This grant supports collaborative investigative projects led by Dutch-speaking and French-speaking Belgian journalists who work together on local issues of national importance. The aim is to produce multilingual journalism that reveals how issues arise on both sides of the language border and brings communities closer together. 

For other language, select below...

Dutch. French.

Overview and Key Criteria

The Belgian Bridge programme supports collaborative investigative projects led by Dutch-speaking and French-speaking journalists based in Belgium who work together on local issues of national importance.

The investigations supported must result in publications in at least two Belgian media outlets, one in French and one in Dutch.

Your proposal must include a hypothesis and proposed methodology for a journalistic investigation, as well as a detailed budget.

The financial support provided under this programme may cover costs related to working time and a range of expenses, including logistics, insurance, legal assistance, and access to technology and data sets.

Grant Rules

Please read the following information carefully before starting your application:

  • Rules and eligibility criteria for the Belgian Bridge journalism grant
  • General rules for the awarding of grants by Journalismfund Europe.

The Belgian Bridge journalism grant programme is supported by the King Baudouin Foundation.

Thematic Focus

  • Projects must address an issue that is rooted in the local community but also has broader relevance beyond the community.
  • Applicants must demonstrate a participatory approach. The local population must be able to express themselves through interviews, listening sessions, public conversations, and other formats that highlight local knowledge and perspectives.
  • It is essential that the final result be published in the media of both language communities, in equivalent formats and, if possible, at the same time.
  • Teams should briefly reflect on what they hope to learn from each other. Differences in journalistic traditions, reporting cultures, editorial expectations, and audience perspectives could contribute to the added value of the project.

Building a Team and Establishing Successful Collaboration

We have some tips for finding investigative journalists to collaborate with, as well as recommendations from our fellows and other experts on how to make this collaboration work. You can find them here.

More Information

For full details on eligibility and evaluation criteria, the schedule, the jury, and the conditions for awarding grants, please visit our application portal.

Please note that if any information (such as full addresses) or documents (ID, CV, articles of incorporation) are missing when you submit your application, it will be considered inadmissible.

Need help?

We are interested in your ideas and are available to answer any questions you may have. Please feel free to contact us by:

King Baudouin Foundation
© King Baudouin Foundation
The Belgian Bridge
@ Journalismfund Europe
Apply here

For who

Professional Journalists

Teams must include at least one Dutch-speaking journalist and one French-speaking journalist (or bilingual journalist).

Applicants must be legally residing in Belgium.

How much

€100,000

The amount available per call to be distributed among all supported investigations: €50,000 per call. There will be two calls.

The programme is supported by the King Baudouin Foundation.

Next deadline

26 February 2026, 13:00 CET

Two application cycles are planned for this grant programme in 2026:

  • Thursday, 26 February, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. CET (Brussels time)
  • The next will be Thursday, June 25, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. CET (Brussels time)