Update: the call is now closed
The European AI & Society Fund is pleased to invite applications for our AI Accountability Grants: up to €200,000 in funding for bold, adventurous projects that explore how to hold those responsible to account for harms caused by the use of AI in Europe. Proposals must be submitted by 6 January.
Over the past few years, the European Union has developed a range of tech legislation, with the ambition of becoming the home for ‘trustworthy AI’. Alongside Europe’s existing equalities, rights, consumer, and worker protection legislation, this creates a set of tools to challenge harms caused by the development and use of AI.
Public interest advocates from different fields need to come together to analyse and experiment with the new rules, demand redress for injustice and close gaps where there are insufficient protections.
The AI Accountability grants are part of our Making Regulation Work programme. They will support bold and experimental projects that seek to identify clear opportunities to address the negative impacts of AI systems on people and society in Europe.
- Who can apply? Organisations and coalitions that want to promote social justice by establishing accountability over the use of AI systems in Europe – at either European, national or local level. You do not have to be a technology expert to apply.
- How much will we award? Grants will be between €10,000 and €200,000
- How long are the grants? The duration is flexible, but activities must be completed by December 2026.
- What’s the deadline? Concept notes must be submitted by 6 January 2025 23:59 CET. The selected applicants will be invited to submit a full application by 24 February 2025. We will issue our final decisions by 24 March 2025.
- Where? Organisations should be registered and carry out their work in one or more of the following countries: the EU, EEA, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Switzerland and the UK.
Are you looking for funding for near-term work you are doing on the implementation process of the AI Act? You can find more information about our separate call for proposals dedicated specifically to the AI Act Implementation process .
Key information
You’ll find some key information below. Please read the Call for Proposals for full information.
What work are we looking to support?
The focus of the AI Accountability Grants is to support work that will contribute to addressing how AI affects people and society.
The Fund does not prescribe which approaches, tactics and regulations to use. We have also not specified geographies or issue areas to prioritise – we want to hear from organisations and coalitions in the field where there are opportunities to make change happen.
Examples of work that could be funded:
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- Conducting research to identify provisions in labour and human rights laws that may provide a path to justice for communities harmed by algorithmic decisions in the workplace or when accessing welfare benefits.
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- Using transparency mechanisms to find evidence of AI harms that can be used in future campaigns, complaints, and legal cases.
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- Preparation of complaints on high-risk systems, to be submitted under the AI Act once it is in force.
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- Drafting and submitting complaints under EU regulations, such as the GDPR, that challenge the unlawful use of personal data for training AI systems, for example in healthcare.
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- Developing experimental litigation strategies to limit the harmful environmental impact of data centres, including pre-litigation research, evidence gathering and legal fees.
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- Strategies to challenge corporate power through antitrust mechanisms, such as investigations by competition authorities or actions under the Digital Markets Act. This could involve research to provide evidence to regulators and cooperation with consumer bodies.
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- Developing strategies to increase protections and close gaps where analysis shows that legal protections are missing, such as in policing and migration
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- Building coalitions and bridges to communities affected by AI harms and co-designing accountability strategies.
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- Creating connections to specialists (such as consumer movements, or technical, legal, standards or access to information fields) to develop accountability strategies.
Please note this list is illustrative only and we encourage applicants to propose your own approaches.
What work we will not fund?
We will not fund:
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- Policy and advocacy work focused solely on the implementation of the AI Act (please apply for our AI Act Implementation Grants)
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- Work on technologies not connected to AI and its supply chain
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- Public awareness raising campaigns that are not part of a wider accountability strategy
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- Organisational capacity building outside of a wider accountability strategy
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- Technology development, unless it is required for a specific need in an accountability strategy
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- Accountability approaches for hypothetical future risks of Artificial General Intelligence and other speculative technologies that have not yet materialised.
What funding is available?
Applicants can apply for a grant between €10,000 and €200,000, and the total funding we will allocate through this call is €2 million.
Who can apply
We welcome applications from organisations and coalitions from across Europe that want to ensure that Artificial Intelligence is used fairly and does not lead to discrimination and violations of rights. Previously some of our grantees have had prior expertise working on AI, digital rights and technology while others represent particular communities or interests, including racial justice, labour rights, migration, disability, climate, and health.
For the AI Accountability Grants we particularly encourage applications from organisations and coalitions with prior experience in securing accountability in adjacent social justice fields.
Who is eligible?
- Organisations must be registered and carry out their work in one or more of the following geographies: EU, EEA, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Switzerland and the UK.
- If you want to apply in partnership with other organisations, please choose one lead applicant who represents the coalition in this process.
- Organisations must have non-profit status.
- These grants are not open to organisations who are current grantees and have an active funding agreement that runs beyond March 2025, if you are not sure whether that applies to you, please contact us.
How to apply?
There are two stages in the application process:
- In the first round we ask for a short concept note to be submitted on Optimy, our online portal along with the overall budget amount you are requesting. It must be submitted by 6 January 2025 at 23:59 CET.
- If your application successfully passes the first stage, we will invite you to submit a full proposal, a completed budget as well as legal and financial information to complete our due diligence process.
Please consult the timeline below that outlines the different stages of the process.
How do we make decisions?
Funding decisions will be made by a selection committee made up of European AI & Society Fund staff, partner foundations and a group of external experts who bring diverse expertise to the committee. We will announce the selection committee in due course.
We will assess your application against weighted funding criteria outlined in the Call for Proposals.