Applications are now open for the Pascal Decroos Fund for Investigative Journalism to advance investigative journalism in Dutch-language media in Belgium.
The programme awards grants to distinctive journalistic projects. The grant gives experienced as well as young journalists the chance to execute their investigative ideas and by doing so, contribute to quality investigative journalism in Flanders.
Objectives
The aim of the Grant Programmes of Journalismfund.eu is facilitating investigative, cross-border and independent journalism in order to promote democracy in Europe by connecting donors and journalists without endangering the journalists’ independence.
The project will be one that, in principle, could not be realised within the remit of regular journalism – a project of great newsworthiness and depth that is simultaneously original, innovative and time-consuming.
Funding Information
In 2022, there is €265,000 to distribute over four application rounds, which means approx. €66,000 per round. The money comes from the Flemish government.
Eligibility Criteria
They encourage starters as well as experienced journalists to apply.
The results of the research must be published in a Dutch-language medium in Belgium.
Only natural persons are eligible for a grant. Depending on the Grant Programme restrictions can be made based on the residency of the applicant(s).
The applicant(s) must be working as professional journalists. Furthermore, references from individuals (editors, publishers, journalists, professors) and/or references to earlier work are essential. Journalismfund.eu reserves the right to contact references (while respecting the confidentiality of the proposal).
Students are not eligible in all Grant Programmes.
Journalists who were previously allocated a Journalismfund.eu grant can reapply, but the jury can include the result of previous grants in their evaluation of the new application.
The applicant(s) must demonstrate convincingly that the project would be unrealisable without a grant. In other words, the reason why the applicant is appealing to Journalismfund.eu should be explained.
The applicant(s) should be able to demonstrate the feasibility of the project.
A basic commitment in the form of a ‘Letter of Intent’ to publish the product from a news editor is one of the conditions1 to obtain a grant.
