OTTAWA, December 21, 2007 – The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada will soon launch its Contributions Program, which for the past four years has provided funding for cutting-edge privacy research in Canada.
This year, the Office is interested in receiving research proposals focusing on four priority areas: 1) national security, 2) identity integrity and protection, 3) information technology, and 4) genetic privacy.
We will continue to accept research proposals on issues that fall outside these areas.
For the first time, the Office will invite proposals to fund public education and regional outreach initiatives.
The Office will also set aside funds under the Contributions Program to support collaborative research and policy development work with provincial and territorial privacy commissioners’ offices. No proposals will be sought for this facet of the Program.
More information on the four priority areas, and how to apply for funding, will be made available when the Program is officially launched in January. For more information on the Contributions Program, click on the following link: http://www.privcom.gc.ca/information/cp/index_e.asp.
All proposals will be evaluated on the basis of merit by OPC officials, and the maximum amount that can be awarded for each research or public education project is $50,000.
Created in 2004, the Contributions Program is regarded internationally as the foremost privacy research funding program in the world. The Program has now allocated over $1,000,000 to more than 30 privacy research initiatives in Canada. The annual budget for the Program is $500,000.
The Privacy Commissioner of Canada is mandated by Parliament to act as an ombudsman, advocate and guardian of privacy and the protection of personal information rights of Canadians.
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For more information, contact:
François Cadieux
Senior Policy Analyst
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
Tel.: (613) 947-3090
E-mail: fcadieux@privcom.gc.ca
Media contact:
Colin McKay
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
Tel: (613) 995-0103
E-mail: cmckay@privcom.gc.ca
