The internet has proven to be an invaluable resource for many communities, including the most vulnerable, during COVID-19. Therefore NGI Forward feels an even greater responsibility to progress its efforts to build a more inclusive and trustworthy internet that works for everyone. In light of this, Nesta and NGI Forward have decided to go ahead with launching this fund as previously planned. Though trials do not need to solve a problem related to COVID-19 directly, ideas that actively engage with the new reality each of us is operating in will be looked on favourably.

The internet can be a force for positive change in the world. But not enough is being done to tap into the great, ever-expanding potential of connected technologies. From the internet’s underlying infrastructure to the gatekeepers that decide what content is shared, power over the internet is increasingly centralised. A small number of players, representing a fraction of the world’s population and diversity, are incentivised to protect their position through behaviour that has a long-term negative impact on social trust and cohesion, competition and innovation. This means that fewer and fewer people are able to reap the full benefits of the digital economy. Fewer still believe that it works in their interest.

There is consensus that a serious and co-ordinated response is needed to remedy the internet’s many problems, yet the tools to take effective action are not yet available. Some of these challenges require top-down interventions on the global or national level. But to make the NGI Forward a success, more action at the local level and the mobilisation of the whole innovation ecosystem is needed.

One of the key goals of the NGI Forward project is therefore to provide a platform for policymakers, innovators and civil society to join forces and collaborate on key digital issues through collective action, knowledge-sharing and joint investment in new solutions.

This fund intends to contribute to doing exactly that.

The NGI Policy-in-Practice initiative is looking to fund a minimum of four trials that put into practice a vision for a more inclusive, resilient, democratic, sustainable and trustworthy future internet. This will be achieved by experimenting with concrete solutions in local communities, and ensuring that insights from these trials can be shared or scaled across the NGI network.

Recipients of the grants can also benefit from additional support from Nesta including guidance on effective project design, pathways to impact and communication of final results, as well as the sharing of findings among the wider NGI community.

The Next Generation Internet (NGI) Forward is the strategy and policy arm of the European Commission’s flagship Next Generation Internet initiative, which seeks to build a more democratic, inclusive, resilient, sustainable and trustworthy internet by 2030. Find out more about the project.