call 2026

77 potential grantees attend the second AMA session of the 2026 call
77 potential grantees attend the second AMA session of the 2026 call 2560 1707 journalismsciencealliance

The second Ask Me Anything (AMA) session of the 2026 Journalism Science Alliance (JSA) call for grants was attended by 77 potential grantees, with roughly two weeks remaining until the application deadline.

The second call for JSA grants is open until 23 March at 17:00 CET.

In total, 146 potential grantees attended the two AMA sessions regarding the current call: 69 in the first session on 5 February and 77 in the second session this Thursday, 5 March.

Both sessions were held online and began with a brief presentation about the JSA programme and the eligibility criteria for the call. The programme offers grants to support collaborations between journalists and scientists working on investigative journalism projects backed by science.

Participants were able to ask questions and receive clarifications from our team regarding eligibility criteria, programme requirements, and the application process.

This was the final AMA session of the JSA programme.

You can find more information about JSA grants on this page.

69 potential grantees in the first AMA session of the 2026 call
69 potential grantees in the first AMA session of the 2026 call 2560 1707 journalismsciencealliance

The first Ask Me Anything (AMA) session of the Journalism Science Alliance (JSA)’s current call for grants was attended by 69 potential grantees on Thursday, 5 February.

The present call for JSA grants is open until 23 March at 17:00 CET.

The session occurred online and started with a presentation about JSA and the eligibility criteria to apply for our call offering grants to support collaborations between journalists and scientists working on investigative journalism projects backed by science.

Afterwards, the participants asked questions and our team clarified doubts regarding the eligibility criteria, the requirements of the programme and the application process.

For those who were unable to attend this session but are interested in applying for JSA grants, there will be another AMA session on 5 March at 11:00 CET.

You can find more information about JSA grants on this page.

Ten tips for applicants from the Journalism Science Alliance judges
Ten tips for applicants from the Journalism Science Alliance judges 2560 1707 journalismsciencealliance

Interested in applying for a Journalism Science Alliance grant? After the evaluation of the proposals in the 2025 call, we asked our jury members for their opinions, and they kindly shared their tips for future applicants. The 2026 call is now open.

Whether you already have a well-thought-out project or just a glimpse of an idea, check out these ten pieces of advice our jury members have shared with us before submitting your application.

Tips on the project idea

  • Do pre-research to ensure there is a story to tell, and think very carefully about the angle of your investigation and your hypothesis. This is mandatory in science, and similarly important for a journalism-science project. Have a very focused question and a clear goal for your journalistic investigation.
  • Integrate the scientists into the project and give them a key role – don’t treat them as an afterthought. Make the most of the scientists’ capabilities and what they can offer to the project.
  • Identify the complementarities and synergies of the collaboration: what will you achieve together as a journalist-scientist team that you couldn’t achieve separately? What is the added value of your interaction?
  • Be innovative with the topics. Climate change, war, and health were three areas where there were a lot of proposals in Call 2025. Thinking outside the box and looking for underreported topics might be a good strategy. 
  • Sit down with the researcher and build on something truly innovative in terms of collaboration, bearing in mind that this is about investigative journalism grounded in scientific evidence – not science journalism or a research project.

Tips on the application form

  • Clarify who the scientific partner is and what contribution it brings. There must be an autonomous contribution from science to the project. This may be more challenging when social sciences are involved, but you must explicitly state the role of the scientific partner in the project.
  • Avoid overwhelming the reader with excessive information as this makes it more difficult to understand your project. The application should clearly identify your goal, method(s) and expected outcome(s).
  • Communicate your application as clearly as possible. This makes all the difference to the judging panel. Think carefully about how to present your story to someone who is reading about it for the first time, among dozens of other proposals.
  • Be as specific and concrete as possible. For a jury member it’s easier to analyse your proposal if you aremore specific regarding key points and goals and provide relevant details. Avoid generic or overly broad formulations.
  • Keep your application focused. Over-promising can undermine credibility regarding your ability to achieve the proposed objectives.

The Journalism Science Alliance thanks our judges Sanne Breimer, Adam Bychawski, Miguel Castanho, Adriana Homolova, and Daniela Ovadia for their time and support.

Learn MORE about our grants for investigative journalism backed by science and see details about the latest call for applications.

New open call for grants for investigative journalism backed by science
New open call for grants for investigative journalism backed by science 2560 1707 journalismsciencealliance

The 2026 call for applications for the Journalism Science Alliance grants opens today. Following the call in 2025, the programme, co-funded by the European Union, will award an additional one million euros in grants to journalist-scientist teams across Europe who want to develop investigative journalism projects backed by science.

These grants aim to fund, over an eight-month period, the production of high-quality investigative journalism work based on scientific evidence, with local, regional and transnational impact. The projects must address issues of public interest.

Applications will remain open until 23 March 2026, at 17:00 CET

Journalists from all media formats – print, broadcast, digital, multimedia, and documentary – and scientists from any relevant discipline are welcome to apply. Each team must include at least one media outlet (lead applicant) and one research or academic institution (co-lead), including universities.

In addition to funding, selected teams will receive mentorship, access to training sessions, and opportunities to participate in networking events with other grantees.

Teams can apply for grants of € 10 000, € 20 000 or € 50 000, depending on the scope of their project, the complexity of the proposed investigations, the number of partners involved, the nature of the tasks, and the tentative timeline.

The first call of the Journalism Science Alliance, in 2025, selected 24 projects of journalist-scientist teams from 15 countries, awarding almost one million euros in grants.

Applications must be submitted in English through the European Journalism Center Platform.

Learn here more about the Journalism Science Alliance grants and how to apply.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

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