Earth Investigative Programme

This grant can be awarded to cross-border teams of professional journalists and/or news outlets to conduct investigations into environmental affairs related to Europe (all the countries, not only the EU). The resulting stories must be published in at least two outlets in two different countries, at least one must be a European media.

This is part of a larger programme: The Earth Investigations Programme supported by Arcadia.

While news media and newsrooms still predominantly operate nationally, most power structures and societal and environmental problems transcend national boundaries. This grant programme is therefore aimed at cross-border teams of investigative journalists and newsrooms to investigate and document illegal, unreported and unregulated abuse of nature that involves European affairs in and outside Europe.

Next to investigations of environmental issues that transcend borders, this programme can also support and stimulate investigations that compare local environmental issues and policies between two or more regions or cities.
The grants can also offer support to preliminary work in the development of new investigative projects.

The grant can cover working time and expenses such as logistics, travel, insurance, access to legal support, translations, access to technology and data sets, etc.

Next to financial support, teams can also apply for an experienced mentor to provide assistance with either the focus of the investigation or the need for competences in a specific skill.

More info and applications

To learn more about the eligibility and assessment criteria, timing, jury and grant conditions, as well as to apply, visit our application portal. Please be advised that if data (such as full addresses) or documents (IDs, CVs, articles of incorporation etc) are missing at the moment when. you submit your application, it will be considered ineligible. 

To get inspired and get a grasp of what kind of investigations we have supported by this grant programme so far, have a look here.

Looking for a teammate to collaborate?

Here are some tips on how to find investigative journalists in other countries to team up with.

For Who
Journalists and news outlets

Cross-border teams of at least two professional journalists and/or news outlets can submit a proposal for a journalistic investigation about an issue that concerns the environment and relates to the European continent (islands included).

How Much
€1,600,000

The total available amount per call to be distributed among all supported investigations will be around €400,000. The total budget for 2025 is €1,600,000.

The programme is supported by Arcadia.

Next deadline
23 January 2025

For this grant programme there are 20 application rounds scheduled over a period of six years (starting in January 2022)

  • The following application deadline will be Thursday 3 April 2025 at 1 pm CEST (Brussels time).
  • The next application deadline will be Thursday 24 July 2025 at 1 pm CEST (Brussels time).
  • The last deadline in 2025 will be 16 October 2025 at 1 pm CEST (Brussels time).