Story Grants

Story Grants to Support Reporting on Climate and Environmental Solutions in Asia Pacific

08 January, 2025

Application Deadline

03 February, 2025, 11:59 PM (Pacific/Niue)

Accepted languages for Applications

English

EJN is offering story grants to support the production of in-depth solutions-focused media reports on environmental and climate challenges in the Asia-Pacific region. We welcome stories on scalable and replicable solutions that build community resilience to climate change and environmental degradation.

Please read the following sections carefully, as they contain important information on eligibility and the application process.

Overview

In the current moment of seemingly constant ‘bad news’ or ‘doomsday narratives’ particularly in relation to the climate and environment, selective news avoidance is becoming more common. Recent editions of Reuters Institute's Digital New Report show that coverage that is problem-, crisis- or disaster- oriented stories can lead to audience disengagement with news, globally.

Solutions journalism can help combat news avoidance. The researchers behind Internews’ Earth Journalism Network’s recent landmark study, Covering the Planet, cited existing studies on solutions journalism: they found solutions journalism is more engaging to audiences, has the potential to alleviate anxiety and other negative emotions about the news, increase trust in the media, connection and collaboration with the community, and in relation to climate in particular, elevate support for climate policy and accountability.

In assessing the state of climate and environmental journalism around the world, they pointed to studies that found stories about local impacts and solutions help people to relate climate change to their everyday lives and perceive the crisis as tangible—and solvable.

Still, among the hundreds of journalists surveyed, only 11% reported that they prioritize solutions reporting in their work, while 72% reported that they report on both problems and solutions.

"I think that people are sick and tired of reading about missed targets and how we’re all screwed and that the sea levels are going to rise, and we’re all going to die in the dark. This is not a framework under which we can motivate people to take action.” —Journalist interviewed for EJN's global research study, Covering the Planet.

One of the key recommendations from Covering the Planet was that climate and environmental journalists should cover solutions as well as problems and do so by critically evaluating and analyzing solution initiatives.

To that end, recognizing that solutions stories help combat news avoidance, deepen audience engagement—and help drive both individual and collective action—EJN’s Asia-Pacific project, with support from Sida, is pleased to offer 15-20 story grants of up to US$2000 each to support solutions-focused reporting by Asia-Pacific journalists. In addition to funding, selected journalists will receive 1:1 editorial mentorship and training on how to produce rigorous and impactful solutions journalism. They will also be supported to develop a social media strategy and amplify their reporting on social media to reach wider audiences.

Story themes

We welcome proposals that seek to robustly evaluate both the efficacy and limitations of implemented solutions and local initiatives that demonstrate resilience, applying journalistic practices of rigor and nuance.

According to the Solutions Journalism Network, a solutions story focuses on a response to a social problem – and how that response has worked (or why it hasn’t). It offers insight that makes the response relevant and accessible to others. It puts forth evidence (in the form of data or qualitative results that show effectiveness) or is transparent about the lack of evidence surrounding a particular response/solution. It reveals the limitations of the response/solution and offers informed critique of its shortcomings.

We are looking to support stories on:

Community-led solutions, private sector interventions or government policies that curb environmental degradation and biodiversity loss and lead to more inclusive conservation efforts and sustainable natural resource management
Community-led solutions, private sector interventions or government policies related to climate resilience (adaptation) and disaster preparedness or climate change mitigation
Solutions – from the grassroots community level to those negotiated at international multilateral spaces – that address the intersecting health, environmental and climate crises
Solutions that address the disproportionate impact of climate and environmental challenges on women, youth, Indigenous peoples and other marginalized groups, and/or are initiated by these groups
Investigations into false solutions that advance climate delayism narratives and or mis/disinformation.

We seek to support stories that will drive conversation and make an impact among communities and policymakers at the local, national, and regional level. We are particularly interested in cross-border collaborations and stories. Proposals that focus on scalable and replicable solutions that have not been widely covered are preferred. Issues that have already received a lot of media coverage or don't provide unique angles to environmental or climate challenges are less likely to be selected.

We are not looking for:

Stories that prescribe or advocate for a particular response
Stories that profile a particular person or organization and/or highlight solutions that are implemented by an individual rather than a collective
Stories that report ‘good news’ in an uncritical or overly optimistic way
Stories that are self-published in blogs or newsletters
Stories that are produced for civil society organizations or public relations purposes

Eligibility

We will accept applications from journalists residing in low- and middle-income countries in South Asia, East Asia and the Pacific. Journalists from countries from Central Asia are not eligible to apply.

Journalists from marginalized communities will be prioritized.

We will also accept applications from groups of journalists. Lead applicants are responsible for communicating with EJN and receiving funds on the group’s behalf, if awarded.

For the purposes of this grant opportunity, we will accept applications in English only. Applicants must either have a working understanding of English or have a translator available to assist with communication with Internews staff.

Applications are open to journalists working in any medium (online, print, television, radio) with experience covering climate and/or environmental issues. We encourage applications from freelance reporters and staff from all types of media organizations—international, national, local and community-based.

EJN reserves the right to disqualify applicants from consideration if they have been found to have engaged in unethical or improper professional conduct, including, but not limited to, plagiarism and/or submitting AI-generated content as their own.

Story logistics

We plan to issue 15-20 grants of up to US$2000 each by late February/early-March 2025 with the expectation that all stories will be published by July 31, 2025 at the latest. No extensions will be possible. Applicants should consider this timeline when drafting their work plan.

Safety: We encourage reporters to follow public health regulations and best practices for local disease outbreaks when out in the field, so you do not endanger yourself or the people you’re interviewing. We also encourage journalists to follow best practices on physical and digital safety.

Language of publication: Stories can be produced in any language. We encourage stories that are produced in local languages for local audiences. However, applicants who intend to write or produce stories in their local language need to also include an English translation, or a high-quality summary of the story in English. Please include the cost for translation in the budget, if necessary.

Story budget: All applicants are required to provide a detailed budget with justification for the amount requested using the template provided below. We ask that the budgets be reasonable and account for costs necessary for reporting, such as travel, accommodation, translation and data visualization.

Generally speaking, applications with smaller budgets will be more competitive, but we will consider larger grant amounts for stories using innovative, collaborative or investigative approaches that may be more resource-intensive and time-consuming.

We expect that proposals will largely reflect what equipment the applicant already has access to (including cameras, drones, lighting, tripods, etc.) Costs for new equipment should not exceed 10% of the total budget.

We will consider a stipend for the reporters’ salary (not to exceed more than 30% of the total budget), particularly if the applicant is a freelancer.

Acknowledgement of EJN support: Published stories and/or broadcasts must disclose EJN support by including this tagline: “This story was produced with support from Internews’ Earth Journalism Network.” Exceptions may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Republication rights: Those who are awarded grants are free to publish or broadcast their stories first in their affiliated media as long as Internews’ EJN, its partners and the grant funder are also given rights to edit, publish, broadcast and distribute them freely.

Judging criteria

Applicants should consider the following judging criteria when devising their story proposals.

Relevance: Does the proposal meet the criteria and objectives of the call? Why does this story matter and to whom? Is the main idea, context and overall value to the target audience clearly defined?

Objectivity: Is the proposed story likely to be a balanced and objective journalistic report? Journalists should take care that proposed sources represent (or at the very least, invite comment from) a diversity of stakeholders and perspectives: affected communities, scientists and researchers, policy experts and government officials and industry spokespersons. Please note: Advocacy-focused stories, opinion editorials and/or strategic communications pieces will not be considered for support.

Angle: If the story has been covered, does your proposal bring new insights to the topic or offer a fresh angle?

Impact: Does the proposal have a compelling narrative or investigative element that will inform and engage, draw attention, trigger debate and urge action?

Innovative storytelling: The use of creative approaches, multimedia and data visualization will be considered a plus.

Geographical diversity: Geographical distribution will be considered for the selection of grantees.

Outlet: Stories that will be published or broadcast by media outlets with a good reach that target local communities and policymakers are preferred. We encourage selected grantees to ensure their grant-supported stories are freely accessible to the public. If their media outlet publishes or broadcasts stories behind a paywall, we ask that the paywall be dropped for a limited time, or a gift link be shared for wider distribution. This ensures the information remains accessible to the wider public and helps achieve broader audience engagement.

Plan for timely publication: Reporters, whether freelance or employed at a media outlet, will need to include a letter of support from an editor in their application, committing to publish or broadcast their stories by July 31, 2025.

Examples of in-depth solutions-focused stories from the Asia-Pacific region

Resources

Application process

Click the ‘Apply now’ button at the top of the page.

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If you start the application and want to come back and complete it later, you can click 'Save Draft.' To return to the draft, you'll need to go back to the opportunity and click 'Apply now' again to finalize the application. Applications should provide a detailed budget in an Excel spreadsheet with justification for the amount requested. Download the budget template now by clicking on this link.

If you encounter difficulties with submitting your application or have questions about the grants, please email [email protected]. Do not contact any other Internews email regarding this opportunity, as we will not receive it.

Applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered.

Banner image: Nepal has successfully doubled its wild tiger population since 2010. This conservation success involved not only protecting the species and its habitat but also working with local communities to minimize conflict and promote coexistence. This tiger was photographed at Bardiya National Park, March 2021 / Credit: Drishtant Bidari.