Deadline: July 31, 2026
Applications are open for the GDPC Spotlight Research Grants Program 2026. The GDPC Spotlight Research Grants Program, in partnership with the French Red Cross Foundation, provides funding to university researchers for projects focused on principled and accountable use of technology in humanitarian action. This program specifically supports researchers from low- and middle-income countries.
Awards provide $10,000 USD for research lasting up to eight months, with a completion deadline of June 30, 2027. This program supports applied and impactful research that can inform policy, planning, humanitarian programming, community action, and so on. Research must be original, and plagiarism will result in immediate disqualification at any stage of the grant process. Research can be conducted in English or French.
Research Topics
The program seeks to stimulate new knowledge in priority research questions under the following topics:
Topic 1: Community Needs & Digital Realities
- Topic 1.1 Needs-Aligned ICTs: What are the priority needs and concerns of affected people regarding digital tools used in humanitarian service delivery?
- Topic 1.2 Community Adaptation of ICTs: How do technologies get repurposed or reinterpreted by communities to be utilized for humanitarian purposes? How or why do communities maintain, adapt, or abandon technologies over time?
Topic 2: ICT Solution Feasibility & Implementation
- Topic 2.1 Operational Constraints: What are the operational constraints (infrastructure, skills, funding, governance) to implementing ICT solutions in LMIC humanitarian contexts? How do these impact successful design and use of these ICTs?
- Topic 2.2 Digital Maturity Context: How do variations in digital maturity across communities and organizations affect implementation and humanitarian outcomes in different settings?
- Topic 2.3 Humanitarian Principle Alignment: How does proactive alignment of technology design and implementation with humanitarian principles affect outcomes (and address risks)?
Topic 3: Data Protection in Humanitarian Action
- Topic 3.1 Personal Data Handling: How do disaster-affected people understand, experience, and respond to the collection and use of their personal data in humanitarian programmes and how can this inform policy and practices?
- Topic 3.2 Data Privacy & Accountability: What two-way communication mechanisms (feedback loops, complaint systems) are most effective for data privacy and accountability in ICT-enabled humanitarian programs?
- Topic 3.3 Community Trust: How do incidents (e.g., data breaches, misinformation) affect trust in humanitarian actors and programs?
Grant
- The research grants are USD $10,000.
Eligibility
- Applicants must be affiliated with an accredited university at the time of submission, including PhD candidates, post-doctoral researchers, and faculty members. Teams of researchers are welcome to submit proposals.
- Researchers should come from disciplines in social sciences and humanities, such as sociology, anthropology, law, human geography, management, behavioral studies, psychology, etc.
- Applications are open to researchers who are nationals of low- and middle-income countries, including least developed and upper-middle-income nations. Research must be focused on these countries.
- Proposed research projects must align with one of the the program’s defined topics and clearly demonstrate how they contribute to the selected area of focus.
- Projects must be feasible for completion within the eight-month program timeline, running from 1 November 2026 to 30 June 30 2027.
- Researchers may conduct their research in any language, but the final research paper must be submitted in English or French. If translation into English is needed, the budget proposal should include estimated costs for translation services.
Application
The complete application package must include:
- Applicant Information: This includes professional affiliation details.
- Project Summary: A concise project abstract and key information.
- Project Description: Detail on the research background, rationale, objectives, methodology, scientific merit, broader impact, and ethical considerations.
- Research Team Composition: Include information about the Principal Investigator (PI) and key co-investigators, along with their CVs.
- Budget: A budget proposal in US Dollars, including a detailed breakdown of expenses and budget justification.
- Letters of Collaboration: For projects involving partnerships with institutions or organizations outside the applicant’s primary affiliation, a letter of support from each partner institution is required.
For more information, visit GDPC Spotlight Research Grants.
