Open Call for Investigation Support Scheme

Funding Information

• The IJ4EU grant may cover any percentage of a project’s costs, up to 100 percent of the total. Co-funding is encouraged but not mandatory. Teams must declare any existing sources of funding on their application.
• Applicants to the Investigation Support Scheme can request grants of between €5,000 and €50,000.
• To ensure that IJ4EU can fund as many high-quality projects as possible and recognizing that cross-border projects don’t necessarily have to involve many countries to have an impact they encourage applicants to think in terms of the following informal tier system, which is aimed at encouraging a diversity of budget sizes:
  • Tier 1: EUR 5,000 to 15,000 – For smaller, highly focused cross-border investigations.
  • Tier 2: EUR 15,000 to 35,000 – For cross-border investigations requiring substantial resources.
  • Tier 3: EUR 35,000 to 50,000 – For cross-border projects of exceptional scale and or complexity.

Eligible Topics

• Projects on all topics will be considered. This includes, but is not limited to, corruption, illicit enrichment and financial crime; security; democracy; human rights; the environment and climate change; migration and public health.
• The fund is dedicated to supporting a diverse range of topics and teams across Europe. They welcome projects focusing on underreported issues.
• Teams working in countries where investigative journalism is under pressure, including financial and political pressure, are especially encouraged to apply.

Eligibility Criteria

• To be eligible under the Investigation Support Scheme, applications must be sent by teams of journalists and or news organizations that meet the following criteria:
  • Teams must have members based in at least two European countries that have signed up to the full cross-sectoral strand of the European Union’s Creative Europe Programme, which provides core funding for IJ4EU.
  • Eligible countries include all 27 EU member states and the following non-EU countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia and Ukraine.
  • Eligibility is based on residency (where you live and work) and not nationality (citizenship).
  • Team members based in countries anywhere else in the world are welcome to participate, but they must be part of teams that fulfil the core geographical criteria described above.
  • Teams can comprise any combination of members including journalists working as part of newsroom structures as well as freelancers.
  • The proposed project must focus on a topic of cross-border relevance.
  • The proposed project must aim to reveal new information. Applications must justify the relevance of the investigation for the public in the target countries or for the broader European public sphere. Investigative teams already in existence or formed for an IJ4EU project are equally welcome to apply.
  • IJ4EU will consider funding all formats, including print, broadcast, online media, documentary filmmaking and multi-platform storytelling.

For more information, visit IJ4EU.