​Grant programme for data protection projects launched

Grants of up to £100,000 are available for civil society groups promoting privacy and data protection issues.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has created the new programme funding organisations on a wide range of data protection promotion and protection .

It will fund projects supporting and encourage research and privacy solutions in areas of data protection risk in the UK; projects that increase awareness of privacy enhancing solutions with data controllers across the UK; and schemes that improve understanding of how individuals view privacy issues, interactions with new technologies and promote better public awareness.

Proposals do not need to be technology based but must have practical application and provide real world solutions that are of clear public benefit to the UK, the ICO states.

Elizabeth Denham, Information Commissioner, said: “Information Rights evolve with time. The new grants programme is designed to give practical research and policy a stronger voice in this evolution.

“At the core of our new Information Rights Strategic Plan is the objective of promoting trust for the public. Current research shows that 75% of the public don’t trust the way that their personal data is used.

"I want to see that number reduce and that requires evidence of what is causing the problem and well considered ideas for how to address it.”

Further information about the grants programme, including eligibility, funding and outcome expectations is available on a dedicated page on the ICO website.