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Saatja: "Monika Žalnieriūtė" <[email protected]> Saaja: "Justiits- ja Digiministeerium" <[email protected]> Teema: Invitation to join Horizon MSCA Doctoral Network CRIT-GOV-AI: Critical Governance of Public Sector AI Kuupäev: 2025-11-10 11:11 Tähelepanu! Tegemist on välisvõrgust saabunud kirjaga. Tundmatu saatja korral palume linke ja faile mitte avada. Dear Team at the Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs, I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to invite the Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs to join our MSCA Doctoral Network proposal entitled “CRIT-GOV-AI: Critical Governance of Public Sector AI” (Call: HORIZON-MSCA-2025-DN-01-01, deadline 25 November 2025), coordinated by me at Vilnius University, Faculty of Law. This call is a competitive initiative from the European Commission supporting international doctoral training through research-led consortia. It is not a procurement or tender process. We are reaching out to warmly invite your ministry to consider joining our proposed CRIT-GOV-AI network as an Associate Partner (only universities can be beneficiaries, who hire PhD students) — a role that carries no financial, legal or administrative obligations. The Lithuanian Innovation Agency (under the Lithuanian Ministry of Economics and Innovation) has already joined the project; we are also inviting authorities and agencies across Europe. It would be wonderful to have your organisation represented in this network. About CRIT-GOV-AI CRIT-GOV-AI examines how AI is reshaping public administration and democratic governance across Europe and beyond. Drawing on law, computer science, humanities, and science & technology studies, it is positioned within the emerging field of Critical AI Studies — treating AI as a form of public power embedded in institutional and administrative infrastructure. Why join? Join a dynamic European network that will train 15 Doctoral Candidates across 11 academic institutions and ~12 associate partners (including UNESCO, City of Amsterdam, EDRi, Inetum, Innovation Agency Lithuania, Danish Institute for Human Rights) — offering a strategic platform to build relationships with leading universities, non-academic organisations and policymakers. Participate as an associate partner with no financial, legal or administrative obligations, enabling full flexibility and minimal commitment while gaining full access to project opportunities. Host fully-funded secondments (3–4 months) of talented Doctoral Candidates at your organisation — at no cost to you — allowing you to tap into fresh research insights, new talent pipelines and innovation potential. Gain structured hands-on experience with Horizon Europe collaborative research projects — strengthening your future EU-funding portfolio, boosting your visibility in calls and building institutional capacity for research partnerships. Access high-competency early-stage researchers working specifically on public-sector AI governance — adding innovation resources, analytical capacity and strategic insight to your organisation without hiring overhead. Increase your visibility within a high-impact European AI governance consortium — connect directly to policy, regulatory and standard-setting dialogues; raise your profile among academic and non-academic decision-makers; and position your organisation as a leader in AI & public-governance innovation. Why the Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs? Given your ministry’s central role in planning and implementing digital society policy, organising and supervising digital development and cyber-security, and coordinating state information systems in Estonia, your participation would bring essential regulatory, institutional and strategic governance perspectives. Your involvement would anchor our research in real-policy practice and real-world institutional constraints and priorities. Network Scope The network will train 15 Doctoral Candidates across 11 academic institutions, alongside approximately 12 associate partners. The associate partner role is complementary and flexible — not a formal contractual commitment — allowing you to engage as much or as little as aligns with your priorities and capacity. Research Clusters • Legal Frameworks & Foundational Values • Institutional Infrastructures • Futures of Governance Optional Ways to Engage (fully voluntary) • optionally hosting short secondments (3–4 months) — fully funded by the network • optionally participating in network training activities • optionally co-supervising a Doctoral Candidate • optionally joining the External Advisory Board Key Clarifications • The associate-partner role involves no financial, legal or administrative obligations. • All placements are fully funded by the network — there is no cost to your ministry. • You retain full discretion to accept or decline any activity. Next Steps I attach a 2-page consortium and project summary. Should you be interested, I would be very glad to share a short Associate Partner Form and include your organisation’s name in the draft proposal (no signed letters are required — simply a contact person and e-mail address). Thank you very much for considering this invitation — your involvement would significantly strengthen the network’s policy relevance and strategic public-governance dimension. With kind regards, Monika Coordinator, CRIT-GOV-AI: Critical Governance of Public Sector AI Vilnius University, Faculty of Law -- Dr. Monika Zalnieriute Research Professor Vilnius University Faculty of Law Saulėtekio al. 9, LT-10222, Vilnius, Lithuania [email protected] My publications are available freely on SSRN: ssrn.com/author=937656 Get in touch @mzalnieriute MARIE SKŁODOWSKA-CURIE ACTIONS Doctoral Networks (DN) Call: HORIZON-MSCA-2025-DN-01-01 EU deadline 25 Nov 2025 CRIT-GOV-A Critical Governance of Public Sector AI The CRIT-GOV-AI Doctoral Network investigates how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming European public institutions. Coordinated by Vilnius University (VU), the network will bring together leading academic institutions and non-academic partners — including public authorities, international organizations, regulatory bodies, NGOs, and civic-tech organisations — to train 15 Doctoral Candidates (DCs) capable of shaping critical, accountable, rights-based governance of AI in the public sector. Across Europe, AI decision-making systems increasingly influence how governments deliver welfare, justice and control migration. These developments raise profound questions about legitimacy, transparency, accountability of public actors. Grounded in critical AI studies, CRIT-GOV-AI responds by developing an integrated framework of Critical AI Governance, combining law, computer science, humanities, science and technology studies (STS) to examine AI not merely as a technical instrument but as a form of public power embedded in bureaucratic and institutional processes. The research network will be organised into three thematic clusters (subject to discussion and changes by the consortium supervisors): Cluster A: Legal Frameworks & Foundational Values (WP1): Doctrinal, normative and comparative legal and philosophical analysis of how public sector AI reshapes the foundational values of EU law and democracy, informed by critical AI studies. Potential Doctoral Projects (subject to changes offered by potential supervisors): • DC1 – AI Decision-Making and Procedural Safeguards in EU Administrative Law • DC2 – Rule of Law and Judicial Review in Automated Public Administration • DC3 – Equality and Non-Discrimination in Public-Sector AI: A Comparative Study • DC4 – Autonomy, Dignity, and Human Oversight in Automated Administrative Decision-Making • DC5 – Access to Justice and Redress in the Age of AI Cluster B: Institutional Infrastructures (WP2): Empirical and critical analyses of how AI systems transform public-sector practices and infrastructures. Potential Doctoral Projects (subject to changes offered by potential supervisors): • DC6 – Postcolonial and Decolonial Perspectives of Public AI Infrastructures • DC7 – Gender and Queer Perspectives Perspectives of Public AI Infrastructures • DC8 – Automated Migration Control • DC9 – Institutional Accountability in Algorithmic Welfare Systems • DC10 – Automated Law Enforecement / Policing and Institutional Transformation • DC11 – AI in Judicial Decision-Making: Institutional Logics and Legal Legitimacy Cluster C: Futures of Governance (WP3): Participatory, anticipatory, and justice-oriented approaches to governing AI in the public sector, rooted in critical theory. Potential Doctoral Projects (subject to changes offered by potential supervisors): • DC12 – Embedding Epistemic Justice in Public AI Systems • DC13 – Participatory Co-Design of Public AI Systems  • DC14 – Civic Oversight Architectures for Public-Sector AI • DC15 – Futures of Algorithmic Legitimacy: Scenario Planning for 2035 • DC16 – AI Procurement and the Public Interest • DC17 – Legal-Tech Interfaces and Auditability of Public AI Methodologically, CRIT-GOV-AI will integrate doctrinal legal research, socio-legal fieldwork, institutional ethnography, computer science and engineering, participatory co-design, and foresight studies. This interdisciplinary approach ensures that each DC project contributes both conceptual depth and empirical insight into the evolving governance of AI in public administration. The training programme combines local doctoral curricula with three network-wide training workshops and cross-sectoral secondments hosted by partners such as UNESCO, the OECD, AlgorithmWatch, Privacy International, MyData Global, Inetum, Supreme Court of Lithuania, Metropolitan Police, City of Helsinki, among others. Fellows will acquire advanced skills in critical research, research ethics, open science, policy communication, and public engagement, preparing them for careers across academia, governance, and civil society. Item Details Coordinator Prof. Monika Zalnieriute Vilnius University (Faculty of Law, Lithuania) Academic Vilnius University (VU, Faculty of Law), University of Amsterdam (UvA, Critical Media Studies), Beneficiaries University of Oxford (Ox, Oxford Internet Institute), Koç University (KU, Computer Engineering Department,) Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB, LSTS), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU, Department of Information Security and Communication Technology), Trinity College Dublin (TCD, ADAPT Centre), Goldsmiths, University of London (Goldsmiths, Media and Cultural Studies), Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences (LCSS, Institute of Sociology), University of Helsinki (UoH, Legal Tech Lab), University of Edinburgh (Centre for Technomoral Futures in the Edinburgh Futures Institute), Technical University of Munich (TUM, Ethical Data Initiative and TUM Public Science Lab). Associated Innovation Agency Lithuania (GovTech Lab, LT), Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR, DK), IO Partners Justice (Mexico), Ada Lovelace Institute (UK), European Digital Rights (EDRi, BE)), Refugee Law Lab (Canada), Sedicii (IE), European Confederation of Police (EuroCOP, BE), Supreme Court of Lithuania (SCL, LT), Inetum (ES), European Centre for Digital Rights, AT, NOYB), Neurotechnology (LT), UNESCO (INT), Forum Virium Helsinki (FI), Midlaier (NO), Privacy International (UK), European Judicial Training Network (EJTN), Provincia Autonoma di Trento (PAT). Additional partners are sought with advice from beneficiaries. Doctoral 15 (distributed across 3 thematic clusters; 17 individual DC projects drafted, subject to exact Candidates (DCs) supervisory team and supervisor directions. Project Duration 48 months, DCs are employed for 36 months (DC funding covers 36 months only). EU Funding Every beneficiary (but not associate partners) is funded by the EU per each DC hosted, including funding for their salary, research & training, as well as indirect management costs. Associate partnership does not entail financial or administrative duties. Associate Partners No administrative or financial commitment, no signed letters, flexible degree of involvement subject to partner’s needs. Seconded DCs are funded through the network at no cost to associate partners. Consortium For network wide events and coordination, coordinating partner reserves 50% of research & training Agreement and management costs allocated to each beneficiary. Contact [email protected] It would be great to be working with you on this project, With warm regards, Monika Zalnieriute Coordinator, CRIT-GOV-AI: Critical Governance of Public Sector AI Professor, Faculty of Law, Vilnius University [email protected]