This call for proposals should be of considerable interest to some members of the CNI community.
Clifford Lynch
Director, CNI
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The Digital Infrastructure Insights Fund (D//F) is launching a 2023 Request for Proposals (RFP):
https://fordfoundation.forms.fm/2023-digital-infrastructure-insights-fund-rfp/forms/9724
(note that this link also provides a good deal of background and additional information; see also https://digitalinfrastructure.fund for more information)
D//F is a collaborative effort among multiple funders (Ford Foundation, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Omidyar Network, Schmidt Futures, Open Collective). We
sustain a platform for researchers and practitioners, fostering a deeper understanding of how open digital infrastructure is built, deployed and maintained.
Open Digital Infrastructure (to us) are open-source code and knowledge assets that lead to the creation of open digital building blocks like software libraries, compilers, communication or network protocols, and allow others to create on top.
Inter alia,
∙ we are looking for analyses on how underlying free and open-source software (FOSS) interacts with politics, sovereign responsibilities,
diverse economic sectors, and the advancement of knowledge in the sciences and beyond.
∙ we aim to back the development of pertinent work that examines the convergence of open-source software and digital infrastructure
with social movements focused on democracy, rights, justice, the environment, and scientific research.
∙ we seek to investigate the issue of under- maintenance and occasional undermining of FOSS, as well as explore any geographical
or other disparities within the communities responsible for providing and sustaining these software components amid evolving regulatory and socio-technical circumstances.