Deadline: 3 July 2019

Instagram is currently accepting proposals for Well-being and Safety Research program.

In 2019, Instagram requests research proposals to help better understand experiences on Instagram that foster or harm the well-being and safety of communities and societies. This includes, but is not limited to, research that will help to understand problematic issues facing the communities, develop better policies, assess possible interventions to protect communities, or identify the mechanisms (e.g., social support, social comparison) through which Instagram usage directly impacts well-being.

Instagram’s mission is to bring people closer to the people and things they love. To achieve this, we need to invest in keeping our communities safe and understanding Instagram’s impact on human well-being. There is an ongoing conversation about how every day social media usage affects personal, community, and societal well-being, as well as the effect of those who use social media to compromise the safety and beliefs of others. To combat this, we have focused on technology and people to remove bad content and behavior from our services. While we do a lot to understand these problematic issues, the effectiveness of these efforts relies strongly on our engagement with foundational research and partnerships with social scientists.

Instagram will grant awards of up to $50k USD per awardee to fund projects of up to one year in duration. This RFP challenge will be open to applicants worldwide from academic institutions and non-profit organizations. This includes individual researchers addressing a well-defined problem, or may require multiple university departments to collaborate with a diverse set of skills to solve a more complex multi-disciplinary challenge. We encourage emerging scholars and researchers studying these issues from perspectives around the world to apply.

Grant Information

Instagram will grant awards of up to $50k USD per awardee to fund projects of up to one year in duration.

Eligibility Criteria

• This RFP challenge will be open to applicants worldwide from academic institutions and non-profit organizations. This includes individual researchers addressing a well-defined problem, or may require multiple university departments to collaborate with a diverse set of skills to solve a more complex multi-disciplinary challenge. They encourage emerging scholars and researchers studying these issues from perspectives around the world to apply.
• Organizations must be a nonprofit or non-governmental organization with recognized legal status in their respective country (equal to 501(c)(3) status under the United States Internal Revenue Code).
• Applicants must be the Principal Investigator on any resulting award.
• Applicants may submit one proposal per solicitation.
• Awards must comply with applicable US and international laws, regulations and policies.
• Proposals that require the use of Instagram, WhatsApp, or Facebook data will not be considered for funding.

Applications Requirement

Applications should include:

• Summary of the project (1-2 pages): Include an explanation of the area of focus, a description of techniques, any relevant prior work, and a timeline with milestones and expected outcomes. Please also include a clear and concise statement of the scientific contribution and routes to eventual deployment.
• A budget description (1 page): Include an approximate cost of the project and explanation of how funds would be spent. Please also include funds for travel for the PI to attend a workshop in Menlo Park to discuss findings with the Instagram team in 2020.
• Curriculum Vitae(s): Provide the names of the researcher(s) involved in the proposed work with their CV/resume or links to Google Scholar pages.
• Previous collaborations: Indicate any previous or current connections/collaborations with Facebook (in which case please name the Facebook contacts).
• Organization details: this includes tax information and administrative contact details.

How to Apply

Applicants can apply online via given website.

For more information, please visit this link.