Frequently Asked (and/or Anticipated) Questions
Main page | Guide for Applicants | Organisations involved | Eligibility | FAQ
What kind of projects are you looking for?
We are looking for solutions that give European citizens and organizations more choice in, and access to, human-centered and ethical mobile software. This is after all part of the vision of the Next Generation Internet. Mobifree is a pilot involving a number of Android-based open source efforts, so that platform should probably be included in whatever you propose for this fund. Of course if your work involves porting any of the other software mentioned on the Mobifree site to other mobile operating systems, or otherwise contribute to these applications (for instance the messaging application DeltaChat runs on many platforms including for instance UBports), that would obviously also be eligible ...
Other than that, this is really an open call: your project or idea should match the eligibility criteria and fit within the budget constraints. For the rest it is up to you: what can you develop that is somehow be relevant to the objectives of Mobifree and/or beneficial to the Mobifree ecosystem at large? If you have an idea or planned effort that matches that, we are eager to hear from you — so propose today.
Note that NLnet and the larger NGI programme are very interested in mobile beyond Android (and iOS). For any other mobile OS-es such as postmarketOS, Mobile NixOS or Maemo Leste there is the (much bigger) NGI0 Commons Fund. This is also open to proposals for open hardware phones, open hardware GSM networks, SIM tunneling or mobile drivers — in fact, probably anything you can think of when it comes to mobile telephony. Surprise us and submit a proposal.
Do you have examples of granted projects?
As this is a new programme, there isn't yet a list of already granted projects.
Obvious interesting efforts to look at for inspiration (and potentially improve or enhance) are the applications which are part of NGI Mobifree: F-Droid, Conversations, Micro-G), Quicksy, Ltt.rs, Delta Chat/WebXDC, /e/ OS and NextCloud.
Also, you'll get a fairly good impression by looking at projects from earlier programmes from the Next Generation Internet initiative like NGI0 PET, NGI0 Discovery and NGI0 Entrust, with background information on all the projects and links to their websites. Several of the projects within Mobifree are former grantees of these programmes.
Or you can browse through all of NLnet's recent and current projects for inspiration.
Can we send you a proposal upfront to check its eligibility?
Unfortunately, you can't. This would move the whole structured procedure to a flood of unstructured and intransparent private dialogues, which would be unfair to other participants (and very inefficient as well). Luckily there is no need for this: the application procedure is very light-weight, and so you can just put in your proposal. If the project is not selected, you can iterate with the proposal as the cycle is quite fast (every two months a new call).
Do I need to work for an university or research institute to apply?
No, you don't. Application is open to all. The thing that counts is a good project proposal.
Do I need to have a legal entity like a company to apply?
No, you don't. You can apply as an individual, or as a formal or informal organisation of any type. Or even a collaboration of the two.
Will the grant be disbursed up front?
No, the grant is not paid out up front. Instead you divide your project into milestones and allocate an amount to it. Once you reach a milestone you send in an request for payment. So for instance: You divide your project in milestones A, B, C and D. And you allocate amount € X to milestone A. Once you have finished milestone A, you request the payment for it and move on to milestone B.
Can I remain anonymous?
You don't need to reveal your real name to us, prior to the project being granted. After that, we need to have this for compliance reasons — but we do not need to make it public. We can use an alias in all outgoing communication, should this be desirable or necessary at your end.
Can young people apply?
Yes, you can. Note that you do not have to reveal your real identity to us prior to the project being selected, so we have no way of even knowing anyway. And we very much welcome upcoming talent to NGI. Young people that have not yet reached the age of legal consent in their country of origin (typically 18 years old) on the date of the deadline may apply without any constraints; consent from a legal guardian such as a parent does not have to be provided prior to initial submission, but will be required to enter any further negotiations. Use of a pseudonym also after that is recommended.
Is there a special programme for under-represented social groups?
Inclusiveness is one of the key starting points of the NGI initiative. Projects are reviewed on a number of criteria, one of which is the strategic dimensions of the project. Creating strong role models for under-represented groups can help expand the relevance and impact of NGI and thus is considered a strategic dimension, and as such is taken into account during the review — alongside other strategic dimensions such as the effect of the project on the technology landscape, standardisation efforts which are under way, human rights aspects, contribution to European and national legislative understanding and societal dialogue, etc. If you represent an unrepresented group, consider yourself invited to pay attention to this in your application. Of course this is not mandatory in any way, if you feel it is too much effort or distracts from the project contents itself.
Can you sponsor our event, which is about X which falls within the scope of the call?
No we cannot, unfortunately, and to our regret. At current we can only financially contribute to events that meaningfully contribute in a direct way to an actual R&D project within NGI Zero. E.g. a code sprint or hackathon. Please check the information on eligible costs. Of course you can still mention good opportunities in your application, and we encourage you to do so: this will increase our understanding, and perhaps we can think of others that might be interested.
Are you going to spend the whole budget on small projects?
Depending on what you call small projects, yes. Your first proposal can only be between 5.000 en 50.000 euro. You can follow up with other project proposals, up to 500.000 euro over the lifetime of the programme. Ofcourse that only makes sense if the idea turns out to be exceptionally good, and you prove the feasibility of your approach — and your ability to execute. But 500.000 euro is the absolute hard limit for any applicant for the programme.
I'm developing a proprietary application, and want to open source only a small part. Is that allowed in a proposal?
If the part you want to develop and release as free and open source is relevant and is not itself dependent on your (or other) proprietary technology, sure. We look at what you research and develop inside the project you propose, not to anything else. NGI Zero programmes are open to worthwhile contributions from all types of organisations, including companies that want to keep part of their business model away from free and open source software.
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Your proposal will be reviewed on its expected contribution towards the NGI Vision. Technology that can only be used with an individual closed source application will not adequately scale to the global internet, certainly not in the long run. If the fate of a certain technology depends on leadership decisions and the internal economy of a single commercial entity this should probably not be considered 'sustainably open'. Spending public funding for building private monopolies isn't in the public interest.
So in short: you can submit a proposal that fits snugly within a closed commercial environment, as long as that project itself is open source and doesn't depend on that closed environment — which would get in the way of permissionfree innovation and fair opportunities for all.
Am I allowed to offer additional, non-open licenses?
All projects are supposed to be released under a suitable free/libre/open source license. This allows for incremental innovation on top of your results, and as we explained is non-negotiable. We recommend you set up good governance processes for handling rights attached to your work, to make sure you and the users of your research retain agency in the future.
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This condition however does not in any way exclude the legitimate holders of copyrights and other associated rights of dealing with your project results under additional licenses, even proprietary ones: there may be legitimate reasons (such as license incompatibility with third party complementary FLOSS efforts) for alternative licenses beyond the license you use for the project.
Can I apply with multiple projects in one single round
Yes, theoretically you probably could — but there are some drawbacks and conditions to that. Although we've done our best to streamline the application process, each proposal still costs time to write and submit — and we cannot give that time back to you.
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You should know that for your first project with us, we want you to focus on making that project a success — meaning that if you submit multiple proposals (and supposing we would identify several of those as eligible), ultimately you would have to choose or find a realistic and plausible way to combine them (of course the total amount should stays below the maximum eligible amount). Since the world moves fast and therefore plans age quickly, why not choose before you put in effort to write different proposals?
For subsequent proposals, in some cases it might make sense to parallelise effort — especially if you have enough capacity. But again, we cannot give you the time back you invest in writing proposals. So we recommend you talk to us before investing a lot of your precious time.
Note that if you do submit multiple proposals in a single round, these typically have to be independent from each other. You cannot bypass the size conditions of the call by submitting a string of proposals that are tightly coupled to each other. If project B and C can only happen if project A is successful, you should probably be well under way finishing project A first before you block money for two more projects.
Please note that there is a limit with regards to the maximum amount you can receive during the lifetime of the fund. This total cumulative maximum is the same for every person or entity — whatever your role in whatever projects.
I'm a current grantee. Can I help others with their project?
Assuming your own project doesn't suffer too much from it, we very much encourage helping out other worthwhile efforts and creating synergy with them. In many cases, that will be with closed wallets. It can be very helpful already to provide some advice in an issue, help new people write a grant proposal, have the occasional chat with them, or just hang out in their IRC channel.
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Sometimes more effort is required than would be feasible to deliver without some form of compensation. It is therefore possible for you to join the Memorandum of Understanding of others while you are executing your own project, as long as the work you'll do is budgeted in those projects. Of course this involvement has to be proportional.
I want to work on a larger effort that is already receiving funding. What are my options?
There are two options:
- Approach the people currently involved in the ongoing project(s) and see if they are interested in your contributions as part of their project — they would share some of the existing budget, and you have to fit within their timelines.
- Submit your own proposal for delivering complementary work in an independent project. You obtain your own grant and have your own timelines.
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Obviously, in the latter case it is important that your work is appreciated by upstream, and your work is well coordinated with the work done in the other project(s).
Let's say that you are part of the Whitewhale Moonshot Example community, and the project lead Ahab is still on his first grant to deliver some major new features to Whitewhalte Moonshot Example. Because you feel it is taking a lifetime to get to the modest orthogonal WME features you need after that, you submit a small new grant proposal — with the blessing of Ahab, who agrees that these features are worth while but just never gets round to work on them. With your own grant, you are able to work on the WME features you need independent from Ahab (to the extent possible).
Of course option 2 only works if your project does not strongly depend on the outcomes of the ongoing project(s), which obviously (as everything in life) may still fail. So you'll need to make sure your results are worthwhile, even if that happens. Otherwise it would make sense to wait.
I have patents assigned or pending on my idea. Can I meanwhile propose a project involving those patents? Should I disclose this in my application?
Yes, you must certainly disclose this. Patents can hinder other people and organisations from freely working and innovating with the technologies you may be creating, in different and sometimes unpredictable ways. Free and open source software licensing is based on copyright law, and may or may not have provisions with regards to patents. The interaction with patent law can be complex. We would prefer to understand potential patent situations at the application stage, given that we are talking about technologies which are to be created inside publicly funded research and development.
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The final selection of projects is competitive, and your application will be reviewed on its expected contribution towards the NGI Vision. If the patents involved do not interfere with that contribution, and the technology you develop becomes available under suitable open source licenses, your project may still be eligible.
I only heard about this call recently, can you postpone the deadline?
We get this question surprisingly regular. We are sympathetic to your need. Unfortunately, the deadline of such a large concerted effort really is a deadline and there is nothing we can do about this. That means when you submit after the deadline, you will submit to the next call. The deadline of which, fortunately, is just a mere two months away since we have a bimonthly cycle. Meanwhile, of course, you can just submit a preliminary proposal — unlike most procedures you should be able to complete a proposal in less than an hour.
I submitted to the wrong fund, now what?
I apparently did not look well enough when I submitted my project, but when looking at the mail copy of the application I got from you, I submitted to the wrong fund. Can you fix this for me?
By far the quickest variant is to resubmit to the right call. Just copy and paste your application details from the confirmation email. At your request, we can just discard the earlier submission. If the call you wanted to submit to is already closed, resubmission would of course not possible without unnecessary delay. In that case, please contact us as soon as possible to arrange for a manual alteration — and please include the assigned number in your mail to ease processing.
What happens if there are not enough good projects submitted?
From our long experience we know there are a lot of people with awesome ideas that need funding, and the funding is there to enable them to actually carry out this work in the public benefit. We believe we can give people a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do their part in fixing the internet. However, we also happen to have rather high quality standards, and intend to stick to them. We are not running a lottery where weak projects can submit in the hope of running away with leftover budget.
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Mobifree is funded with public money, and we have a moral obligation to spend that money frugally and effectively. Our mission is to pave the way for the Next Generation Internet. Besides money we invest a lot of (real) time in helping the projects we work with, in terms of improving accessibility, security, documentation, localisation/internationalisation, responsible disclosure, community building etc. Work there is never done, and we will spend our efforts on worthwhile projects alone. We therefore retain the right to allocate less than the entire budget, meaning we will return any unspent part of the underlying grant to the European Commission without giving it a second thought.
Can anyone in the whole world submit?
If the project you are are considering would be a significant advance towards the goals and the vision of the Next Generation Internet, we invite you to submit — even if you live outside of Europe. Of course, it remains competitive — but you would expect that from money you get for doing what you love to do.
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The grant from the European Commission that allows us to run NGI0 is funded by European tax payers. It is a knock-out criterion for each project to have a "European dimension". Having people inside the proposed project from Europe or the associated countries is an obvious and logical way to fulfil that requirement. You have a unique and worthwhile idea, but you are from elsewhere? Don't despair: there are other ways too... A significant contribution towards the vision of the Next Generation Internet initiative also qualifies. What is good for the whole open internet also benefits Europe, after all. Or put differently: we are open to talent from far and wide to deliver the ambitions of the NGI. Smaller tasks have been undertaken than delivering a new and better internet, and we need buy in and talent from far and wide to contribute to that global mission.
How sustainable is all this? Does all of it stop when project funding goes away?
We certainly hope not! One of the huge benefits of the design decision that all projects release their results under free/libre/open source licenses, means that we allow for incremental permissionless innovation. We invest in ideas and technology commons, not in individual businesses or particular business models.
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Free software allow literally anyone to use whatever they want in whatever way fits their needs. As long as there is someone interested in developing or using the software, they can do so without asking anyone. Obviously, under those rather unique conditions, evolutionary sustainability is much improved over the situation where the 'owner' restricts development and may pull the plug at any time.
Furthermore, we spend a lot of effort in working with the technical and operational internet community as well as with other relevant stakeholders — preferably as early in the process of each project. This means not only that they get relevant feedback, but also that they are more likely to adhere to quality standards and operational practises that make it more likely that results are actually deployed.
What services do you offer to projects besides money?
One of our key objectives for NGI0 is to set a new global standard for supporting R&D projects. We've set up a best-of-breed "greenhouse environment" (analogous to what an "accelerator" does for for-profit initiatives) for the projects and teams that are funded within NGI. We offer support services such as accessibility and security audits, licensing advice, mentoring, packaging and more.
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Researchers and developers are mere humans, and the grasp of all relevant best practises they bring along initially is by definition limited. No matter how brilliant a researcher is: the demands on technology that should actually run at scale on the modern internet today are huge, and continuously changing. Having a crazy idea that might just work to fix the broken internet, does not automatically mean that you know how to make your solution accessible to blind people, how to set up continuous integration and reproducible builds, how to orchestrate a responsible disclosure procedure, how to make sure that your application can be used with different languages and be properly localised to be compatible with different cultures, how to engineer secure software and what state of the art attack vectors you'd better deal with, how to engage with standards setting organisations, how to nurture and grow a developer community, how to write end user documentation, which software license best fits the goals of the project, how to deal with software patent trolling, how to support diversity with regards to gender and social identity, what considerations to take into account for software to be packaged by distributions, etcetera.
Adding these requirements post-development is many times more expensive, and in some cases can be impossible. We aim to complement the knowledge and skill set of the project proposers with leading domain experts in the respective fields. We can't do all the work for you, but we can provide guidance and mentoring to tackle each of these topics.
I want to make a future living out of my project. What are your thoughts on this?
The results of some projects are self-sustainable and take a life of their own, while others may involve setting up some sort of business or not-for-profit structure around them. We are happy to brainstorm with you about this.
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It is our belief that society should invest in digital commons. Technology is too important for society, and (short term) profit is not the best driver for the goals of NGI: resilience, trustworthiness and sustainability.
Can I ask my users for a subscription fee to sustain my income?
Sure, as long as you also make the results of your project available under a free and open source license for other researchers and developers to work with. Such a license allows people to reuse it for any purpose they see fit. That in turn allows for incremental innovation and reuse. Free and open source software makes what you develop a technology commons, meaning complete strangers will spontaneously care about making what you have created go far and wide — something they would never do for a proprietary product restricted to a single commercial entity ...
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Of course most ordinary people don't directly work with code themselves — they tend to leave that to experts like hosting companies and app stores. Very few people might be more qualified than you (as the creator of your technology) to provide services around your 'brain child' — and you might actually do some of your target user base a large favour by providing a hosted service they can pay for. It is therefore perfectly okay to (for instance) provide a hosted version with a monthly subscription fee attached.
Running software is not R&D but a service and comes at a cost in terms of operational expenditure (e.g. electrical power, hardware, etc) and human labour. Part of the user community is interested to outsource that work and pay for convenience and not having to worry. Others want or need to run the software you create themselves, for good reasons such as privacy or confidentiality. Some of the users would contribute back in code, some of which you can use for your customers. And of course others will just download the software and use it. However, every single user is proof that your project provides something worthwhile. You do not have customer lock-in, but as long as you provide enough value (innovation, operational excellence, etc) — people are likely to come to you again and again. You are after all the brains behind the software they depend on. And of course you can apply for follow up funding to continue 'working for the internet', based on the utility of your software and the relevance of your new plans.
Hosted services are not the only way to make a future living. Another type of users may want you to provide paid consultancy to add features they need, or to have you help out set up their own instance. The best model for sustainability depends really on the nature of your project, and will be specific to the problem you are solving and the target group(s) you address with your work. You can in fact make money from what you build in any way, as long as the result of the work funded by us is at least available under a free and open source license. There are many examples of free and open source projects that result in a sustainable income for their creators in very different ways, and also many that don't. This is no different from any other enterprise you may undertake. The grant we provide typically pays your entire income (and those of people you may involve) during the development of the project itself. So consider that you work for the internet, and that is its own reward. If the project is picked up by a wider community, that will give you an excellent position going forward. You could do worse than having a revolutionary internet technology on your resume...
What about accessibility? Is this mandatory?
The Next Generation Internet is meant to be inclusive. This is why we put significant attention to the results of the NGI Zero projects to be accessible to people with disabilities. We understand that not everyone is an expert in this area — yet. But taking care of accessibility (or a11y for short) is, as far as we are concerned, the 'new normal'. From our end, we are willing to invest in this as well. Experts from our team will help you understand what that means to your project, and will mentor you how you can comply with the technical requirements. We have excellent support to evaluate the current state of accessibility and projects can request an accessibility audit performed by the HAN University of Applied Sciences, dept. Inclusive Design & Engineering — one of the core competence building centres of accessibility in the Netherlands.
The topic of this call doesn't really fit, are there other topics I could apply to?
NLnet has several other topics currently active, see the overview of thematic funds. Submitting to our open call is also an option, and even recommended — we'll try and find the best fit for you. You can also check the website of the NGI initiative for open calls by other organisations.
My project is completed, but my work is not done!
If the fund is still active, you can propose a continuation of the project. If this is rather limited in size (see the official policy on that), you can discuss this with your contact person at NLnet. If it is quite substantial, you would need to submita new proposal. When in doubt, contact NLnet staff — they will be able to tell you what is the best path forward.
The project plan needs to be adjusted
Of course, while you are executing your plan the world doesn't come to a standstill. This means that there can be progressive insight and new opportunities, while also sometimes identified opportunities don't materialize or time out. You should discuss these kinds of issues with your contact person at NLnet. You can propose adjustments within the boundaries of what is possible (see the official policy on that). When in doubt, contact NLnet staff — they will be able to tell you what is the best path forward.
When I receive donations, what happens?
Your grants take the form of a donation from NLnet Foundation. NLnet is a recognised public benefit organisation according to the Netherlands tax office, a status which translates in full or to some degree to many other parts of the planet — which may or many not include your country of residence and/or work. Taxation in a global context is a pleasantly complex, dynamic and inspiring issue that has intellectually challenged many great minds. It has damaged some of those (and many others too). There are unfortunately significant differences across countries, and even across regions within a single tax system you may find notable variations in treatment.
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If you are from Europe, you might benefit from an initiative by Philantropy Europe Association (Philea) called Legal Environment for Philanthropy in Europe. With the help of a network of local experts, they have crafted a very overview per country of key legal provisions that apply. This should help get you started. Obviously, your local tax authority is the authoritative answer to all matters concerning taxation, and if you are in doubt you are advised to contact them for guidance.
Go to: Legal Environment for Philanthropy in Europe (warning: trackers present, unfortunately.)
When does my project need to be finished?
We'll agree on a duration in the Memorandum of Understanding. By default, we expect projects to be completed within 12 months — but qualified exceptions can be made. Are you nearing the end date and still working diligently on the project, and it looks like it won't be finished in time? Contact us, and we may very well be able to grant you extra time.Obviously, the lifetime of the whole programme is a hard external constraint pretty much beyond our control ߞ as much as we want to help make anything worthwhile possible, some things are out of reach.
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Note that for NGI Mobifree, the programme is tentatively scheduled to end in November 2026. If your idea fits, you can just put it in your proposal. If it doesn't immediately fit: of course, your plans and longer term roadmap may (need to) extend well beyond the more or less arbitrary boundaries of our programme. We suggest you cut your plans up in multiple stages. Our grants are 'human size', which has the advantage of being very agile but the disadvantage of some overhead for long term efforts. We know that is a bit awkward, but it is just how things are. We need to take it one step at a time.
Can I use generative AI to write parts of my proposal
The short answer is: no. Grant applications are short and we spend a lot of effort evaluating proposals. Please grant us the courtesy of writing the proposal yourself. If you do use generative AI to write (part of your) proposal, please put this in the text and explain why this was necessary. Failure to do so is likely to result in the proposal being rejected, and tarnishing your reputation.
My question is not here?
Well, if you've read all this and still have a burning question: let us know. We are happy to help!
