Supporting Pluggable Transports

Internews seeks to promote improved anti-censorship capabilities with a small grants fund to support both pluggable transport developers and circumvention tool/secure communication app developers who may find their systems blocked. The following activities are eligible for funding:
 
  • Funding is now available for research into potential new transports, but the work should include a minimal proof of concept as an output
  • Implementation of new transports (transports must conform to the 2.x spec and provide a self-assessment based on the Evaluation Criteria linked from https://www.pluggabletransports.info/build/ ).
  • Updating existing transports to the 2.x spec
  • Implementing pluggable transports in applications providing security, privacy, or access to information.
Internews is in particular interested in transports taking advantage of the UDP options of the 2.x spec to support voice, video, and VPN traffic, and in transports that do not rely on traditional "domain fronting".

Grants can be up to 6 months in duration. Most projects should aim for a budget under $50,000 USD but exceptions can be made. Final project timelines and funding are dependent upon available funds and grant timelines.

If you would prefer to submit this information via PGP, please send to APT@pluggabletransports.info, encrypting to these keys:  Jon, Bobbie

Review Criteria

Applications will be evaluated on a monthly rolling basis through August 30 by Internews' Global Technology team in consultation with the Department of Human Rights and Labor according to the criteria (and regulations) in the submission form.

The review criteria are as follows:

1) Quality of Program Idea and associated activities (30 Points)
* Application fits within the fundable activities and has clear impact.

2) Program Planning/Ability to Achieve Objectives (30 Points)
* Includes a detailed workplan for achieving stated goals on time
* Includes links to a CV or Resume for key contributor(s) demonstrating topic expertise and field experience (or submit via email APT@pluggabletransports.info)
* Demonstrates the willingness to work in collaboration with the pluggable transports community

3) Institution’s Record and Capacity; Program Monitoring and Evaluation (20 Points)
* Ability to meet all reporting requirements and deadlines under a grant agreement
* Track record of providing support and documentation (as appropriate, e.g. user guides, technical documentation, or implementation/installation guides) for their developed tools

4) Cost Effectiveness (20 Points)
* There is a clear path for the work to continue to be useful and functional post-grant.

Funding will be administered in accordance with the following regulations: standard terms and conditions, 

Question Title

* 1. Organization Information

Question Title

* 2. Does your organization have a DUNS number?

Question Title

* 3. Is your organization incorporated or otherwise legally registered?

Question Title

* 4. Does your organization maintain a bank account able to receive fund from a U.S. entity?

Question Title

* 5. Provide a concise summary of the proposed work

Question Title

* 6. What programming language (or languages) will this be developed in?

Question Title

* 7. What blocking techniques, countries, or user communities does this work address? What additional risks (beyond circumventing a censorship system) could users of this be exposed to, and can they be mitigated?

Question Title

* 8. If this is to fund a new transport, how will it differ from current options?

Question Title

* 9. How will this work continue to receive support, security updates, and/or respond to new censorship attacks after this grant ends?

Question Title

* 10. How will this work relate or connect to your other initiatives or projects?

Question Title

* 11. How will this work contribute back to the broader censorship circumvention community?

Question Title

* 12. In addition to the summary addressing the questions above, please provide a draft timeline of the proposed activities, a list of specific and achievable outcomes as result of this work, and a proposed budget that includes any in-kind support or other sources of funding.

Question Title

* 13. What is your proposed budget for this work? Will you benefit from any cost savings thanks to in-kind support or other funded projects?

T