Call for Applications: Collaborative and Investigative Journalism Initiative

This call for applications is part of the “Collaborative and Investigative Journalism Initiative” (CIJI). CIJI aims to equip independent media outlets and individual journalists with resources, innovative networking infrastructure and standards-based methods that enable them to practice high-quality, ethical, accountable collaborative and investigative journalism.

Hubs

• This call is meant to support three regional hubs in Europe active in:
  • Bulgaria and/or Romania, with preference to organisations that already have collaborations in place with the other country.
  • Any country of the European Union as long as their work focuses on supporting journalists originally from Belarus, and/or Ukraine, and/or Russia who are legally residing in the EU as a result of the war in Ukraine and/or related to its imposed media censorship.
  • Any country of the European Union, with a preference for Central Europe (Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia), provided their work focuses on collaboration among journalists and media outlets from Western and Eastern Europe.
• The role of the hubs
  • The three regional hubs will be instrumental to independent journalists and media outlets in the respective regions that would like to build skills and expertise in pursuing and coordinating investigative and collaborative work, connect to peers and deepen their understanding of tools and methods used in investigations. The media hubs will act as CIJI area ambassadors and thus provide national/regional expertise to the consortium partners and assist in identifying relevant partners, mentors, trainers and potential grant applicants from the respective regions.
  • The media hubs will play an active role in co-creating and implementing activities envisioned under the CIJI programme, in close collaboration with CIJI consortium partners. These include, but are not limited to:
    • identifying journalists’ needs in the region
    • co-designing and hosting networking meetings for European journalists
    • offering mentorship to teams of journalists under a planned fellowship and cross-border reporting grants
    • engaging in further knowledge exchanges amongst the different regional hubs and consortium partners
    • disseminating information about the tools and opportunities for investigative journalists developed by the CIJI consortium
    • promoting CIJI consortium initiatives relevant to their region
    • participating in events on behalf of CIJI and the hubs’ regional partners

Benefits

• CIJI will award grants worth up to 50,000 EUR each to established local/regional media organisations to support their capacity to act as local/regional hubs for the community of cross-border, collaborative, and investigative journalists.
• Financial support for cross-border investigations: Ten long-term reporting grants (up to 10,000 EUR each) will be awarded to newsrooms and individual journalists to support their cross-border collaborative investigations with the potential for high societal impact.
• Fellowship and training: CIJI will offer a fellowship and training opportunities on topics like advanced collaborative journalism, digital investigation skills, and safety.
• Tools and resources: CIJI will serve as a single access point to a variety of digital investigation methods, tools, and resources such as tutorials, guides, training curricula, audio-visual material, and more. It will support skills and knowledge exchanges among its members and share best practices and case studies.
• Handbook on standards and processes: CIJI will provide a European framework by standardising and sharing ethical codes, professional principles, and guidelines, adherence to the same set of policies enabling quality journalism. Regional media hubs will also have access to a train-the-trainer programme.
• Network: CIJI will provide a collaborative environment across borders and facilitate a regional network for collaboration and peer support. Members will have opportunities to engage with fellow colleagues in their own countries, but also on a regional and European level.

Eligibility Criteria

• They welcome applications from individual organisations, as well as joint applications from consortia and regional partnerships.
  • To be considered for this call, you need to be:
    • A local/regional non-profit media organisation, a public or commercial media/newsroom, a media association and/or cooperative, or a consortium of such organisations
    • Registered, present and operational in either one of the following:
      • Bulgaria and/or Romania for the candidates applying to act as a hub in this region
      • any country of the European Union and develop activities to support journalists from Belarus, and/or Ukraine, and/or Russia who are legally residing in the EU as a result of the war in Ukraine and/or related to its imposed media censorship and foster collaboration among those
      • Any country of the European Union, with a preference for Central Europe (Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia) and develop activities to foster collaboration among journalists from Western and Eastern Europe
  • To be considered for this call, you need to have:
    • Capacity to act as an ambassador/regional media hub which can facilitate regional collaboration and exchange of best practices and resources
    • Proven track record in cross-border/regional collaborative and/or investigative journalism training, capacity building or related activities
    • Access to established local/regional networks and media institutions and journalists in all countries of their selected target region and/or beyond.

For more information, visit Free Press Unlimited (FPU).