Request for Proposals on Data Privacy | Digital Credit Observatory Fall 2022

The Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) is pleased to announce a second 2022 Digital Credit Observatory (DCO) Data Privacy Request for Proposals, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The DCO has has $250k to allocate towards data privacy research over the next two years, which we anticipate using to fund a total of 3-5 projects. This RFP is focused on funding original research on questions related to data privacy in the context of digital financial services (DFS) in low- and middle-income countries. Our primary interest is in funding technical proposals that investigate how privacy enhancing technologies (PETs) can be applied to digital services in LMICs. We may also fund compelling theoretical and qualitative proposals that seek to rigorously document and understand concerns regarding data privacy and identify ways to enhance data privacy protections in LMICs. While we do not have a particular disciplinary preference, the proposal must focus on data privacy, and it must have a specific focus or relevance to LMIC contexts.

Below, we’ve provided examples of the types of projects and research questions that we are most interested in. If you are unsure whether your proposal falls within the scope of this RFP, please feel free to contact digitalcredit@berkeley.edu for feedback.

• Can digital credit lending algorithms still provide accurate credit scores if the underlying data are privatized? What is the empirical tradeoff between predictive accuracy and consumer privacy in such applications?
• Can synthetic datasets, which reduce the potential for harmful fraud and leaks, still be useful for developing DFS and humanitarian applications, and for conducting social science research?
• Can Privacy Enhancing Technologies be implemented to mitigate privacy concerns that are salient in LMIC contexts without compromising approaches to fraud detection, anti-money laundering, and know-your-customer requirements?
• How can PETs be implemented in ways that empower data portability or information sharing across secure data pools? For example, to what extent can private record linkage be used to facilitate additional privacy protection? There is particular interest in applications that may reduce credit risk, pricing, social hacking risk, or further other financial sector policy goals, such as developing more interoperable digital public goods (i.e. financial switches, credit bureaus, and ID systems).