Contraceptive Misinformation and Disinformation Grant

The Society of Family Planning is dedicated to addressing the critical issue of contraceptive misinformation and disinformation. This funding opportunity aims to support research that investigates the impact of false information on reproductive autonomy in the U.S. Researchers are encouraged to explore surveillance methods, the consequences of misinformation, and the emotional and cognitive factors influencing susceptibility. Proposals should focus on developing strategies to combat misinformation while considering diversity and inclusion principles.

Purpose
To generate research related to this topic, the Society of Family Planning is offering the Contraceptive misinformation and disinformation funding opportunity. This funding opportunity seeks to support research projects that explore the scope, consequences, and drivers of contraceptive misinformation and disinformation, with the goal of developing effective strategies to mitigate or combat their spread.
Research Focus
We invite research proposals focused on the following topics related to contraceptive misinformation and disinformation in the US:
Improving surveillance of contraceptive misinformation and disinformation. Proposals focused on understudied platforms and nontextual content are encouraged, as well as proposals using methods that provide a more comprehensive picture of the misinformation and disinformation ecosystem, such as network analysis, cross-platform surveillance techniques, spatial and temporal analysis, and/or automated techniques involving machine learning and artificial intelligence.Understanding the consequences of contraceptive misinformation and disinformation, such as how exposure shapes people’s attitudes, behaviors, relationships, and decision-making related to contraception.Understanding the role of emotion, cognition, and identity on people’s susceptibility to contraceptive misinformation and disinformation leveraging existing theoretical frameworks as relevant.
Given the rapidly evolving landscape of contraceptive misinformation and disinformation, teams must prioritize research questions with enduring relevance and be thoughtful about how findings could inform future interventions even amidst changing contexts. Please note that we are particularly interested in proposals focused on disinformation, given its significant threat in the current context. However, we also recognize the unique methodological challenges in studying disinformation and, as such, also welcome projects that address misinformation more broadly. In all cases, proposals must clearly define the scope of their research within an established framework of misinformation and disinformation.
Proposals must be positioned to produce empirical evidence with a clear, concrete, and strategic path to informing interventions, practices, and policies that mitigate or combat contraceptive misinformation and disinformation. Teams must be attentive to the Society’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Vision and the Coalition to Expand Contraceptive Access’s equity-informed principles for contraceptive access research. In addition, teams working with data related to race and racism or sex and gender should be attentive to recommendations for working with these data.
Funds and Duration
We invite proposals for research studies with budgets up to $150,000 that can be completed within 24 months. Please note that we seek to fund studies with a range of budgets within the budget maximum: concretely, we anticipate supporting up to five projects with larger budgets (eg, up to $150,000) and up to four projects with smaller budgets (eg, up to $75,000). Funding is also available to cover processing fees associated with two open-access publications, provided the work is published within two years of grant completion.

Eligibility

Grants are limited, without exception, to tax-exempt organizations.Grants will be made to organizations on behalf of a named principal investigator (PI). Proof of the agency/institution’s tax-exempt status determination letter must be included.Applicants do not need to be members of the Society. Funding is limited to projects focused on the US.

Ineligibility

Please note that this funding opportunity does not support the development and/or implementation of interventions; however, teams are welcome to explore the above topics through an existing intervention. Additionally, this funding opportunity does not support projects where clinicians are the primary study population.