the broader industry on how social technology companies can better address social issues on their platforms.

Research is not restricted to focusing on Facebook apps and technology.

Principal areas of exploration:

• Health misinformation;
• Quantifying harms of misinformation;
• Information processing of sensational, hateful, divisive, or provocative problematic content;
• Affective polarization;
• Dangerous speech, conflict, and violence;
• Misinformation, multimedia, and formats;
• News, trust, and information quality;
• Cross-platform information ecosystem understanding;
• Digital literacy, demographics, and misinformation.

Successful proposals will demonstrate innovative and compelling research that has the potential to significantly advance the community’s understanding of the impact of technology on society.

Proposals should include the following:

• A summary of the project (2–3 pages): explanation of the area of focus, techniques, relevant prior work, quantifiable risks/dependencies, and a timeline with milestones and expected outcomes.
• A draft budget (1 page): approximate cost of the project and explanation of how funds would be spent. Proposals should focus on costs of the empirical research.
• Curriculum vitae: Provide the name of each researcher involved in the proposed work with their CV/résumé
• Administrative information: Include the institution’s tax ID number and details for both a finance contact and authorized authority that can sign award documentation.
• Keywords: Select the primary research area from the bolded “Principal Areas of Exploration” above that is most relevant for your proposal. This will assist in the appropriate assignment of reviewers.

Eligibility:

• Institutions must be academic institutions or non-governmental organizations with recognized legal status in their respective country.
• Applicants must be the Principal Investigator (PI) on any resulting award. All funding will be directed to the PI’s host institution.
• PIs may submit one proposal per solicitation. Multiple proposals from the same institution are acceptable. However, PIs may not be a supporting researcher on another application.
• Awards must comply with applicable U.S. and international laws, regulations, and policies.
• The award is restricted to social science research that contributes to generalized scientific knowledge and its application. Documentaries, journalism, and oral history projects are not eligible for this solicitation.

For further details, please refer to the programme’s official website or contact Ms. Janice Casarella.