Call for Story Proposals for the Project “Science Communication for Water Diplomacy in the Brahmaputra”

Deadline: 10-Sep-20

IIT Guwahati, with support from The Third Pole, is offering grants to journalists based in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, and India to support in-depth stories on the ecology and the socio-economy of the transboundary Brahmaputra River basin, with a focus on regional cooperation and on vulnerable communities, aimed at helping policymakers and such communities to make better decisions.

They are inviting proposals for story grants in line with the theme of the initiative ‘Science communication for water diplomacy in the Brahmaputra’. They have a particular interest in regional cooperation in the basin and how it can be fostered through encouraging diplomatic initiatives at different levels (between media and scientists, in this initiative).

They would be interested in the documentation of local initiatives on water diplomacy as well. They are also interested in understanding the impact of changes in the basin on women and other marginalized groups (including youth, indigenous people, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities) and their ability to adapt.

They encourage stories that report on potential solutions and address how national, sub-national, and local governments, academics, civil society, and vulnerable communities are responding to challenges and can respond better. They are also highly interested in stories that utilize relevant data to illustrate the issue in a compelling and easy-to-understand way.

They are also interested in collaborative stories, with similar themes across countries to generate an understanding of the same phenomenon across the different geographical and political contexts of the river basin. They would also encourage gender to be a cross-cutting theme across the stories and would also encourage stories that would have a connection to the decision/policy-making level. They would like to encourage proposals for stories that otherwise find it difficult to see the light of the day and are looking for stories with the potential to inform policy decisions by addressing domestic or transboundary political, economic and environmental concerns.

Eligibility Criteria

Journalists (online, print, television, radio) who have a track record of reporting on international relations, political economy, human rights, climate change, deforestation, water, natural resources management, and similar issues. They encourage applications from freelancers and staff from all types of media – international, national, local and community-based. They also encourage the active participation of women journalists and preference will also be given to the journalists who live and work in the basin.
Grantees have to publish or broadcast their stories in their affiliated media. IIT Guwahati, IHE Delft, The Third Pole, and its sister websites shall have the right to edit, publish, broadcast, and distribute these stories freely, once they have been published/broadcast in the original media outlet. Freelance reporters should demonstrate a plan for publication and provide a letter of interest from an editor.
They expect to award grants averaging 1 lakh INR depending on the proposal and reporting format. They will consider larger awards for in-depth stories using innovative or investigative approaches. Applicants should provide a detailed budget with justification for the amount requested using the template provided.
They expect that stories will be produced with equipment the applicant already has access to (including cameras, lighting, tripods, laptops, etc.) and will not consider budgets that include procurement of new equipment.
They also encourage the use of multimedia and new or unique media platforms to present and share the stories. Applicants with ideas for long-form and multimedia narratives should include plans and budget for accompanying multimedia elements (i.e. video, photos) and distribution channels in their pitch.
Stories can be produced in English or local languages or both. Applicants who intend to write or produce stories in local languages need to include an English translation. Please include the cost for translation in the budget, if necessary.
Expected story lengths: Text-based stories: 2,000 to 2,500 words
Photo stories: 10-20 images with descriptive captions and a 200-400 word introduction
Multimedia package: Text between 1,000 and 1,500 words with 2-4 minute video and/or graphics, photos, and maps.
Any applicant who wishes to do a long-form text or multimedia story for an online publication should say so in the application, justifying the need for a long-form story.
Broadcast: Video piece around 4-6 minutes in length with a 30-second clip suitable for a news bulletin, and a short roughly 200-word introduction
Audio report/podcast: Feature of up to 20 minutes in length with a short text to summarise the audio.

Selection Criteria

Applicants should consider the following points when devising their story proposals:

Timing: They expect the proposed story or stories to be published by the first quarter of 2021 tentatively (there might be delays caused by the pandemic).
Relevance: Does the proposal meet the criteria and objectives? Why does this story matter and to whom? Are the main idea, context, and overall value to the target audience clearly defined?
Angle: If other media outlets have covered the story, does your proposal bring new insights into the topic or offer a fresh angle?
Impact: Does the proposal have a compelling narrative or investigative element that will inform and engage, draw attention, trigger debate, and urge action?
Innovative storytelling: The use of creative approaches and data visualization will be considered a plus.
Feasibility: Can the story be realistically completed within the given time frame? Is the budget realistic?
Diversity: They will take gender and geographical distribution into account when selecting the grantees in addition to the criteria above.
Transboundary proposals: Joint proposals by journalists from more than one basin country will be given preference.