Newsrooms and freelancers eligible for funding and support
Deadline for applications: April 13
Sign up to the聽聽to keep in the loop
滨笔滨鈥檚 (IJ4EU) programme has opened two new calls for proposals, offering funding for ambitious cross-border collaborations on stories of public interest.
The calls, launched on February 12, cover two separate funding schemes.
Under the聽, journalistic teams of any configuration 鈥� including newsrooms, specialist investigative outlets and/or freelancers 鈥� can apply for grants of up to 鈧�50,000 to pursue transnational reporting projects.
IJ4EU鈥檚 parallel聽聽offers grants of up to 鈧�20,000 to teams made up predominantly of freelance journalists, alongside additional mentoring and training.
Applications for both schemes close nine weeks after the launch of the call,听on April 13 at 23:59 CET.
A further call for both schemes will open in December 2026. More details are available in the聽听补苍诲听聽sections of the IJ4EU website. Applicants can sign up to the聽聽for updates.
For the 2026/27 edition of the programme, the IJ4EU fund will聽聽to support cross-border investigative journalism as a public good. Around 鈧�1.2 million will be disbursed through the Investigation Support Scheme and 鈧�400,000 through the Freelancer Support Scheme.
A public good
As threats to media pluralism multiply, IJ4EU supports investigative reporting as a public good in the European Union and neighbouring countries.
To date, IJ4EU has disbursed more than 鈧�6 million in grants to cross-border investigations spanning an exceptionally wide range of topics, enabling hundreds of journalists to scrutinise issues affecting tens of millions of people across Europe and beyond.
Information on previously funded investigations is available in the聽聽of the IJ4EU website.
The programme is managed by a consortium of three organisations: the聽International Press Institute聽(IPI), which leads the consortium and runs the Investigation Support Scheme; the聽聽(EJC), which manages the Freelancer Support Scheme; and the聽聽(ECPMF), which runs IJ4EU鈥檚 annual聽听补苍诲听.
聽(Arena) also contributes specialist tools and technical expertise.
IJ4EU is co-funded by the聽聽of the European Commission and receives additional support from foundations including聽,听听补苍诲听.
The programme maintains聽full independence聽from donors in the selection of projects and guarantees the editorial independence of all grantees. IJ4EU鈥檚 model has been聽聽for donor-funded media without strings.
Eligibility and scope
Both funding schemes share the same聽geographical eligibility聽criteria. Applications must be submitted by teams including journalists based in聽at least two European countries聽that participate in the full聽聽of the Creative Europe Programme.
Eligible countries include聽all 27 EU member states聽as well as聽Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia and Ukraine. Eligibility is determined by residency rather than nationality.
Projects must address topics of cross-border relevance, although investigations on聽any subject聽are eligible.
The Freelancer Support Scheme is designed for teams whose members operate mainly outside newsroom structures and combines funding with tailored mentoring and training.
The Investigation Support Scheme is open to teams of any configuration that primarily require financial support to conduct their investigations.
Support and costs
Both schemes provide access to聽practical assistance聽where needed, including legal aid and digital security training to help manage real-world risks; tools designed for secure cross-border collaboration; and opportunities for peer-to-peer learning.
Teams working in聽all media formats聽鈥� including print, broadcast, online, documentary film, podcasting and multi-platform storytelling 鈥� are eligible, provided projects are intended for publication by media outlets in at least two countries.
IJ4EU grants may be used to cover聽most costs聽linked to producing journalistic content, including salary and human resource costs for employed and freelance journalists, research expenses, travel, translation and administrative costs.
Funding decisions under both schemes are made by聽聽composed of senior editors and veteran investigative journalists. Further information on the selection process and criteria is available on the聽.
Improve your chances
Prospective applicants can join an聽information webinar听辞苍听February 23 at 13:00 CET聽to learn more about the programme and ask questions.聽
You can also join an online聽Cross-Border Investigative Masterclass听辞苍听March 3 at 13:00-15:30 CET. Run by Arena for Journalism in Europe, the two-and-a-half-hour session is aimed at helping journalists develop investigative work plans and strengthen grant applications.聽
Arena also provides聽鈥渕atchmaking assistance鈥�聽for journalists seeking collaboration partners in other countries.聽聽to make a confidential request. Your answers to the questions help us to find potential collaborators, depending on the country or topic(s) you are interested in. The more people who sign up, the better the chances of finding matches. (This is a small, experimental database, so we can鈥檛 guarantee that you will find a partner.)
Next steps?
- Sign up for the聽.
- Read our聽.
- 聽for an info webinar on Monday, February 23 at 13:00 CET
- 聽to attend a free Cross-Border Investigative Masterclass on Tuesday, March 3 from 13:00 鈥� 15:30 CET.
- Apply for a grant via our聽.
Questions?
We encourage interested applicants to visit the聽聽and our聽聽before applying. If you still have questions, feel free to get in touch with us.
Contacts
General questions聽or questions related to the聽: Milica Miletic, IJ4EU project coordinator, at IPI (grants[at]ipi.media).
Questions related to the聽: Zlatina Siderova, EJC programme lead (siderova[at]ejc.net).
Questions related to the聽Cross-Border Investigative Masterclass and 鈥渕atchmaking assistance鈥�: Jonathan Stoneman, Arena Academy coordinator (jonathan[at]journalismarena.eu)