Ethics, Society and Technology -- Seed Grant CFP

Purpose

The Ethics, Society, and Technology Hub aims to implement a culture change in how Stanford prepares its students, faculty, researchers, administrators and staff to consider the ethical implications and societal consequences of technological and scientific advances. To that end, the EST Hub invites applications for funding to support collaborative work aiming to develop projects for possible external funding. 

EST Seed Grants are an opportunity for members of the Stanford community to engage in ongoing project about a specific problem, intervention, or application related to the ethical and social dimensions of scientific and technological discovery. Seed grant funding may be used to discuss and develop a promising idea, gather preliminary data, further an ongoing collaboration, or otherwise provide support that will improve a project’s chances of receiving external funding.

We invite proposals for working groups to produce advances in thinking and, ideally, fundable initiatives that address such questions, among many potential others:

• How do we collaborate across different disciplinary languages, approaches to problem solving, institutional norms, funding mechanisms?
• How do we sustain the understanding of ethical implications beyond what is taught in a particular class?
• How do we develop tools or processes to support technologists and scientists in thinking about potential downstream consequences of their discoveries?
• Should we be training students to be whistleblowers?
• How do we establish confidence in scientific discoveries?
• Whose ethics? How do we integrate race, culture, gender, religion, and politics into ethics curricula and research models?
• What can we learn from companies that are engaging in corporate social responsibility (CSR)?  Are there good models out there? And what distinguishes them from CSR that is just a public relations ploy? Are their metrics to evaluate and measure an enterprise’s or product’s success based upon ethical considerations?
• What policies should governments adopt to deal with ethical issues in emerging technologies? How should regulatory institutions be designed?

Examples of previously funded collaborative research/projects can be found on the EST Hub website.

Benefits of EST Seed Grant Participation

• New possibilities for the visibility of your work and influence on the public debate with outreach support from the Office of the President 

• Invitation to  present your work to a broader audience of staff, students, faculty and industry partners

• Opportunity to develop your ideas and connect with scholars across disciplines, schools, and industries 

Selection and Award Process

Proposals will be reviewed by the EST Hub governance committee composed of faculty from all seven schools. Applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Creativity. Proposals offer new and innovative contributions to understanding, evaluating, and/or educating about the ethical and social dimensions of scientific and technological development

• Impact. Inspires action across the University or outside the campus community

• Feasibility. Timeline and goals are realistic for developing a project eligible to apply for external funding by the end of the seed grant funding period.

Information Sessions:

The EST Hub will host two information sessions for potential applicants to learn about the EST Hub and get answers to questions about the initiative and the application process. Both sessions will take place via Zoom meeting with the EST Hub Program Manager, Ashlyn Jaeger. For either event folks are welcome to drop in and out as their schedule allows. 

• Tuesday, September 28, 2021 from 1:00-2:00PM PST - Register here to receive zoom link 
• Thursday,  October 21, 2021 from 12:00PM-1:00PM PST - Register here to receive a zoom link