Call for Applications: Action Grant for Media Outlets in North Macedonia

Objectives

• The project mainly focuses on supporting large and medium size independent media outlets and journalists from the Western Balkans.
• The project seeks to increase the audience size in terms of volume, but also in terms of outreach to include harder-to-reach audiences – those that are the most vulnerable to disinformation including women, young people, diaspora, other marginalised communities, people aged 65yrs+.

Specific Objectives

• Specific objectives of the project plans to achieve through this grant scheme are as following:
  • Implement new/innovative strategies, ideas or models that support media outlets’ resilience and sustainability
  • Foster implementation of new systems, tools or products to attract, engage and diversify audiences
  • Increase production of quality, gender-sensitive and engaging content

Funding Information

• The funding available under this call for applications should fall within the following two ranges:
  • Group 1: Applicants with more than 50,000.00 GBP annual turnover and more than 10 staff members employed in the media outlet may request a grant that falls within the following range:
    • Minimum amount: 50,000.00 GBP
    • Maximum amount: 60,000.00 GBP
  • Group 2: Applicants with more than 100,000.00 GBP annual turnover and more than 15 staff members employed in the media outlet may request a grant that falls within the following range:
    • Minimum amount: 60,000.00 GBP
    • Maximum amount: 80,000.00 GBP

Duration

• The duration of the project must not exceed eleven (11) months in total.

Outcomes

• The following are the long-term outcomes that the project aims to achieve through this grant scheme
  • Larger and more diverse audiences access quality, gender-sensitive and engaging content
  • Outlets and independent journalists are more resilient and better equipped to provide quality and engaging journalism, with a focus on engagement of diverse women, youth, and underrepresented groups

Eligible Activities

• The following non-exhaustive list of activities will be considered as eligible for this call:
  • LOT 1 – Business Innovation Synergiser programme
    • This LOT is tailored for established media organisations and larger outlets with a validated business idea or an already developed plan or strategy that have the capacity to absorb the support to implement the business idea/plan/strategy
    • The following non-exhaustive list of activities, will be considered as eligible under LOT 1:
      • Introduction of new or upscaling existing services, types of fundraising, crowdfunding, monetization options;
      • Developing new or upscaling existing products and tools to attract and diversify audience;
      • Implementing audience/community engagement strategies that could be used to increase trust and reinforce the mission of media outlets, and could be used as a basis for a new stream of monetization.
  • LOT 2 – Production of quality audience-engaged content
    • This LOT offers support towards production of quality engaging content created with engagement and for diverse audiences, including women, young people and underrepresented groups.
    • The types of activities eligible for support should be centred around, but are not limited to:
      • Production and publishing of quality content in various formats based on information and data obtained from the Engaged Citizens Reporting (ECR) tool. Local and cross-border investigative cooperation is encouraged.
      • Innovative approaches and activities for engaging the audience (debates, social media campaigns, local community events, cooperation with local CSOs and others) in production of quality, investigative, fact-checked, gender-sensitive, appealing, and innovative content.
      • Innovative tools and methods for promotion of the produced content which attracts larger and more diverse audiences.

Eligibility Criteria

• The applicant must fulfil the following criteria in order to be eligible for funding under this Project:
  • Applicant must be a legal entity/media outlet established in North Macedonia, before 1 January 2020.
  • Applicant must prove all due taxes paid in accordance with the local legislation.
  • Applicant must demonstrate grant absorption capacity.
• The activities should be implemented in North Macedonia.

For more information, visit British Council.