Deadline: 13-Nov-2025
The Journalismfund Europe is requesting applications for its Local Cross-Border Investigative Journalism Project to address the shortage of local independent journalism by awarding grants to local investigative journalistic projects in Belgium and the Netherlands and by stimulating the cross-border collaboration.
In this way, cities in Belgium and the Netherlands could mutually strengthen each other (e.g. by forming each other’s benchmark) and as such increase the impact of the supported publications. This project aims at strengthening local cross-border, independent and investigative journalism in order to increase the availability of qualitative local news, and at making citizens more aware of local – and often interrelated and global – issues and possible solutions. As such it aims to contribute to citizens’ critical thinking, well-informed debates/decisions and to foster civic engagement.
The grant is meant for a project of great newsworthiness and depth that is simultaneously original, innovative, and time-consuming, and could not be realized through regular journalism. The assessment criteria are determined in function of the purpose of the Grant Programme, and the jury will decide on journalistic criteria, such as added value, relevance in society, originality, feasibility, and experience.
In 2025, there is €80,000 available to be distributed over four rounds, which means approximately €20,000 per round. The grants can cover working time and out-of-pocket expenses such as travel, visa, accommodation, translation, fixers, access to pay-databases, FOI requests, and legal screening. However, grants cannot cover investment goods such as IT equipment, mobile phones, or software, nor can they cover production costs, food, or per diems.
Only natural persons who are professional journalists are eligible for a grant. Freelance journalists can apply for a grant to cover their working time, but employed staff journalists can only apply for a working grant if they can prove they are not receiving wages for their work on the project. References from individuals, such as editors or professors, and/or references to earlier work are essential. Students are not eligible for all grant programmes.
The applicant must demonstrate convincingly that the project would be unrealisable without a grant. A basic commitment in the form of a ‘Letter of Intent’ to publish from a news editor is one of the conditions to obtain a grant.
The application must include personal details of all team members, an indication of the intended medium, a description of the project, an explanation of why the applicant is appealing to Journalismfund, timing, a budget, a written commitment to publish, a CV, and a copy of the identity card or passport of all team members. Application documents must be written in English and budgets expressed in EUR. The deadline for applications is 13 November 2025.
For more information, visit Journalismfund Europe.