Applications call for IJ4EU Investigation Support Scheme 2020

The IJ4EU Investigation Support scheme will provide support to three types of projects: new investigative projects; new phases of existing investigative projects; or investigative projects in the early stages of developments. If you require funding to complete or publish an existing project, please see our Publication Support scheme.

Application Call

There will be two calls in 2020 under the Investigation Support scheme.

• The first call opened on 5 May 2020 and the application deadline was 14 June 2020. Successful applicants will be notified in July.
• The second call opened on 10 August 2020. The application deadline is 18 September 2020 (23:59).

General eligibility

To be eligible under the IJ4EU Investigation Support Scheme, applications must be sent by teams of journalists and/or news organizations that meet the following criteria:

• They must be based in at least two EU member states or at least one EU member state and one official EU candidate country.
• The proposed project must focus on the topic of cross-border relevance.
• Furthermore, the proposed project must be a new project, one that has only recently begun or a new phase of an existing project.

Eligible Topics

Projects on all topics will be considered. Moreover, this includes, but is not limited to, corruption, illicit enrichment, and financial crime; security, democracy, and human rights; environment and also climate change; health, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The fund is dedicated to supporting a diverse range of topics and teams across Europe. Basically, the IJ4EU Investigation Support scheme welcomes projects focusing on underreported issues. In addition, teams working in countries where investigative journalism is under pressure, including financial and political pressure, are especially encouraged to apply.

See here examples of projects that previously received IJ4EU funding.

Funding and Grants 

• Teams may request a minimum of €5,000 and a maximum of €50,000 in funding from IJ4EU. The IJ4EU grant may cover any percentage of a project’s total costs. However, co-funding is encouraged, and teams must declare any existing sources of funding on their application.
• The IJ4EU grant may be used to cover nearly any costs necessary for the production of journalistic content. This includes, but is not limited to, salary and human resource costs for both employed journalists and freelance journalists, research- and production-related costs, travel costs, and translation costs. Hardware costs (e.g., computers and video cameras) are not eligible

All applications must be submitted in English via the online Award Force platform.