As part of this program, the GNI will fund a set of projects from around the world that meet specified criteria, with the intent of producing learning and thought leadership to share with the wider industry.

Moreover, they are proud to launch the GNI first Innovation Challenge in the Middle East, Africa & Turkey Region. The Challenge will focus on reader engagement and new business models in any form. Google will fund selected projects up to USD $150,000 and will finance up to 70% of the total project cost. Further, Special discretion on the total project cap may be by the Jury depending on the scale and impact of a very large collaborative effort.

Benefit

Google will fund up to $150k for selected projects. Special discretion on the total project cap may be considered by The Jury depending on the scale and impact of a very large collaborative effort. Google will finance up to 70% of the overall costs of the selected projects. Likewise, The remaining self-funded costs can be operational costs. Eligible expenses include personnel costs, engineering costs and the purchase or licensing of any equipment, tools, hardware, software and other assets or materials needed for the project as well as marketing expenses (capped to 20% of the total amount requested). Editorial expenses are not part of the eligible costs. Funding may not be spent on general and overhead costs.

Eligibility

• The Middle East, Africa and Turkey GNI Innovation Challenge are open to organizations of every size, including freelancers and sole traders, that aim to produce innovative, original journalism and to enlighten citizens with trustworthy journalistic content, whose projects focus on encouraging a more sustainable news ecosystem.
• Likewise, organizations must be in one of the eligible countries within the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey.
• Unincorporated organizations must be in the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey or, if unregistered, have their principal place of business based in the region.
• All ideas are welcome but they are requiring all projects to have clear indicators showing the impact of the project from a user perspective and/or from a business perspective (eg: audience indicators, business plan when relevant). Successful projects will also to be within one year.
• They encourage innovative projects – focused on but not limited to- the areas below:
  • Business Models
  • Distribution
  • Interface
  • Social
  • Workflow
• Projects can be experimental but must be measurable with well-defined goals. They encourage you to clearly underline the opportunities of the project by providing clear key performance indicators (KPIs). KPIs should have a significant digital component.