WeNet open call seeks partners to expand diversity-aware Internet platform

The WeNet consortium opened an external call for collaborators on 3 August 2021 asking small organisations and research bodies to join work on an experimental Internet platform that emphasises diversity, ethics, data protection and innovation. The open call accepts applications until 30 September 2021. Successful candidates may receive grants in the range of EUR 25 000 to EUR 50 000. At least five proposals will be selected for funding.

What WeNet is and what it wants to achieve

WeNet was launched in January 2019. The project describes itself as a platform and protocol for empowering machine mediated social interactions that are 'diversity aware'. Its stated goals include increasing the diversity of communities of users, collecting data to feed a Research Infrastructure for WeNet, and fostering an innovation community around the platform. The initiative positions itself at the intersection of social computing, artificial intelligence and human centred design.

What the open call offers and requires

Context in the EU innovation ecosystem

The WeNet open call sits within a larger European research and innovation landscape that includes the European Innovation Council and the EISMEA executive agency. Small seed grants like these are common in EU projects to fund pilots, validation activities and community outreach. The amounts available are modest compared with accelerator or scale up instruments, so applicants should frame proposals accordingly. The offer is primarily attractive for partners who can supply user communities, domain expertise, or datasets that enrich the WeNet Research Infrastructure.

Ethics, privacy and data protection considerations

Calls that involve collecting user data and experimenting with social interaction platforms must be examined in light of data protection law and research ethics. The WeNet materials stress ethics and protection of data but official safeguards and review processes are not fully described in the announcement. Applicants should prepare a robust plan to meet GDPR requirements, research ethics standards and high level security measures.

Practical assessment and realistic expectations

The funding offers a realistic route to run small scale pilots, expand participation in the WeNet Research Infrastructure and test community engagement models. The awards are not intended to fund large product builds or long term operational costs. Applicants should make clear, achievable deliverables and show how the pilot will integrate technically and ethically with the WeNet platform or RI. The announcement does not publish detailed evaluation criteria, timelines for selection or reporting obligations so applicants should request that information from the organisers.

Recommendations for applicants

Potential applicants should shape proposals to the scale of the funding and the project goals. Key elements to include are a clear description of the user community or data source you will bring, an explicit data management plan that covers consent and GDPR compliance, an ethics risk assessment, technical interoperability notes for connecting to the WeNet RI, measurable outcomes and a sustainability or follow up plan. If your project uses automated decision systems, document how you will measure and mitigate bias and how you will ensure transparency and explainability for participants.

Implications and broader risks

A platform that deliberately tries to influence social interactions raises both research opportunity and social risk. Positive outcomes include improved inclusiveness, research on diversity preserving algorithms and better understanding of mediated communication. Risks include inadvertent privacy breaches, re identification risks in pooled datasets, reinforcement of new biases through algorithmic choices and insufficient safeguards for vulnerable populations. The public funding context increases the need for transparency about methods and safeguards.

The WeNet open call is a small but visible example of EU research policy encouraging socio technical experimentation. Such experiments can be valuable when conducted with strong ethical governance and clear, public accountability. Applicants and funders should both push for clarity on data governance and outcomes reporting.

Useful links and contact

Applicants should confirm deadlines and portal requirements on the official call pages and follow guidance from the call administrators for submission. They should also factor in time for ethics and data protection reviews where required.