Incidental Emergency Grants 

The Incidental Emergency Grants respond to urgent needs such as a website or email being hacked, or the theft or loss of sensitive data and equipment. This type of grant could, for example, provide a safe internet connection, replace damaged or stolen equipment, or a security training. Journalists, human rights defenders, NGOs, activists and bloggers who come under threat because of their online activities can apply for this grant. We work closely with Front Line Defenders, Media Legal Defence Initiative and Virtual Road when responding to these types of emergencies. The Incidental Emergency Grants fund up to a maximum of €10,000 for up to four months.

How to apply? 

Please send an email to ddp@hivos.org with the following information:

• Your name and your organization’s name
• Name of the project
• Project goal
• Country it takes place in
• Threats you face
• Aim and details of planned activities
• Duration of the project (maximum four months)
• A budget and explanation
• Contact details of two references

After we receive your application, we will make an initial assessment and possibly ask additional questions. Then, after contacting your references, we will either approve or reject the proposal. We aim to process all applications within two weeks.

To apply for an emergency grant, send an email to ddp@hivos.org.

You can also send us encrypted emails, find our PGP keys here: Wieke’s key

Sustainable Emergency Grants

Sustainable Emergency Grants also provide support for digital emergencies, but they focus more on organizations. Any NGO, human rights or media organization that faces threats due to the work they are doing, can apply for this grant. For example, a training of staff members, secure internet infrastructure in an office, setting up security policies or secure data storage systems for sensitive files. This grant is for human rights defenders or organisations that deal with their own or others’ digital emergencies. The Sustainable Emergency Grants fund grants between €10,000 and €50,000, for up to one year.

How to apply?

Please send an email to ddp@hivos.org with the following information:

• Your name and your organization’s name
• Name of the project
• Project goal
• Country it takes place in
• Threats you face
• Aim and details of planned activities
• Duration of the project (maximum one year)
• A budget and explanation (maximum €50,000)
• Contact details of two references

Note that the support can only be awarded if it concerns a project in internet repressive and transitional countries.

After we receive your application, we will make an initial assessment and possibly ask additional questions. Then, after contacting your references, we will either approve or reject the proposal.

If you want to know about funding opportunities for Emergency Grants, please send an email to ddp@hivos.org

You can also send us encrypted emails, find our PGP keys here: Wieke’s key

Capacity Building Grants

If you want to know about funding opportunities for Capacity Building Grants, please send an email to ddp@hivos.org

For who?
– NGOs
– media organizations
– human rights defenders

What kind of projects? 
– Strengthening an organization’s emergency response capacity
– Personal protection for anyone targeted due to their online presence or facing digital threats
– Other strategic investments in the digital emergency response sector

Scope of the Grant
The Capacity Building Grants:

• Range between 20,000 – 250,000 Euro
• Run until maximum the end of 2019
• Executing an independent financial audit is mandatory as part of the project
• The maximum process time for a full proposal is four months

Strategic Grant process
The grant making process for Strategic Grants consist of the following steps;

1. Potential grantees can submit their proposal to the DDP secretariat through email to ddp@hivos.org stating:
   – Goals
   – Objectives and outputs
   – Needs assessments
   – Context and risk analysis
   – Budget
   – M&E
   – Project work plan
   – Confidentiality classification with explanation
   – Sustainability
   – Organization name
   – When was the organization established
   – Organization structure
   – Objectives/vision/mission
   – Core areas of expertise
   – Experience/track record
   – Time/period
2. An initial assessment is made on the DDPs eligibility criteria
3. The DDP’s donors  will review and approve or reject the proposal
4. The DDP secretariat will inform the potential grantee of the outcome

You can also send us encrypted emails, find our PGP keys here: Wieke’s key

Eligibility criteria

All potential grantees will be assessed by the DDP and the Independent Investment Committee on a number of eligibility criteria:

• Provide emergency response to urgent digital threats to critical internet users and/or keeping the internet open and free
• Activities concern repressive and transitional environments
• Activities are benefitting internet critical users, independent media, human rights defenders, journalists, bloggers and/or activists
• Need and context assessment
• Technical need, feasibility and security
• Value for money
• Complementarity
• Organizational track record

Projects that the Digital Defenders Partnership cannot support are projects that are:

– Projects that  do not target internet repressive contexts
– General Internet Freedom Policy
– Internet Freedom lobby
– General digital security training
– New tech tools from newly established organisations
– Duplication

Examples of grants provided by Digital Defenders Partnership

• Establishing safe internet access
• Replacing of equipment and retrieval of accounts that have been hijacked
• Creating of temporary digital security help desks
• Analyzing of digital threats
• Supporting organizations that provide legal support to human rights defenders under threat
• Supporting digital security consultants in specific regions
• Increasing online safety and security for very high risk websites

The DDP also launched its Digital First Aid Kit, a self-assessment tool to advise and guide you on what to do if you face digital threats.

The DDP and its partners have been active in countries in Central Asia, Middle East, South East Asia Africa and South America.

This program aims to contribute to sustainable security for human rights organizations in repressive countries. Carefully selected organizations in repressive countries undergo a fully customized organizational digital safety & security transition, guided by experienced digital security experts. Depending on the organizations’ needs, the fellowship includes holistic training for staff, the design of security policies, and the migration of software to a secure system.  

Goals

1. To scale-up the digital security capacity and information integrity of organizations that support huamn rights defenders (HRDs) and civil society activists (CSAs)  and who are exercising their rights to freedom of expression online.
2. To support digital security Fellows (trainers and consultants) to work within these organizations.
3. To complement the existing ecosystem of person-to-person assistance and trainings, while bringing in technical expertise which is traditionally outside the reach of these organizations.

How does it work?
Selected organizations receive over the period of six to eight months* constructive assistance to create a secure environment for their employees and thereby the CSAs and HRDs they work with. The first interaction with an organization will likely be in the form of a visit by a digital security trainer/consultant (Fellow) to complete an initial assessment and discuss the needs and possibilities within the organization in the area of digital integrity. The Fellow will then follow-up with the organization remotely to provide any support needed. A so-called ‘champion’ inside the organization is assigned to lead the transition process and create an internal support base.

Subsequent interventions will largely depend on the first visit, and the implementation plan that was created in agreement between the Fellow and the organization, including some of the following:

• Digital integrity considerations at a strategic level
• Information policy development
• Digital integrity and security capacity building measures
• Awareness raising and (re-)training processeses
• Mentoring and support for the identified staff focal points or ‘champion’

The various interventions are all performed by the Fellow, with support from fellows within the program’s pool, including mentor Fellows who will support, advise and co-facilitate activities.

Fellows are likely to be career professionals with a proven track record in information security, and the Fellowship gives them a chance to share their skills and experience with a human rights organization, that has identified a gap or need in their digital security situation.

Creative Commons

As we believe in a free and open Internet, this Fellowship is based on a Creative Commons, whereby any institute or organization is free to use the format of this fellowship and we encourage others to re-use and publish our information. Already Open Technology Foundation has made use of this Creative Commons format, and you can apply for a Fellowship grant on their website as well.

If you have interest to apply as an organization for the fellowship, and undergo a security transition, please send email to: digitalintegrity@hivos.org. In your email, explain the following:

• name of the organization
• foundation year
• aim and scope of the activities you/your organization is doing
• number of staff
• contact details