Funding available for research into social networking

£300,000 set aside for UK FE/HE institutions looking for technological benefits

Projects examining the benefits of social networking in learning and research environments were boosted today with the announcement that a slice of £300,000 is up for grabs to UK Further and Higher Education institutions.

The funding, made available by not-for-profit organisation Eduserv, will typically range from £30,000 to £150,000 per project. Eduserv say the scheme aims to encourage proposals that focus on technical, social or political issues that surround these emerging technologies and trends.

Eduserv have asked for research applications to investigate at least one of three areas, for example the examination of establishing an online identity in a particular community, research into the open social graph; a measured description of relationships between online personalities and communities. Studies exploring the application of mobile computing technologies towards learning and research are also being considered.

Submissions that examine all three areas are especially sought-after.

The closing date for applications is the 14th March 2008.