NGI Zero Entrust

Trustworthiness and data sovereignty

More about: Guide for Applicants | Who is behind this? | Eligibility | FAQ

The seventh and final call of NGI Zero Entrust closed on December 1^st 2023. No more new aplications are sought for this fund, but we have an other open call: NGI Zero Commons Fund. We have some tailormade funds as well: if you are interested in FOSS digital payment systems look at NGI Taler, if you are interested in hosting stacks look at NGI Fediversity, and if you are into open mobile platforms and solution, look at Mobifree.

The next generation internet initiative envisions the information age will be an era that brings out the best in all of us. We want to enable human potential, mobility and creativity at the largest possible scale – while dealing responsibly with our natural resources. In order to preserve and expand the European way of life, the programme helps shape a value-centric, human and inclusive Internet for all.

These days many of us entrust rather critical parts of our lives to technology. We are always connected and we allow the internet to convey very personal messages and expose extremely sensitive data to it. Since the internet (and most technology) was never designed with that kind of usage in mind, this is a liability and in many cases an unwise or even unhealthy dependency — beyond the significant technical weaknesses that put us at risk, we often find ourselves in a situation where we have little autonomy and our data is just taken and used without our consent.

We need a more resilient, trustworthy and open internet, empowering the end-users. Trust is only justified and sustainable if the technology in question is up for the job, and is secure-by-design as well as trustworthy. Much of the software, services and devices does not measure up, and it is quite unlikely this will just improve by itself. NGI0 Entrust is designed to move beyond the status quo and create a virtuous cycle of innovation through free and open source software, libre hardware and open standards. If we want everyone to use and benefit from the internet to its full potential without holding back, the internet must be built on strong and transparent technologies that allow for permissionless innovation and are equally accessible to all.

We work towards better technologies to restore and maintain European sovereignty and to secure democratic ownership of the digital society. NGI Zero actively works towards digital commons and trustworthy technological building blocks for the next generation of the internet. The goal is to provide people with concrete new tools and more reliable infrastructure, which grant them privacy and data portability, provide better overall security and allow them more agency and choice.

Resilience, openness and privacy don't come for free, but they give us freedom and sustainability in return.

We need your contributions to help reshape the state of play, and to help create an open, trustworthy and reliable internet for all. And we want to enable you to make such contributions. This is why between now and 2025 we will award 9.6 million euro in small to medium-size R&D grants towards privacy and trust enhancing technologies.

We are looking for new ideas and core technologies that help society tackle hard but very very important challenges, each of which has significant social and economic consequences. The project results become available under an open source license, so anyone can read and validate the source code, and anyone can use the code to create technology that fits their own purposes.

We are seeking project proposals between 5.000 and 50.000 euro's — with the possibility to scale them up if there is proven potential. Reliability, confidentiality, integrity, security and data portability should be the 'new normal' of the internet, something ordinary users should not have to worry about — users should be in control. So let's make it happen.

Among others we are looking to deliver architectures, protocols and services to ensure that end-users can exert their rights (e.g. under the GDPR) and benefit from decentralised technological solutions that ensure that they are fully in control of their personal data on the Internet. We assist independent researchers and developers to create powerful new technologies, and to help them put it in the hands of future generations as building blocks for a fair and democratic society and a sustainable and open economy that benefits all. Have a look at the ongoing projects to see what we mean, but don't be afraid to send something completely different if you think you can contribute to the topic — it really is an open call.

It is no longer possible to submit new projects. In total there were seventh calls held for NGI Zero Entrust, the last one closed on December 1^st 2023. Have a look at our other funds, or if you are interested in the projects please check out the ongoing projects or the frequently asked questions.

Next Generation Internet

A human centric Next Generation Internet shall reflect the openness, diversity and the inclusion that are at the core of European values — Roberto Viola

The overall mission of the Next Generation Internet initiative is to re-imagine and re-engineer the internet for the third millennium and beyond to shape a value-centric, human and inclusive society for all. How we share and retrieve information is an essential part of that equation. The internet can and should bring out the best in all of us. It should enable human potential, mobility and creativity at the largest possible scale — while dealing responsibly with our natural resources. Doing so is essential to preserve and expand the European way of life. The Next Generation Internet initiative aims to mobilise the best ideas to improve how we find and connect people, devices, services and ideas.

The internet can and should bring out the best in all of us.