The neutrality of The Sentinel Project depends entirely on how it is funded and who governs it. This page is our complete and honest answer to both questions.
The moment a cybersecurity framework becomes a revenue source for someone, it stops being trustworthy. Vendor-funded guidance recommends vendor products. Consulting-backed frameworks create dependency. Commercially sponsored research serves its sponsors.
The Sentinel Project is built on a different model. It is not a product. It is a public good. That commitment is not just a value statement, it is written into the legal structure of the organisation and the governance rights of its founding participants.
We are pursuing a non-profit structure precisely because it makes neutrality permanent, not contingent on the goodwill of any individual. A board drawn from founding participants, not from donors or commercial partners, ensures that the people who build it, govern it.
If you are considering joining The Sentinel Project, the governance model is the most important thing on this page. It determines whether the framework you are helping build will still be neutral in five years, regardless of who funds it or who leads it.
A Creative Commons licence protects the content. A non-profit board protects the organisation. Both are necessary. One without the other leaves a gap that erodes trust over time.
The firms, practitioners, and researchers who join as founding members are not donors. They are co-owners of something that belongs to the sector permanently.
No single funder, commercial, governmental, or participant-based, can exert undue influence over what gets built or how. That is not a hope. It is the structural design.
Public funding bodies have mandates that directly align with this initiative, and their grants come without commercial conditions. Once we have assembled a credible founding group, pursuing public grants is a natural and well-aligned next step.
Founding members may choose to contribute financially. Any contribution gives governance rights on the board, not influence over the framework content. The framework stays neutral regardless of who contributes.
We will not accept funding from cybersecurity vendors or technology companies with a commercial interest in the framework's recommendations. This cannot be changed by leadership alone. It requires a supermajority board vote.
On participant contributions: Financial contribution purchases a voice in how the organisation is run, board representation and governance input. It does not purchase influence over the content of the framework, the recommendations made, or the standards adopted. Those are determined by evidence and practitioner consensus only.
The Sentinel Project is being established as a registered non-profit. Its governance structure is designed to reflect its founding principle: the people who build it, own it.
Registered Non-Profit Organisation
Creative Commons Licensed
Managing partners and firm leadership
CIOs and legal tech practitioners
Researchers and legal tech academics
Professional bodies and law societies
Canada, U.S., EU at minimum
Develops and validates the framework content, playbooks, and compliance mapping
Builds assessment tools, documentation templates, and training modules
Drives adoption across jurisdictions through bar associations and professional networks
No single funder, participant, or jurisdiction controls the direction of the framework
Financial contributors receive governance rights, not content influence
Board decisions on standards require consensus across all constituencies
All funding sources and expenditure are published publicly each year
Commercial sponsorship exclusion requires a supermajority to amend
The organisation's mandate can only be changed by a supermajority of the full board
Founding members who join before incorporation have the strongest governance voice
Framework recommendations are determined by evidence and practitioner consensus only
These are the funding bodies whose mandates most directly align with The Sentinel Project. Pursuing public grants is a priority once the founding group is in place. The credibility of the initiative, the peer-reviewed research, and the participant base are the strongest assets any application can have.
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council funds peer-reviewed applied research with demonstrable public benefit, and our forthcoming CJLT publication is a direct qualifying credential. The Canadian Bar Foundation funds initiatives that advance access to justice and legal sector development in Canada.
The NCC administers the federal Cyber Security Innovation Network program and explicitly funds not-for-profit organisations working on cybersecurity research, commercialisation, and training. It has funded 86 projects totalling over $133 million since 2023. The Sentinel Project's legal sector focus and not-for-profit structure align with its mandate. (Source: ncc-cnc.ca)
CISA administers grant programmes designed to improve cybersecurity across sectors. The National Science Foundation funds applied research with measurable public benefit. Both are potential avenues once the project is formally incorporated and the research base is established.
Horizon Europe funds cross-border research and innovation with societal impact. Dr. Popowicz-Pazdej's institutional base in Poland, combined with the project's peer-reviewed research and NIS2 and GDPR scope, makes this a credible future avenue. Horizon Europe explicitly funds civil society and not-for-profit research initiatives. (Source: ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020)
The strongest funding applications, the most credible governance, and the most impactful framework all start in the same place: with the right people around the table. That is what we are building now. Join before the founding group closes.
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