CFPs: Digital Society Research Grant Programme (Malaysiya) – Cycle 2

In so doing, DSRG-funded research works provide inputs to ensure that the advancements in communications infrastructure and services contribute to the inclusion and participation of all segments of the population in the realisation of a Digitally Connected and Informed Society (Digital Society).

This grant aims to grow the evidence base necessary for the nation to optimise the advancements made in communications infrastructure and service deployment. This base will assist the development of policy, programmes, and interventions to promote the inclusion and participation of all population segments as the nation transitions towards being a fully digitally connected and informed society.

Focus Areas

• For DSRG 2024, Cycle 2, MCMC is seeking guided research projects to clarify regulatory and developmental gaps and inform actionable outcomes in the following categories:
  • Digital Citizenship and Cyberwellness (DCC) aims to clarify gap areas influencing participation, positive uptake, and wellness in an increasingly digitally dependent world.
    • Competencies and literacies
    • Risks and potential harm
    • User rights and protection
    • Consumer experience and protection
    • Awareness and self-regulation
    • Adoption
    • Interventions
    • Programme evaluation, assessment, and impact
    • Policy and regulatory implications
    • Validation and improvement
    • Communication strategies
  • Digital Inclusion (DI) seeks to clarify regulatory and developmental gaps in areas related to factors that impede equality of access and challenge the paradigm of ensuring that no one is left behind or is deprived of digital connectivity and its benefits.
    • Empowering productive use of services for “at-risk and excluded groups”
    • Access to health and assisted living services
    • Adoption
    • Interventions
    • Programme evaluation, assessment, and impact
    • Policy and regulatory implications
    • Validation and improvement
    • Communication strategies

DSRG 2024, Cycle 2 Research Titles

• DCC-1: Study on the Value Propositions and Drivers for Initiatives under each Environmental, Social, and Governance Pillar within the Communications and Multimedia Industry.
• List of research related to Digital Inclusion (DI):
  • DI-1: Impact Study on the Proficiency Certification Programmes for Cabling Provider.
  • DI-2: Study on 5G and Artificial Intelligence Adoption Challenges in Empowering the New Digital Economy.
  • DI-3: An Impact Analysis of MCMC’s Broadband Wireless Access Internet Services for Orang Asli and Rural Communities.
  • DI-4: A Study on the Viability of Digital Signature Ecosystem Interoperability through the Adoption of an Industry Common Standard Practice.
  • DI-5: Free-To-Air Channel: Uses, Motivation and Gratifications of Users in the Central Region of Peninsular Malaysia.
  • DI-6: Study on the Accessibility of Television and Radio Services for Persons with Disabilitiies.

Funding Information

• The grant amount shall depend on the type and scope of the research project and subject to the guidelines herein and may be of a sum of up to Ringgit Malaysia ten thousand (RM10,000).
• Duration of Project:
  • The term of a project is up to nine (9) months, comprising six (6) months of research activities until the submission of the research report at the end of the sixth month and three (3) months of administrative closure.
  • All research must commence within two (2) weeks of signing the Letter of Award (LOA) and stamping the same.
  • The project shall be completed according to the duration and deadlines stipulated in the LOA. Applicants shall indicate the project duration in the proposal, including each phase of work.

Eligibility Criteria

• The grant is open to full-time academic faculty members in schools of communications, social sciences, humanities, or related fields of private and public Higher Educational Institutions (HEI). Each proposal must have a Lead Researcher, subject to the general terms and conditions for granting.
• The following rules apply to the applicant:
  • Lead Researcher must hold a doctoral degree;
  • Lead Researcher must have an appointment with a local HEI for (at least) the duration of the proposed research project;
  • The salary of the researcher(s) cannot be financed from this grant;
  • The researcher(s) may request the grant on her/his behalf and on behalf of any possible project consortium; and
  • The researcher(s) is responsible for research and financial matters.
• Researcher(s) can only submit one (1) proposal as the Lead Researcher within this call, and each researcher can act no more than twice as an applicant (as Lead Researcher or co-researcher).
• The research team must comprise at least two (2) researchers (a Lead Researcher and a co-researcher).
• Researcher(s) in professions other than academia are allowed to join the research team as co-researchers to complement the expertise and with the expectation that the research product will contribute to the broader body of knowledge on the topic specified.
• The MCMC officers (including the research sponsors) cannot be included as co-researchers.

For more information, visit MCMC.