Investigative Journalism for Europe (IJ4EU)

About IJ4EU (Investigative Journalism for Europe) is a fund that supports cross-border investigative journalism in the European Union. They provide grants to teams of journalists or news organisations in Europe investigating topics of public interest. Investigative journalism in the public interest IJ4EU’s mission is to strengthen the watchdog role of investigative journalism in Europe. Its focus on supporting cross-border projects acknowledges the increasingly transnational nature of public-interest stories. Its purpose is to foster and strengthen collaboration among EU-based journalists and newsrooms through providing them with grant funding, coaching, training, expert support and networking opportunities. It also seeks to raise the value of and incentivise quality investigative journalism through launching a new award. IJ4EU was first launched in 2018, supporting 12 projects across a diverse range of topics with €350,000 in grant funding. In 2020, IJ4EU is providing nearly €1.2 million through a combined set of measures, including two grant funding schemes, to support at least 64 new, existing and ongoing collaborative projects. Independence is a central pillar of the IJ4EU funding model. Donors to the IJ4EU fund are not permitted to influence the selection of projects and the IJ4EU project partners are committed to protecting the editorial independence of grantees.