Collaboration Lab for Bangladeshi Media & Civil Society

The Collaboration Lab is a small grants project for alliances of Bangladeshi media and civil society organisations (CSOs). It aims to promote collaboration on issues that are important and relevant to Bangladeshi citizens, stimulate the development of innovative solutions and facilitate knowledge exchange and mutual learning. The Collaboration Lab – as part of the project “Joining Forces: CSOs and Media for Accountability in Bangladesh” – is administered by Free Press Unlimited and ARTICLE19 Bangladesh and South Asia, and receives funding from the European Union.

Media and CSOs are invited to form alliances and jointly apply for a one-year subgrant. Each round, the Collaboration Lab is organised around a specific strategy. In this second round, the alliances are asked to submit a proposal to set up an initiative focused on producing an innovative product or tool. A selection committee will then assess the proposals and select around 10 alliances to receive a grant of maximum of 60,000 EUR. In addition to financial support, the selected alliances will have access to tailor-made capacitybuilding packages that include training and coaching on digital security, gender and inclusion, internal governance, and internal systems and procedures.

In the second round, the Collaboration Lab seeks to facilitate knowledge exchange, mutual learning and co-creation between media and CSOs in Bangladesh through the creation of professional alliances. Each alliance is encouraged to jointly produce innovative products and tools. For example, they could co-create a website that publicly monitors the number of cases of harassment against women and follows the phases in any lawsuit, an app that guides journalists and CSO activists how to file RTI requests most effectively, or the design of a systematic tracking method to monitor SDG16 indicators. Through the creation of actual joint tools or productions, the project encourages longer lasting, sustainable cooperation.

In line with Sustainable Development Goal 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions), the proposed initiative should address at least one of these five thematic areas:

• Accountability: covering transparency, corruption and illicit finance.
• Information: covering access to information, freedom of expression, right to information.
• Inclusion: covering inclusive participation of women and girls, youth, LGBTQIA+ community, people with disabilities and ethnic minority / indigenous groups.
• Digital: covering defending digital and civic spaces, combating disinformation.
• Safety: covering safety of journalists, violence against women and children, human trafficking or extrajudicial killings.

Besides this, you are encouraged to engage with any other topics that are relevant to your alliance or your community (climate, health, inflation, worker rights, etc.).

Why media and CSOs?

• CSOs play an essential role in society, as they are an important source of information for citizens and decision makers. They monitor policies and actions that impact civilians and promote accountability. They engage in advocacy and offer recommendations for sustainable solutions. They deliver essential services, defend human rights and work to create social change where needed.
• The media can promote transparency and accountability by reporting on current events. They can act as a watchdog by exposing corruption and abuse. Journalists who provide accurate, balanced and timely information that is of public interest and relevance make an essential contribution to informed decision making.

Why is collaboration important?

• Effective collaboration between the media and civil society sectors is essential to achieve social change. Together, they can build forceful cases for greater accountability and powerful advocacy.
• CSOs can share important knowledge, research and expertise with the media, and their activities can provide journalists with the opportunity to make abstract issues concrete and newsworthy. Media can generate awareness on CSO topics through its publications, which engage citizens across geographies and political lines.

Eligibility Criteria

• Alliances must consist of at least one media organisation and one CSO. One organisation will apply as the ‘lead’ organisation, responsible for signing the subgrant with Free Press Unlimited and ARTICLE19 and the overall management of the subgrant. The other organisation(s) will act as the co-applicant(s).
• Applicants eligible for financial support must be nonprofit or profit-making entities that can include media outlets, NGOs, CSOs, media development organisations or social enterprises, and must be established and registered in Bangladesh.

For more information, visit Free Press Unlimited.