The Mozilla Technology Fund Call for Proposals: AI and Environmental Justice ($50,000 prize)

The Mozilla Technology Fund aims to provide funding for open source initiatives that advance environmental justice and artificial intelligence while also having a positive effect on human communities and ecosystems.

Mozilla is interested in organizing technological initiatives that are firmly rooted in ecological sustainability, environmental and climatic justice, and ecological integrity. We are aware that the global south, particularly people of color, indigenous and traditional peoples, local communities, and particular ethnic-racial groupings, would be disproportionately affected by climate change. We are particularly interested in projects developed by these groups or in close collaboration with impacted communities that can address the health, economic, and social implications of climate change on these groups (such as the Most impacted People and Areas (MAPA)).

We are interested in supporting the following types of initiatives in this round:

• Projects that reveal or lessen how AI systems affect the climate
• projects that undertake environmental impact evaluations using AI
• Grassroots AI system prototype projects for environmental management
• Initiatives to counteract misinformation on climate

Requirements. Each applicant must:

• Have a core group of individuals ready to assist the project’s development, such as software engineers who will work closely with ecologists, AI researchers, designers, product/project managers, and subject matter experts.
• Possess a finished product or a functioning prototype (we will also take into account ideas that are still in the concept stage if the project team can show a history of success in developing and cultivating communities around similar ventures)
• Accept community stewardship, openness, and transparency as an approach.
• Provide their work with an open-source license

Eligibility

• Except where prohibited by law, all applicants, regardless of geographic location or institutional affiliation, are eligible to apply for these scholarships.
• Mozilla is particularly interested in applications from the Most Affected People and Areas (MAPA), the Global Majority or the Global South, Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color, women, transgender, non-binary, and/or gender-diverse applicants, migrant and diasporic communities, and/or people from communities that have been displaced by or affected by climate change, among other groups.
• The following requirements must be fulfilled by applicants
• Be able to legitimately accept funding in the form of a grant from the Mozilla Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in the United States.
• Be attempting to resolve a problem or issue of public importance pertaining to the theme of this call for proposals.

Benefits

• The Mozilla Technology Fund will give open source initiatives that meet the requirements rewards of up to $50,000 each and one year of mentoring and support.
• For the life of their project (12 months, starting in January 2023), awardees will be required to participate in monthly cohort calls in order to share their progress, ask questions, and provide peer assistance to other project teams.
• Additionally, recipients will get access to Mozilla Fellows with appropriate subject-matter knowledge who will mentor other MTF cohort members.
• For asynchronous conversation and updates, all MTF recipients, past and present, will have access to the MTF Slack/Discord Community.

Application Method

• A committee of experts will assess submitted applications after a four-week period during which time they will make final funding determinations and distribute rewards from a $300,000 pool.
• After submitting an application, candidates can anticipate hearing back within six weeks. If you have any questions, please email [email protected].
• From September 7 through October 5, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, applications will be accepted.
• For Additional Information Visit the Mozilla Technology Fund (MTF) 2024 official website. Deadline: October 5th, 2023