Our activities (2015-2024)

Research activities:

During first 10 years of its operations, FREE has initiated the following research projects:

Current:

Completed:

In September 2015, a four-person research team affiliated with FREE, together with members of the Polish Association of the Blind, conducted preliminary studies and subsequently prepared a proposal for the SONATA BIS 5 competition, focused on researching the legal aspects of making online content accessible to visually impaired individuals.

From November to January 2015, FREE also conducted preliminary research on the dissemination of public sector information to society, particularly concerning the rulings of local government appeals boards. A publication resulting from this research was scheduled to appear in a monograph published by C.H. Beck in November 2016.

FREE also supported a researcher seeking to return to Poland as part of the POLONEZ research program, assisting with a proposal on filtering illegal content on the internet.

Between February and April 2016, seven researchers affiliated with FREE developed a higher education reform project as part of the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education’s Law 2.0 competition, which sought proposals for the legal framework of higher education reform. The project was rated highly, ranking fifth out of fifteen submissions, demonstrating FREE’s capacity to address complex issues such as reforming the education and research system in Poland.

In May 2016, FREE submitted a proposal for EU funding to implement a project on the reuse of public sector information to create socially useful applications. As part of this project, a lecture titled Value-Added Products Based on Public Sector Information – The User Perspective was delivered at a training session organized by the Center for IT Promotion in April 2016.

In June 2016, FREE conducted research on the legal aspects of e-learning, with results presented at the Online Educa Berlin conference in Germany in late November and early December 2016. The presentation, titled Legal Uncertainty in e-Learning Environments, aimed to disseminate knowledge about legal challenges related to e-learning.

Also in June 2016, under FREE’s auspices, a SONATA grant proposal titled The Second Life of Poet Jan Brzechwa (1898–1966): Jan Wiktor Lesman as a Pioneer of Polish and International Copyright Law was submitted to the National Science Centre.

In September 2016, researchers affiliated with FREE submitted a SONATA BIS grant proposal to the National Science Centre. The project, titled A Model for Making Online Content Accessible to Individuals with Disabilities in Accordance with National and International Law and WCAG 2.0 Guidelines, aimed to raise awareness of barriers to online content accessibility for people with disabilities.

In October 2016, FREE submitted two projects to the ONKO-GRANTS competition organized by the Polish Cancer League Foundation: Proposals for Statutory Regulation of a Central Registry of Biological Sample Resources (Central Biobank) and A Training Program for Oncology Care Coordinators Based on a New Role Model.

In 2017, FREE secured several research and educational grants. From a research perspective, FREE obtained the SONATA BIS grant titled A Model for Making Online Content Accessible to Individuals with Disabilities in Accordance with National and International Law and WCAG 2.0 Guidelines. In December, a Ph.D. candidate was selected to support the project leader, with research commencing in January 2018. FREE also completed two ONKO-GRANT projects, receiving recognition from the Polish Cancer League in January 2018 for its research contributions.

In 2018, FREE awarded its first research scholarship to Hanna Markiewicz for studies on the legal aspects of accessibility under the WCAG 2.0 grant. That year, the organization also secured an OPUS grant to research the academic legacy of Jan Brzechwa (Lesman). In addition to intensive work on the Code for the Future project across 10 Polish regions, FREE focused on its research projects, particularly those related to WCAG 2.0 standards and Lesman.

In 2018 and 2019, FREE was deeply engaged in both research projects and the massive undertaking of implementing 11 Code for the Future educational projects across 11 regions in Poland. The workload, including training and accounting efforts, far exceeded initial estimates.

In 2020, FREE published a report on the development of digital accessibility and several related publications. The project on Jan Brzechwa progressed significantly, with the team reorganized and a critical copyright law commentary discovered. The commentary, printed before being destroyed in a September 1939 bombing, had remained unpublished until then.

In 2021, FREE completed research for a monograph on Brzechwa, set for publication in 2022, and released a commentary on the Digital Accessibility Act. The organization also secured a project from the National Centre for Research and Development to develop a mobile application supporting digital signatures for visually impaired individuals.

In 2022, FREE finalized six Code for the Future projects, independently completing them despite a lack of funding from CPPC and a three-year delay in payments. FREE also began work on an NCBR-funded project to create a mobile application for digital signatures accessible to visually impaired individuals. The project, TANGO-V-A/0041/2021-00 – A Mobile Application for Digital Signatures Accessible to Visually Impaired Individuals, concluded on October 31, 2023, after producing a comprehensive 200-page concept and establishing a partnership agreement.

In 2024, FREE launched the project AI-Supported Inclusion – A Compendium of Knowledge in an Online Publication, co-funded by PFRON (application number PW9/2023/2/3228, agreement number UM/PW9/2024/2/O_WIELKOPOLSKI/4151). The project includes recorded and online debates on the application of artificial intelligence in supporting individuals with special needs and will run until the end of March 2025.