In the first season of Foundation, there is a whole episode with pilgrims trying to cross a scorching desert hoping for some profound vision. While I prefer the books, this struck me as a reasonable metaphor for applying for European funding. (Yes, when you are a hammer, everything looks like a metaphor for European funding.)
Every October, large parts of the European information ecosystem begin assembling consortia, negotiating projects and building budgets. Those setting out today can expect to learn their fate next August.
And so the dreaded pilgrimage begins again. Journalism Partnerships, for my money the most important call of the year, opened today alongside two others: four funding opportunities worth €20.5 million combined.
Good news first: we have updated the EU Funding Explorer. Guest view now includes the “Active EU Calls” tab, with basic information available to everyone. CSM partners also get forthcoming calls, deeper analysis and links to comparable previous projects: who won, with whom, and for what.
Journalism Partnerships has two strands. Pluralism funds intermediaries to redistribute money in smaller grants, potentially alongside training. Large institutions cannot efficiently administer hundreds of tiny awards themselves. (Disclosure: we are involved in a forthcoming project doing this.) Collaborations supports collective business, technology and production changes, making it the more natural route for many publishers.
Like some small, anxious hamster storing seeds for winter, I have been hoarding Journalism Partnerships call documents for the past few years. This week, I fed the last three editions (25-26-27) to Chat to help compare what changed. Small edits to these texts can tell you quite a lot about what the Commission wants to fund.
Most of the administrative changes arrived last year. The more revealing changes this time are in the descriptions of what the Commission wants to fund.
Below the paywall, we’ll explain
Where to compete: where we see room for newcomers, and where incumbents have an advantage.
What training Brussels wants: the new wording that reveals its priorities.
Which newsroom services could win funding: an overlooked addition to the call.