fbpx

Tech for Good Initiative

Meta AR/VR Policy Research Request for Proposals for the Asia Pacific Region

HKU & Meta Announce the Winners of the AR/VR Policy Research in the Asia Pacific Region

Last Update: September 30, 2022 (Friday)

Centre for Civil Society and Governance of The University of Hong Kong and Meta announced the winners of the AR/VR Policy Research in the Asia Pacific region, an initiative to help nurture solution-focused research on responsible development and application of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies. This includes identifying positive approaches to inform related policy, address technical challenges, ultimately giving people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. The Request for Proposals (RFP) reaffirms the Centre’s and Meta’s vision to building strong collaborations among policymakers, experts and industry partners to develop metaverse for the society’s well-being.

The RFP was launched in August 2022 and applicants were asked to submit proposals that look into a few key areas of AR and VR, such as Economic opportunity, Privacy, Safety and integrity, Equity and inclusion, and New Use Cases. More than 60 proposals were received from 15 countries and cities across the region, and shortlisted candidates were reviewed by a selection committee. The Committee, chaired by Professor Wai-fung Lam, Director of Centre for Civil Society and Governance, and comprising academics and professionals from diverse backgrounds, have exerted their best effort in selecting excellent proposals. The grants are awarded to six winners from six countries and cities to support their research.

"Overwhelming response was received for the RFP. We have received proposals from technological advancement, ethical application to implications on laws and regulations. This reflects the keen interest in the academia and research community in the region to pursue multi-disciplinary investigation on the wide range themes of AR/VR,”
Professor Wai-fung Lam
Director of Centre for Civil Society and Governance, The University of Hong Kong
“While the metaverse promises to unlock a whole new range of economic and social opportunities and it’s only in the early stage of development. The metaverse is not going to be built by a single company; it requires collaboration amongst policymakers, experts and industry partners,” Raina Yeung, Head of Privacy and Data Policy, Engagement, APAC at Meta said. “At Meta, we want to ensure the technologies that we use to build the metaverse are safe, secure and accessible to everyone. We’re delighted to have received strong proposal ideas from researchers across Asia-Pacific who are keen to explore how we can build the metaverse responsibly. Congratulations to the award recipients, and thank you to the Centre for Civil Society and Governance of The University of Hong Kong for the partnership. We look forward to learning more from the research insights.”
Raina Yeung
Head of Privacy and Data Policy, Engagement, APAC at Facebook

  • Elderly users’ speech perception and listening effort in virtual acoustics

Dr. Justine Hui, Dr. Yusuke Hioka, Dr. Catherine Watson (University of Auckland, New Zealand) & Dr. Hinako Masuda (Seikei University, Japan)

  • Federated learning for privacy-preserving AI in Metaverse

Dr. Edith Ngai (The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong)

  • Persuasive Communication of Safety in the Metaverse to Children and Youth

Dr. Dion Hoe Lian Goh & Professor Rebecca Pe-Hui Ang (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore)

  • Regulating Sexual VAWs in Metaverse: An Interdisciplinary Diagnosis

Dr. Dyah Pitaloka, Dr. Young-Nam Seo (Monash University Malaysia, Malaysia), Dr. Indriaswati Saptaningrum (Atma Jaya Catholic University, Indonesia), Dr. Ika Idris & Dr. M Risqi Saputra (Monash University Indonesia, Indonesia)

  • Safety and boundary in a shared metaverse—a cross-cultural investigation

Dr. JihHsuan Tammy Lin (National ChengChi University, Taiwan), Dr. Yu Hao Lee (University of Florida, United States)

  • Virtual Presence Beyond the Visual: A Metaverse for the Visually Impaired

Dr. Panote Siriaraya (Kyoto Institute of Technology, Japan), Dr. Wan Jou She (Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Japan), Dr. Sulaganya Punyayodhin (Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi, Thailand)

There are 4 other research proposals that are funded separately by Meta and the Centre and will be implemented alongside with the winning projects. These include:

  • Disability in the Metaverse
    Dr. Marcus Carter (University of Sydney, Australia)
  • The Metaverse: Vehicle for Aboriginal Digital Self-Determination & Wellness
    Mr. Jasper Jerome Garay (University of Sydney, Australia)
  • Nudging for sustainability behaviour through immersive technology
    Dr. Jessica M. Williams (The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong)
  • VR Ethics: Expert Evaluations and Behavioral Insights
    Dr. Kwan Nok Chan (The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong)

A number of knowledge exchange events have been planned, including an online workshop to be organized by CCSG and the Metaverse Conference to be organized by SNU AIIS in 2023. These events aim to bring together members of interested stakeholders and the winners of this Research Initiative to discuss on the AR and VR technologies.

CCSG and Meta wish to thank all entities who submitted a proposal and congratulate the winners.

Overview

We develop technology rooted in human connection that brings people together. As we focus on helping to build the next computing platform, our work across augmented and virtual reality and consumer hardware will deepen that human connection regardless of physical distance and without being tied to devices.

The “metaverse” is a set of virtual spaces where you can create and explore with other people who aren’t in the same physical space as you. You’ll be able to hang out with friends, work, play, learn, shop, create and more. It’s not necessarily about spending more time online — it’s about making the time you do spend online more meaningful.

The metaverse isn’t a single product one company can build alone. And it won’t be built overnight. Many of these products will only be fully realized in the next 10-15 years, and gives us time to ask the difficult questions about how they should be built.

The Centre for Civil Society and Governance of The University of Hong Kong, in partnership with Meta, would like to work with the academic community in the Asia Pacific region to develop solutions-focused research to identify positive approaches in thinking through policy issues, challenges, and opportunities in the metaverse and augmented and virtual reality.

The Research Initiative, through a Request for Proposals (RFP), will result in the production of papers from academic institutions, think tanks, and research organizations registered and operational across the Asia Pacific region. Proposals will be reviewed by a selection committee, and the entities whose proposals are selected will receive a research grant.

Here are a few key areas:

  • Economic opportunity: how we can give people more choice, encourage competition, and maintain a thriving digital economy
  • Privacy: how we can minimize the amount of data that’s used, build technology to enable privacy-protective data uses, and give people transparency and control over their data
  • Safety and integrity: how we can keep people safe online and give them tools to take action or get help if they see something they’re not comfortable with
  • Equity and inclusion: how we can make sure these technologies are designed inclusively and in a way that’s accessible
  • New Use Cases:  what are new applications of immersive technology that create substantial value for people and communities

To foster further innovation in this area, and to deepen our collaboration with academia, Meta and the Centre for Civil Society and Governance of The University of Hong Kong, are pleased to invite faculty to respond to this call for research proposals pertaining to the aforementioned topics. We anticipate awarding a total of 6 awards, each in the $100,000 USD range. Payment will be made to the proposer’s host university as a grant.

The awards are funded by the Meta XR Programs and Research Fund, a two-year $50 million investment in programs and external research to help in the effort of building the metaverse responsibly.

Research Themes

how we can give people more choice, encourage competition, and maintain a thriving digital economy

  • For example / recommended research questions and topics:
    • How can we lower barriers to access to economic opportunity for creators, developers, SMBs, NGOs, and educators in the metaverse?
    • Enabling / frameworks for interoperability in the metaverse
    • Enabling / frameworks for data portability in the metaverse

how we can minimize the amount of data that’s used, build technology to enable privacy-protective data uses, and give people transparency and control over their data

  • For example / recommended research questions and topics:
    • How can the metaverse enable interoperability and data portability while keeping data secure and protecting privacy?
    • What guardrails should there be for biometric data and inferences that can be made from that data?
    • What guardrails are needed for using XR data for advertising?
    • How to preserve user privacy when recording multi-modal data that includes health indicators (e.g. heart rate, blood pressure, etc.) as well as eye tracking/kinematics/etc.?
    • Frameworks for bystander privacy in the context of wearable devices (such as AR glasses)
    • Biometrics and human computer interaction (HCI) privacy models in the context of wearables

how we can keep people safe online and give them tools to take action or get help if they see something they’re not comfortable with

  • For example / recommended research questions and topics:
    • How do we encourage community safety and well-being in the metaverse?
    • What are the main safety principles for safety, privacy, and well- being that need to be considered for developing a safe metaverse experience?
    • What are some of the key harms anticipated in relation to women’s safety, and what solutions can be proposed to address these harms?
    • What are some of the key harms anticipated in relation to child safety, and what solutions can be proposed to address these harms?
    • What are some of the specific measures needed to protect young users (minors), to enable them to have a safe and responsible metaverse experience?
    • What should the role of the government be in creating a safe environment, while still enabling industry to develop the metaverse in an innovative and responsible manner?
    • What rules or policies should govern how virtual content is created and shared, in public and private spaces?

how we can make sure these technologies are designed inclusively and in a way that’s accessible

  • For example / recommended research questions and topics:
    • How will the growing use of VR require new forms of digital literacy, specifically for the less skilled to avoid an even bigger digital divide? What could potential frameworks look like?
    • How can we increase accessibility of devices and of immersive experiences?

what are new applications of immersive technology that create substantial value for people and communities

  • For example / recommended topics and applications
    • Education, training, and skills-building
    • Wellness
    • Cultural promotion and preservation
    • Sustainability
    • Climate Resilience
    •  

To Apply

The Request for Proposals is open to accredited academic institutions, universities, or non-profit organizations registered and operational in the Asia Pacific region.

 We ask applicants to submit a 2-3-page proposal. The proposal should include:

  • A research question and a clear statement of work that can be completed within 6 months of award. Applicants are encouraged to leverage, as much as possible, regional context and local examples in their submissions.
  • A summary of the project (1-2 pages) explaining the area of focus, a description of techniques, relevant prior work, and a timeline with milestones and expected outcomes (recall that the timeline should not be more than 6 months)
  • A draft budget description (<1 page) including an approximate cost of the award and explanation of how funds would be spent. Proposals are highly encouraged to focus funding on project personnel, especially PhD students. Proposals from small collaborative teams are also encouraged. The proposed budget should be within USD 100,000 (overhead is typically limited to 5-8%). Please note that in the submission form you will be asked to provide the requested amount in USD.
  • Name(s) of the researcher(s) involved in the proposed work with their CV/resume.
  • Indication of any previous or current connections/collaborations with Meta (in which case, please provide context and name the Meta contacts).
  • Successful awardees will be listed on the Meta Research website and will be encouraged to openly publish any findings/insights from their work. Research findings will also serve as the basis for discussions for a workshop.
  • Applications should be submitted by July 26, 2022, at 11:59 PM (Hong Kong Time).
  • Enquiries may be directed to Miss Jass WU (ccsg@hku.hk).
Application closed

Eligibility

  • The proposal must comply with applicable U.S. and international laws, regulations, and policies.
  • Applicants must be current faculty or employed in a role focused on research at an accredited academic institution, university, or non-profit organization in the Asia Pacific region. Students, including PhD students, are not eligible as applicants.
  • Applicants must be the Principal Investigator on any resulting award.
  • Meta cannot consider proposals submitted, prepared, or to be carried out by individuals residing in or affiliated with an academic institution, university, or non-profit located in a country or territory subject to comprehensive U.S. trade sanctions.
  • Government officials (excluding faculty and staff of public universities, to the extent they may be considered government officials), political figures, and politically affiliated businesses (all as determined by Meta in its sole discretion) are not eligible.
  • Applicants cannot be current employees or contractors at Meta or any of its affiliated brands.

Timeline and Dates

Steps to submit a proposal: 

Request For Proposals

27 June 2022

Submission deadline

July 26, 2022, at 11:59 PM (Hong Kong)

26 July 2022

Selection of proposals

July to August 2022

Notification of result

*As we received a large number of proposals, the result announcement has been postponed.*

By end of September 2022

Fund disbursement

Payment will be made to the applicant's host institution as an unrestricted gift. 

4th Quarter of 2022

Online Roundtable

February 2023

Receipt of research papers

3rd Quarter of 2023

Terms and conditions

Meta’s decisions will be final in all matters relating to Meta RFP solicitations, including whether or not to grant an award and the interpretation of Meta RFP Terms and Conditions. By submitting a proposal, applicants affirm that they have read and agree to these Terms and Conditions.

  • Meta is authorized to evaluate proposals submitted under its RFPs, to consult with outside experts, as needed, in evaluating proposals, and to grant or deny awards using criteria determined by Meta to be appropriate and at Meta sole discretion. Meta’s decisions will be final in all matters relating to its RFPs, and applicants agree not to challenge any such decisions.
  • Meta will not be required to treat any part of a proposal as confidential or protected by copyright, and may use, edit, modify, copy, reproduce and distribute all or a portion of the proposal in any manner for the sole purposes of administering the Meta RFP website and evaluating the contents of the proposal.
  • Personal data submitted with a proposal, including name, mailing address, phone number, and email address of the applicant and other named researchers in the proposal may be collected, processed, stored and otherwise used by Meta for the purposes of administering Meta’s RFP website, evaluating the contents of the proposal, and as otherwise provided under Meta’s Privacy Policy.
  • Neither Meta nor the applicant is obligated to enter into a business transaction as a result of the proposal submission. Meta is under no obligation to review or consider the proposal.
  • Feedback provided in a proposal regarding Meta products or services will not be treated as confidential or protected by copyright, and Meta is free to use such feedback on an unrestricted basis with no compensation to the applicant. The submission of a proposal will not result in the transfer of ownership of any IP rights.
  • Applicants represent and warrant that they have authority to submit a proposal in connection with a Meta RFP and to grant the rights set forth herein on behalf of their organization. All awards provided by Meta in connection with this RFP shall be used only in accordance with applicable laws and shall not be used in any way, directly or indirectly, to facilitate any act that would constitute bribery or an illegal kickback, an illegal campaign contribution, or would otherwise violate any applicable anti-corruption or political activities law.
  • Funding for winning RFP proposals will be provided to the academic institution or non-profit with which the primary investigator/applicant is affiliated pursuant to a grant or other funding model as specified in the RFP call. Applicants understand and acknowledge that their affiliated academic institution or non-profit will need to agree to the terms and conditions of such gift or other agreement to receive funding.

  • Applicants acknowledge and agree that by submitting an application they are consenting to their name, university / organization’s name and proposal title being made public on Meta’s blog on the research.facebook.com website if they are chosen as an RFP winner or finalist. If an applicant is selected as a winner or finalist, they will then have the opportunity to provide written notification that they do not consent to the research.facebook.com blog inclusion. 

Vetting Committee Member

  • Professor Wai-Fung LAM, Director, Centre for Civil Society and Governance, The University of Hong Kong (Panel Chair)
  • Professor Haksoo KO, School of Law, Seoul National University
  • Professor Robert SPARROW, Monash Data Futures Institute, Monash University
  • Professor LEONG Tze Yun, Department of Computer Science, National University of Singapore
  • Ms Raina Yeung, Head of Privacy and Data Policy, Engagement, APAC, Meta 
  • Ms Beth Ann Lim, Director, APAC Policy Programs and Government Outreach, Meta
  • Ms Shireen Vakil, Head of Safety Policy, APAC & India, Meta
  • Ms Cindy Ball, Reality Labs Policy Manager, Meta
Facebook
Facebook
Youtube

Centre for Civil Society and Governance

Room 703, The Jockey Club Tower, 

Centennial Campus, The University of Hong Kong, 

Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong.

 Tel: 3917-4767 / 3917-4768

Fax: 2857-2521

Email: ccsg@hku.hk

Personal Information Collection Statement

Copyright 2020 Centre for Civil Society and Governance, The University of Hong Kong. All Rights Reserved.

Jenna Hand

Misinformation Policy Manager, Asia Pacific, Facebook

Jenna is a Product Policy Manager on Facebook’s Misinformation Policy team. She specialises in global health misinformation and misinformation in the Asia-Pacific region, and is based in Singapore.

Sam Traynor

Product Policy Manager, Inauthentic Behavior, Facebook

Sam Traynor is the Product Policy manager for Inauthentic behavior at Facebook. For almost the last decade he has been working in the integrity space in variety of roles and companies mainly focusing on protecting user voice, the authenticity of conversations, and the integrity of the civic process.

Meg Chang

Head of Content Regulation, Asia Pacific, Facebook

Meg Chang is the Content Regulation Policy Lead for Facebook in the APAC region. Prior to this role, she was an Elections Manager and led Facebook’s election integrity efforts across EMEA, including the European Elections, the UK general election, and the Polish parliamentary and presidential elections, among many others. Before Facebook, she was the head of operations and publisher at EUobserver, a Brussels-based EU political and investigative news outlet. She also worked as a management consultant for Global 1000 companies in North America, Europe and the Asia Pacific region. She studied politics and law at the University of Kent in the UK.

Alex Pompe

Public Policy Research Manager, Data for Good, Facebook

Alex Pompe is a Research Manager on Facebook’s Data for Good team. This team builds privacy-protecting data sets to aid response work for natural disasters and public health crises (here is a recent example from the COVID19 response: https://research.fb.com/blog/2020/06/protecting-privacy-in-facebook-mobility-data-during-the-covid-19-response/). Previously, Alex led the growth team at a startup scaling the company to 35 countries over 3 years. Prior to this he worked on access to information and Internet programs for 6 years at an international NGO called IREX; first in Ukraine, next in Namibia, and then in Washington DC. He served as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching mathematics in Namibia from 2006 to 2008. Alex holds a BS in physics from the University of Illinois, and an MS from the University of Michigan (where he also taught astrophysics.) He has served as a guest lecturer for the University of Maryland’s School of Information.

Maggie Tam

Public Policy Manager, Hong Kong, Facebook

Raina Yeung

Head of Privacy and Data Policy, Asia Pacific, Facebook

Raina is the Head of Privacy and Data Policy, Engagement, APAC for Facebook. She is a lawyer by training and is a former regulator, having previously worked at the Hong Kong Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data in the position of Assistant Privacy Commissioner (Legal, Policy & Research). Prior to joining the Hong Kong data protection authority, Raina had extensive legal in-house experience and held management positions in both Hong Kong and Shanghai. She served as the Assistant Chief Counsel – Head of Legal at Hong Kong Disneyland and was the Deputy Chief Counsel – Head of Legal at Shanghai Disney Resort during the initial construction stage of the project when she helped set up the legal function at the Shanghai Disney Resort. Raina held a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) degree from the University of Melbourne, Australia.

Kwan Nok Chan

Assistant Professor, Department of Politics and Public Administration, The University of Hong Kong

Dr. Chan’s primary research concerns the institutions that shape the consumption and distortion of information in different organizational settings. His current research explores how bureaucrats handle information and the impact of institutions on their choices.

Ongoing projects deal with different aspects of bureaucratic control in authoritarian regimes, such as administrative oversight, juridical intervention, internal reporting, and legislative decision-making.

He holds a PhD Degree in Public Policy from the O’Neill School of Public and Environment Affairs and the Department of Political Science, Indiana University Bloomington.

Winnie Law

Deputy Director and Principal Lecturer, Centre for Civil Society and Governance

Dr Winnie Law is the Deputy Director and Principal Lecturer at the Centre for Civil Society and Governance of The University of Hong Kong. She teaches undergraduate and postgraduate courses on sustainable development, community planning and environmental management. She also works with a team of researchers and conducts policy research, action research and knowledge exchange projects on rural revitalization, social innovation, community engagement and corporate sustainability. Dr Law has been a director of the Conservancy Association since 2005 and has served on a number of HKSAR Government’s advisory committees including Advisory Council for the Environment. At the regional level, Dr Law was commissioned by the EU and UNDP as a planning and social monitoring expert for their city planning and environmental management programmes in Vietnam. Dr Law was one of the invited speakers for the first TedxTongChongSt’s series on Hacking the Future and delivered a talk on Future of Sustainability in 2019.

Professor Lam
Wai-Fung Lam

Director, Centre for Civil Society and Governance

Wai-Fung (Danny) Lam is Director of the Centre for Civil Society and Governance (CCSG), and Professor in Public Administration at the University of Hong Kong. He finished his undergraduate study at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and received a Ph.D. in Public Policy from Indiana University, Bloomington. Professor Lam is an expert in common-pool resource management, institutional policy analysis, public governance, and civil society. His research has focused on the design of efficient institutional arrangements for the governance and management of public resources, a core issue in public administration and sustainable development. Professor Lam has served on the editorial committees of Public Administration Review (PAR), International Review of Administrative Sciences (IRAS), Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis (JCPA), Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly (NVSQ), and Asian Politics and Policy (APP), and is co-editor of The Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Administration (APJPA).

George Chen

Director of Public Policy, Greater China, Mongolia, and Central Asia, Facebook

George Chen joined Facebook in January 2016 as the company’s first-ever policy representative based in Hong Kong, home for Facebook in the Greater China region. Currently as the Public Policy Director for Greater China, Mongolia, and Central Asia, George serves as Facebook’s “ambassador” to engage with the people and governments across the vast and diverse regions.

Prior to Facebook, George has worked in the media sector for about 15 years. George was a 2014 Yale World Fellow and a 2015 fellow of the US State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program. George is a doctoral candidate at the University of Hong Kong where he focuses his research on freedom of expression and misinformation.