Our work is made possible by the support of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and philanthropic support. Outside gifts contribute to CITAP in three ways:
Contributions to the Center. These grants may support CITAP staff, policy- or public-facing projects, conferences and events, or multiple research projects. The breadth of support makes these grants core to CITAP’s operations.
Project-specific funding. These grants or gifts support one research question through support for the researcher(s) and their collaborators, for the duration of that inquiry, or a specific event. This support does not extend beyond the specified project or contribute to CITAP’s core operations.
Data access. Our research depends on access to platform datasets, many of which are restricted by the platforms and available only at their discretion. Where our work depends on negotiated data access, we track this as a form of in-kind support.
Funding policy
To preserve academic freedom in setting research agendas, CITAP does not accept core operating support from organizations or entities that our researchers may study.
Individual researchers may accept industry support as project-specific funding where that support does not limit or detract from the goals of the research.
CITAP core supporters
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
The Knight Foundation helped establish CITAP with a five-year operating grant as part of the Knight Research Network.
Luminate
Luminate is the second founding supporter of CITAP as part of its Data & Digital Rights program.
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
The Hewlett Foundation contributed to establishing CITAP through an initial three-year grant as part of their U.S. Democracy program and renewed their support in 2022.
Project supporters
Multi-year projects are listed by the year in which the project ended, with ongoing projects listed in the current year.
2022
- Hewlett Foundation – Organizational Effectiveness grant supporting research communications at CITAP.
- Siegel Family Endowment – Siegel Fellowship supporting the work of Rachel Kuo.
2021
- Carnegie Corporation of New York – Andrew Carnegie Fellowship. Supporting research by Alice Marwick.
- Social Science Research Council – An Ecological Approach to Disinformation Spread on Social Media. Supporting research by Alice Marwick, Deen Freelon, Daniel Kreiss, and Shannon McGregor.
- Facebook – Political Identity Ownership. Supporting research by Shannon McGregor.