CFI AGILE Call for Proposals — Collaborative Reporting Initiatives

Who can apply

• Legally registered organisations established in a currently open eligible country
• Media organisations participating in partnership with a civil society organisation or community representative
• Civil society organisations participating in partnership with a media organisation or professional journalist
• Partnerships involving at least one professional journalist and at least one civil society organisation or community representative
• Community-based or civil society actors working with eligible journalism partners
• Partnerships able to designate one legally registered organisation as the lead applicant
• Lead applicants with sufficient administrative and financial capacity to manage the grant
• Organisations directly responsible for preparing and managing the proposed project

Focus areas

• Human rights
• Freedom of expression
• Community-centred journalism
• Public-interest journalism
• Marginalised and underserved communities
• Access to reliable information
• Representation of marginalised communities in media
• Community participation in storytelling
• Access to public services
• Governance and accountability
• Social issues
• Economic issues
• Environmental issues
• Misinformation and disinformation
• Community resilience to misinformation
• Investigative journalism
• In-depth reporting
• Multimedia journalism
• Fact-checking
• Inclusive journalism
• Local public-interest reporting

Requirements

• The applicant must be a legally registered legal entity.
• The lead applicant must be established in a country with a currently open submission window.
• The applicant must be directly responsible for preparation and management of the proposed project.
• The application must be submitted on behalf of a partnership involving at least one media organisation or professional journalist and at least one civil society organisation or community representative.
• One organisation must be designated as the lead applicant responsible for project management and financial reporting.
• The lead applicant must demonstrate sufficient administrative and financial capacity to manage the grant.
• Applicants may submit only one proposal under the AGILE Community Journalism Training subgrant scheme and must choose between the Community Journalism Projects call and the Collaborative Reporting Initiatives call.
• The project must produce and publish original journalistic content.
• Projects may run for no more than six months.
• Projects must end no later than 30 September 2027.
• The requested grant must not exceed €13,000.
• Project coordination and management human-resource costs must not exceed 25% of total eligible project costs.
• Indirect costs may not exceed 5% of total eligible direct costs.
• Purchases of goods or services above €5,000 excluding VAT require a transparent competitive process and three quotations.
• Projects consisting mainly of workshops, seminars or conferences are not eligible.
• Academic research without production and publication of journalistic content is not eligible.
• Advocacy or campaigning without original journalistic content is not eligible.
• Projects consisting solely of equipment purchases or organisational operating costs are not eligible.
• Applications must be submitted in English or French.

Application steps

• Review the official CFI AGILE Collaborative Reporting Initiatives call.
• Confirm that the lead applicant is established in a country with a currently open application window.
• Form a partnership involving at least one media organisation or professional journalist and at least one civil society organisation or community representative.
• Designate one legally registered organisation as the lead applicant.
• Download and complete Appendix 1 — Project Presentation Guidelines.
• Clearly define the role, responsibilities and contribution of each partnership member.
• Download and complete Appendix 2 — Project Budget Estimate.
• Prepare a budget requesting no more than €13,000 and comply with the call's human-resource and indirect-cost limits.
• Download and complete Appendix 3 — Application Form.
• Date and sign the application form.
• Attach the lead applicant's legal registration document.
• Provide the required bank details.
• Ensure the proposed reporting includes original journalistic production and a credible publication or dissemination strategy.
• Submit the complete application in English or French through the official CFI application platform.
• Uganda applicants must submit by 15 November 2026.
• Kazakhstan and Democratic Republic of the Congo applicants must submit by 28 February 2027.