OPC Contributions Program 2023-24

Eligibility

All proposals submitted to the OPC Contributions Program must meet these two (2) screening criteria:

1. Eligible Applicants: Only not-for-profit organizations – including consumer, voluntary and advocacy organizations, educational institutions, and industry and trade associations – are eligible for funding.
2. PIPEDA: Only proposals that address privacy issues relevant to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) will be considered. PIPEDA governs the collection, use and disclosure of personal information by private sector organizations in the course of their commercial activities. Eligible proposals must therefore relate to the commercial sector that falls under PIPEDA. Proposals that touch on issues within the federal public sector can be submitted, provided that the primary focus of the proposal deals with the commercial sector under PIPEDA or the interface between that sector and the public sector. (Refer to the Applicant's Guide Section 2.2 for more information on eligible projects.)

Projects that are screened in based on the above-mentioned conditions will then be assessed on the basis of their general quality and competencies, innovation, feasibility, expected benefits, and outcomes.

Funding and Eligible Expenses

The maximum amount that applicants may request and that can be awarded to a single research or public awareness project or knowledge translation initiative is $50,000. The maximum amount that can be allocated to any single recipient organization is $100,000.

Funds may be used only for expenses directly related to the activities of the project. These activities must be reflected either in the original budgetary submission, or via subsequent approved budgetary adjustments. Eligible expenses would include:

• Salary and benefits for members of the project team, inclusive of project administrators, researchers and research assistants, students, postdoctoral fellows, technical support, etc.
• Administrative costs, translation, secretarial assistance and publication costs
• Contract costs for expertise not available in-house or work that cannot be performed in-house (e.g., surveys)
• Other eligible costs including travel (not to exceed government travel regulations), workshops, materials and supplies, and communications

The OPC will not support any expenses incurred prior to, or after completion of, the funding period stipulated in a contribution agreement. The OPC will not support any expenses that have not been paid by the recipient before they are invoiced to the OPC. Other ineligible expenses that will not be funded under the agreement include the purchase of buildings, land, vehicles and most other major capital costs.

Indirect administrative expenses (that is, overhead) should be limited to no more than 15 per cent of the total project expenses incurred under the contribution agreement.

Contributions awarded to an applicant are subject to the terms of the Contribution Agreement signed by the applicant and the OPC. Funds must be spent only on the project and cannot under any circumstances be diverted to any other use. Expenses associated with the project are subject to audit. For full details, see the Costing Memorandum in Schedule B – Project Budget.

Summary

This year, the OPC Contributions Program theme is "The future is now! Assessing and managing the privacy impacts of immersive and embeddable technologies.” The OPC requests proposals that examine the privacy impacts of immersive and embeddable technologies. In recent years, we have witnessed astounding technological advances that could have a profound impact on privacy rights. Many technologies claim to enable the recognition of emotions or the inference and derivation of information about a person’s private thoughts (such as behavioural analytics; emotional artificial intelligence; or the emergence of the "meta verse").

While these technological advances pose privacy concerns, statistical inferences drawn from a person’s online activity can also reveal unspoken thoughts and personality traits. With this in mind, here are some of the questions that could be avenues of research or public outreach for funding applicants in this year’s call for proposals:

• To what extent do behavioural analysis, emotional AI and emotional analysis pose real or unique risks to privacy?
• What are the risks to privacy and cognitive freedom posed by advances in neurotechnology?
• What are the privacy risks of the metaverse? In particular what are the risks associated with the collection, use or sharing of personal data on the metaverse?
• How does the metaverse change the privacy landscape? Does it represent a new paradigm in the fight for privacy?
• How can immersive and embeddable technologies enable individuals to thrive while protecting their privacy?
• How can we ensure that everyone enjoys the vast benefits of these emerging technologies, especially vulnerable populations such as youth, while mitigating privacy risks?
• What emerging technologies are likely to advance rapidly in the medium to long term (5‑10 years) and what unique privacy challenges can they pose? How can regulators prepare for these challenges?
• How should privacy legislation and policies address the risks and challenges that arise from these technologies?

These are all issues that could be addressed under this year’s theme. But there are many more, and the OPC hopes applicants will come up with many more innovative and forward-thinking research or public education projects under this theme. More information can be found in the  found in the Applicant’s Guide.

Application Materials

Applications consist of three sections, outlined below. Applicants should provide answers to all questions and include any required detailed information in an appendix to the application form.

Section I. Identification of applicant. This section is completed as part of the OPC application form.

Section II. The proposal. Applicants must provide a project proposal which, once agreed to by the OPC, will serve as a basis for the contribution agreement and cash flow. The OPC does not provide a form for project proposals as such; you must write the proposal yourself,  and attach all proposal components to your application form. Detailed information on each component of the proposal can be found in the Applicant’s Guide.

Section III. Declarations. Applicants are required to answer the questions in the application form regarding the Conflict of Interest Act, the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Service, and the Lobbying Act. This section is completed as part of the OPC application form.

Submission Process

1. Complete your application according to the agency guidelines
2. To initiate internal approvals, complete the Pre-Award/Application record in RMS (https://my.rms.ucalgary.ca/), attach your completed Application, and submit for approvals from your department head and/or faculty Associate Dean (Research). NOTE: when submitting in RMS, please ensure that you allow time for academic approvals prior to the Research Services Office internal review deadline of 12:00pm on February 7, 2023
3. Once these approvals are obtained, RMS will automatically forward the Application record to Research Services for institutional review and approval.
4. Research Services will review, provide feedback (by email) if necessary, and will provide the institutional approval. If digital or wet-ink signatures are required, we will provide the capping institutional signature and will advise when ready.
5. Full Applications, including any supplementary documentation, should be submitted to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada by February 10, 2023, 11:59PM Mountain Time via email (preferred) at contrib@priv.gc.ca or by post to the following coordinates:
   
   Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
   Care of: Contributions Program
   30 Victoria Street
   Gatineau, Quebec K1A 1H3

Application deadlines

RSO detailed review deadline

RSO final internal review deadline

Program application deadline

NOTE: Consult your Faculty Associate Dean (Research) (ADR) regarding Faculty-specific deadlines and submission processes.

Principal Investigators: Complete a Research Management System (RMS) record, including a copy of your complete application, and submit this for approvals in RMS.

Approvals: The University of Calgary requires that all funding applications be approved prior to submission. Approval requires signatures via either RMS or the RFAA Trainee form, in the following order:

• Principal Investigator
• Department Head
• Faculty ADR/Dean
• Research Services (on behalf of the Vice-President Research)

Read the Meaning of Grant Signatures policy to understand what your approval means. Please see the agency guidelines for details about which signatures are required on your application, as it may differ from internal requirements.

Late submissions: Late submissions will only be accepted in cases of medical or family emergencies, or other exceptional circumstances. If you submit your RMS record to Research Services after the internal deadline has passed, you must secure additional approvals. Please read: Late Applications Process.

Resources:

Contributions Program Applicant’s Guide 2023-24. Get detailed information needed to prepare and submit a project proposal for funding under the Contributions Program.

FAQ for Contributions Program applicants. Find information about the kinds of projects the Contributions Program funds, who can apply for funding and how to apply.

Schedule A – Application form (PDF version)

Schedule B – Project budget (PDF version)

Applicants seeking further information from Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) Contributions Program may also direct their inquiries to the OPC Contributions Program via email at contrib@priv.gc.ca.