NGI ZERO ENTRUST 5th Open Call

Opening date: 1st April

Closing date: 1st August 12:00 CET (noon)

We need a more resilient, trustworthy and open internet, empowering the end-users. Trust is only justified and sustainable if it the technology in question is up for the job, and is secure-by-design as well as trustworthy. Much of the software, services and devices does not measure up, and it is quite unlikely this will just improve by itself. NGI0 Entrust is designed to move beyond the status quo and create a virtuous cycle of innovation through free and open source software, libre hardware and open standards. If we want everyone to use and benefit from the internet to its full potential without holding back, the internet must be built on strong and transparent technologies that allow for permissionless innovation and are equally accessible to all.

NGI0 Entrust supports independent researchers and developers working on digital commons in order to restore and maintain European sovereignty, and to secure democratic ownership of the digital society. NGI Zero Entrust aims to enable and assist independent researchers and developers to create powerful new technology that benefit end users, and to help them put it in the hands of future generations as building blocks for a fair and democratic society and an open economy that benefits all.

This concerns any technological component internet users collectively depend on, and which can be improved with regards to trustworthiness, resilience, privacy preserving characteristics and data and service portability. Among others we are looking to deliver "architectures, protocols and services to ensure that end-users can exert their rights (e.g. under the GDPR) and benefit from decentralised technological solutions that ensure that they are fully in control of their personal data on the Internet."

Examples include mobile operating systems, internet and web protocols, open hardware laptops and phones, encryption tools, videoconferencing services, open source large language models/AI, virtual/enhanced/augmented reality and multimodal user interaction.

Target participants: Independent researchers and developers to create powerful new technologies, and to help them put it in the hands of future generations as building blocks for a fair and democratic society and a sustainable and open economy that benefits all.

Visit: nlnet.nl/entrust
Apply: nlnet.nl/propose

Contact for more info: nlnet.nl/entrust