The GRID-Arendal is offering grants for investigative journalism projects focused on environmental crime in developing countries. The journalism grant program funds in-depth, investigative journalism that breaks new ground and reveals new information about environmental crime that takes place within or across developing countries.

The grant program is looking for high-impact reporting, especially on issues that are neglected by mainstream media. The program invites proposals for projects on a variety of media platforms, including print, online, audio, video, and multimedia projects. Proposals for data journalism, data visualization, and open source intelligence (OSINT) journalism are welcome. All projects must be published in English; if they are also published in one or more additional languages that would be a plus.

Currently, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the program seeks to support investigative reporting that involves little to no travel. The program will not fund projects that involve travel to indigenous, isolated, or vulnerable communities.

Successful applicants will receive half of the grant amount after signing a grant agreement, and the second half after the reporting project is submitted for publication or broadcast. The deadline for finishing a project will be six months from the signing of a grant agreement. Funded projects must note support from GRID-Arendal.

Funding Information

• Four grant recipients will each receive 25,000 Norwegian kronor (approximately €2,300).

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants must be a professional journalist, either a staff member at a media organization or a freelancer with a record of publishing work in respected outlets.
• Applicants must have experience in investigative journalism.
• Journalists from anywhere in the world are welcome to apply. The program encourages applications from candidates with diverse backgrounds.

Application Requirements

Applications are due in full at midnight Central European Time (CET) on January 22, 2021. Applications should include:

• Résumé or CV;
• 3–5 published work samples;
• Description of proposed reporting project, including plan for obtaining information and summary of preliminary research or reporting;
• Estimated budget for project, explaining what grant money would pay for;
• Estimated timeline for project;
• Publication plan, ideally including letter of commitment or letter of interest from a media outlet, and indication of whether you would publish the project in any languages other than English;
• Names and contact information for three professional references;
• Acknowledgement of any other donors or sources of funding for the project, if relevant;
• Statement about how you would operate safely during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source:https://www.grida.no/news/17