Funding for new research projects exploring the consumer harms faced by diverse and disadvantaged communities, or identifying innovative solutions to these issues.
Which?, the UK’s consumer champion, is inviting UK registered charities, universities with exempt charitable status and not-for-profit Community Interest Companies registered in the UK to apply for a share of the £75,000 being made available for 2024/25.
In this call for applications, the Which? Fund is offering restricted grants to support work aiming to:
- Improve understanding of consumer harms affecting diverse and disadvantaged communities, including novel harms in digital markets
- Identify evidence-led, pragmatic solutions to consumer harm
- Develop partnerships and encourage collaborative working to provide a more powerful voice for all UK consumers
To be eligible, projects should address at least one of the following funding calls:
- Projects exploring consumer harms experienced by diverse and disadvantaged communities, such as women, people living with disabilities or health conditions, low-income households or members of diverse ethnic communities.
- Projects exploring consumer harms experienced by diverse and disadvantaged communities in digital markets, where information asymmetries, malign online choice architecture, automated decision-making, AI interfaces, dynamic pricing and other characteristics of digital markets can place consumers at a distinct disadvantage, and some groups may face greater detriment than others.
There is no set minimum or maximum grant. It is anticipated that a small number of high-quality projects will be funded. Applicants should cost their project based on what they need. It is expected that projects will take up to 12 months to complete.
Deadline: 16th September 2024, 5pm