Contributions Program
2007-2008
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) has officially launched its fourth annual Contributions Program, which will build on earlier years of the program, focus on making the most use of the research that has been funded, and coordinate our efforts in privacy research with existing research capacity in academic, not-for-profit and other sectors.
Under this year's Program, the OPC hopes to improve networking among researchers in privacy issues and encourage their participation in the many activities in which we are engaged. This year in particular, the 29th International Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners Conference will held in Montreal from September 25 to 28, 2007, and there are several related conferences taking place in Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal, to be hosted by the Information and Privacy Commissioners of B.C., Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec. This is a significant year for the Office, and we want to maximize the opportunity to develop a national privacy research capacity that will increase awareness and understanding of privacy issues among individuals and organizations.
There are three different streams of the Program this year, for which we are encouraging the submission of separate research and coordination proposals:
The protection of personal information on the Internet
Individuals, especially young people, are putting their lives up on the Internet. Pictures, videos, sound, blogs, entries on dating sites and social networking sites of all kinds, are finding their way into permanent archives of the internet, and into other organizations’ information holdings. Personal information is being posted which may come back to haunt the individuals concerned. Do people know or understand the risks involved? Who is in charge? Where does free speech stop? What responsibility do the sites have? How can we better use technologies that limit the collection of data in permanent archives and information holdings? What best practices could be implemented?
Phishing, Pharming, Spam, Identity Theft: what can data protection law and Commissioners do to control these online threats? What are individuals doing to protect themselves? What are the latest problems?
The challenges inherent in secure identification or authentication of individuals and entities
There has been much debate over the years, on the issue of national identity cards, biometric identification of individuals, and secure authentication techniques. While our understanding of the complexity of the subject and the privacy issues which arise continues to grow, we are still short of solutions. How can we deal with the privacy issues that increasingly intrusive monitoring and identification bring? What solutions exist? How can we ask organizations not to keep transactional records of their interactions with individuals, yet ensure accountability and fraud deterrence?
We are particularly interested in research that assesses practical solutions and approaches to these challenges. The OPC will be releasing a major paper on identity and authentication in the near future which may serve as a resource and further explains our questions and concerns on this topic.
The intersection of the public and private sectors
Where the Privacy Act meets PIPEDA: outsourcing of government services. What does the Canadian public know about their rights, in the age of joined-up government?
The OPC is urging Parliament to review and modernize the Privacy Act, and to make it more responsive to the needs and rights of Canadians, as well as the requirements of government. Who uses all the personal information that government is gathering, and why? So much of government service delivery involves out-sourcing to the private sector, which is subject to the higher standard of PIPEDA. What are the implications of the private sector being held to higher standards under PIPEDA than the federal government under the Privacy Act? If government outsources data to the private sector, does this mean that it might not be able to get this data back? What do citizens and public sector managers understand about the privacy management framework in which these services are delivered, the matrix of privacy impact assessment, Privacy Act oversight, and PIPEDA requirements and oversight? Does the private sector have something to teach government, in terms of best practice and procedures?
The Office will also consider requests to fund research on issues that fall outside these priority areas.
Organizations that are eligible for funding under the Program include not-for profit organizations, including educational institutions and industry and trade associations, as well as consumer, voluntary and advocacy organizations.
The maximum amount that can be awarded for any single research project is $50,000. Organizations are eligible to receive funding for only one project. Projects must be completed within the fiscal year in which the funding was provided. The deadline to submit applications is February 19, 2007.
Links to the projects completed under the previous Contributions Programs are available on the OPC Web site at: www.privcom.gc.ca/information/cp/index_e.asp
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One of the goals of this research program is to promote the awareness of different privacy research activities in Canada, with a view to reinforcing our broader public education agenda. Policy experts, practitioners, and technical experts can benefit from sharing their discoveries and observations. In order to promote these goals, we have allocated part of this year’s funding to the organization of a workshop which engages many of the researchers who have been funded under the program, and which brings them together to discuss any of the themes that have been the focus of previous or current contribution programs. Proposals must be for dates coincident with the week of the 29th International Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners Conference, taking place in Montreal, September 25-28, 2007. (see http://www.privacyconference2007.gc.ca).
The maximum amount that can be awarded for this project is $50,000. 90% of this funding must be expended on travel and accommodation for other researchers. Consideration will be given to the outreach that the proposed workshop will achieve into other communities (the public, policy makers, the private sector, etc.). Organizations are eligible to receive funding for only one project.
This project must be completed within 2007-2008, the fiscal year in which the funding was provided. The deadline to submit applications is February 19, 2007.
As indicated above, the Privacy Commissioner is hosting the 29th International Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners Conference in Montreal (www.privacyconference2007.gc.ca). At many of the past conferences, the dialogue has been greatly enriched by the presence of civil society representatives, from human rights workers to privacy advocates, civil liberties groups to consumer representatives. These groups are chronically under-funded, and even the groups in Canada would doubtless be unable to attend the conference without some assistance. This event is an unparalleled opportunity for public education and for dialogue, so the OPC has set aside funds this year to assist civil society groups to put on a one-day workshop in advance of the event, on September 25, 2007, and to attend the main conference. In order to maintain an arms-length relationship from program planning and selection of sponsored organizations, the OPC is seeking bids from groups in Canada who have demonstrated experience and interest in privacy issues, who have international partnerships, and who are capable of organizing such an event and coordinating with other groups to create a program with international and Canadian participation.
This request for proposals would cover two fiscal years, with some funds (up to a maximum of $15,000) to be granted in 2006-2007 for management and organization of a workshop, and the bulk of the funds to be expended in 2007-2008 for travel (up to $75,000) and the successful delivery of the workshop (up to $10,000).
This project must be initiated within the 2006-2007 fiscal year, and successful milestones of a workshop agenda and the concurrence of selected civil society participants completed within this fiscal year, by March 31, 2007. Further work on the materials and content must be delivered by the workshop date (September 25, 2007) and travel and expenses will be paid in accordance with an accepted plan at the end of the Conference.
The deadline to submit applications for this project is January 29, 2007.
For more information, consult the following documents:
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