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Application Deadline: December 30th 2017
The Digital Integrity Fellowship Program (DIFP) provides fixed monthly stipends to individuals capable of addressing short-term and long-term threats to freedom of expression online. Fellows provide organizations and communities most affected by internet freedom violations (like journalists, human rights defenders, NGOs, activists, bloggers, and others) comprehensive internal support with their digital security expertise. Simultaneously, Fellows will educate the broader internet freedom field about the threats and vulnerabilities experienced, to ensure that emerging and existing technologies best meet the needs of at-risk communities.
Criteria and the application process
Before applying, ideal fellowship candidates should initiative a strategic conversation with the organization(s) and network(s) that they intend to assist and work with for their fellowship duration. Further, fellowship candidates should ensure:
- They and the organization(s) agree they are a good match
- Their capabilities align with the organization’s overall digital security needs and interest and have the means of achieving them,
- The organization’s leadership believes in the organizational change expected to occur.
- These conversations should also identify areas of particular concern for the organizations, including but not limited to: the types of threats they face to their work by adversaries, previous digital security issues experienced, anticipated escalations in threats to their work, etc.
- The fellowship candidate will work with the organizations’ leadership and OTF to share concrete feedback to the internet freedom community about specific usage of digital security / internet freedom technologies.
Potential areas of focus
- Enhancing the capacity of locally-based digital security professionals as a partner to increase their knowledge and capacity;
- Implementing, maintaining, and scaling up the day-to-day digital security best-practices from within that enable an organization’s digital assets to defend against common “threats-of-the-day”;
- Responding to digital emergencies and targeted attacks utilizing incident response best-practices to inform further protection measures; and/or,
- Conducting highly-specialized digital forensics such as identifying and documenting malware and other vulnerabilities used in targeted attacks against human rights defenders
Eligibility
- Individuals of all ages irrespective of nationality, residency, creed, gender, or other factors, with the exception that OTF is not able to support applicants within countries that the United States has trade restrictions or export sanctions as determined by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC);
- Individuals who demonstrate skill and ability to perform the relevant digital security tasks;
- Individuals who demonstrate a desire to grow their knowledge through mentorship and cross-discipline collaboration; and, Individuals who demonstrate a commitment to advance internet freedom globally;
Award information
- Each approved fellow will sign a performance-based contract directly with OTF for the SOW, be required to report a monthly status to their organization, OTF, and other fellows.
- Awarded fellows are given a stipend of 5,000 USD per month for a maximum of 12 months.
- Awarded fellows will also be allotted an “organizational support stipend” of 5,000 USD total to cover equipment and subscription costs that will maintain security protections for organizations receiving digital security assistance from the fellow.
For More Information:
Visit the Official Webpage of the Digital Integrity Fellowship Program
