Open Application: Information Controls Fellowship Program

Apply by February 24, 2020 to join OTF’s seventh ICFP fellowship cohort
Thu, 2020-01-09 16:03

OTF’s Information Controls Fellowship Program (ICFP) is now accepting applications for its seventh fellowship cohort, with a final deadline of February 24, 2020. The application and additional information can be found here.

About the Program

The ICFP fellowship program supports individuals working to examine restrictions on the free flow of information by repressive governments. In particular, ICFP fellows track Internet interference practices and investigate emerging means of overcoming censorship in repressive environments – the countries, regions, or areas worldwide where Internet freedom is most threatened. Efforts that focus on investigating the security and privacy of tools used in these contexts are also supported.

The ICFP program offers flexibility for candidates with fellowships available for three, six, nine, or twelve months in duration. This allows for the support of a wider range of proposed efforts, from those that are relatively short-term to projects that are larger in scope. The fellowship offers a monthly stipend of $5,000 along with a travel stipend.

Independent Study with Organizational Support

All ICFP fellows are based with a host organization for the duration of their fellowship term. Host organizations should demonstrate the ability to assist the applicant in carrying out the proposed scope of work. Applicants can propose any host organization on their application as long as sufficient justification for the selection is provided. For example, if you’re proposing to work on a project studying how misinformation spread online, then your proposed host organization should be equipped to provide expert guidance on this topic. OTF welcomes host organizations from non-academic organizations as well as those that are based outside of the United States.

If you are affiliated with an organization and want to host an ICFP fellow at your organization, please email [email protected] for more information.

Supported Topical Areas of Study

Past fellows have explored a range of topics and technological focuses, including country and region-specific information controls studies; the development of research-focused software tools used to investigate Internet censorship as well as those that can circumvent online censorship; studies around targeted digital attacks aimed at at-risk users; and research into security vulnerabilities in technologies used by at-risk communities.

To get a better sense of the types of efforts supported through the ICFP program, you can read about the current (sixth) cohort of fellows here, and past classes here (rounds onetwothree, and four).

Questions?

If you have any questions, please post them in this public spreadsheet and they will be answered in a prompt fashion. If your question is not appropriate for a public forum, please email [email protected].