Innovation in Development Reporting Grant Programme (IDR)

"Can you tell a development story in an original and unprecedented way? Is your story inquisitive and engaging? Does it combine critical thinking with good 'old school' fact checking and an exploration of new technology developments? If so, then pitch us the heart of your story."

With an emphasis on advancing creative reporting approaches, the European Journalism Centre (EJC) provides grants for innovative development reporting in an effort to support better coverage of international development issues. The grant intends to raise awareness about issues related to the Millennium Development Goal (MDGs) by having a strong impact on media audiences in the following 9 countries: Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

The focus is on innovation in reporting, which can refer to anything that goes beyond the existing stereotypes of development coverage - a new journalistic way to present development stories, a new tool to report development stories such as a mobile app, etc.

In 2014, the average grant given will be about €20.000. In 2013, IDR supported the realisation of 28 projects. Full grants may cover direct expenses for journalistic research and study trips, possible technical costs for equipment or crew, information procurement costs (such as access to professional databases or original data gathering efforts), graphics design and visualisation, adaptation of software, and other justified costs incurred directly for the implementation of the project. Alternatively, partial grants can be made available to top up existing reporting budgets.

Once the original story has been published, all projects funded through this grant project will be further distributed via the Journalism Grants website. Publication under a Creative Commons License is encouraged, in order to allow for global and free access.

IDR is supported by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.