Funded by the Google News Initiative, in partnership with Northwestern University | Medill

The Data-Driven Reporting Project


Submissions for our
Spring 2024 Cohort Are Now Closed

Awardees will be announced in March

Here’s How to Apply


Check out the full application questions here or Join our mailing list for updates.

Office hours are available.
Feel free to book a time here or email questions to datadrivenreporting@northwestern.edu


Who can apply?

The DDRP is designed to support investigations focused on specific geographic areas and/or underrepresented communities. For the purposes of the DDRP program, “local” can be interpreted to be state-wide or even regional. 

This program is meant to support small to midsize newsrooms, if your newsroom has more than 350 full-time journalists, it is probably too large to qualify for a DDRP award; however, collaborative applications involving multiple newsrooms are welcome, even if the total number of journalists working for those newsrooms is more than 350.

While some language here may refer to organizations, freelance journalists with a proven track record are also invited to apply.

Only organizations or individuals based in the United States (including territories) and Canada are eligible for DDRP awards.

What should DDRP awards be used for?

Applications should be drafted with a specific investigation in mind. DDRP awards are not intended for general capacity-building or training. The investigation should be substantially based on documents or other datasets and should be plausibly aimed at publication within the next 12 months. Some or all of a DDRP award may be used as additional salary support (to fill in for a team member working on the investigation) or as a stipend for a freelancer.

DDRP awards may be used to fund journalism published in any language and in virtually any format: text, audio, video, interactive, etc.

What are the components of an application?

The application for a DDRP award will be an on-line form containing the following sections (see full application questions here):

  • Story memo: A description of the investigation in no more than 3000 characters. This section should focus on the news value of the investigation. It should also describe the expected publication output.

  • Data/methodology brief: A description of the documents and/or data relevant to the investigation, in no more than 3000 characters. This section should touch on how the source material might be obtained and analyzed, including an honest assessment of risks. What kind(s) of technical support would you want or need to complete this project?

  • Budget estimate: A roughly itemized breakdown of what the project will cost to complete, including which parts the DDRP award will be used to fund. Include relevant information about other sources of support, whether from other funders or from your organization.

  • Timeline: A breakdown of the main phases of the project and how long each is expected to take, and a rough target publication date.

  • Portfolio: Links to three samples of published work which demonstrate your ability to deliver work similar to what is described in the other parts of the application. If the links are behind a paywall, include access information. If you cannot provide paywall access information, provide a link to a PDF of the story. Also, for each, briefly provide relevant background.

  • References: For freelancers/independent journalists only, include three professional references—either contact information or a letter of support.

What are the evaluation criteria?

Projects will be evaluated against six main criteria.

  • Enterprise: The project is original in thought, scope, and execution. 

  • Impact: There is a clear public interest in the project.

  • Audience: The project is clear about how it and the potential publisher serve local and/or underrepresented communities.

  • Expertise: Members of the project team have a proven track record of journalistic integrity and execution. 

  • Feasibility: The project can start and deliver within the proposed timeline and have reasonable expected access documents and sources. The proposed timeline and detailed costs of the project are feasible and the team structure is reasonably set up to execute the project. 

  • Viability: What is the likelihood this project will be published.

  • Journalistic integrity: Reputation of the project team and their research, reporting, editing, etc. adhere to the highest journalistic standards.

How are applications submitted?

Submissions are accepted through an online portal - available on this site.

2024 Cohort submissions will open in January. See the full application questions here.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

What size or type of news organization are you looking to support?

The DDRP was created to offer financial and technical help to under-resourced newsrooms reporting document- or data-driven stories. Smaller newsrooms are encouraged to apply. Awards will be focused on applications that are most in need of support.

What is the average award amount?

There is no ‘maximum’ award. Awards depend on the project proposed. We anticipate most awards will range from $15,000 to $50,000 USD.

Will the DDRP fund full projects?

DDRP will only fund 80% of the overall cost of any single project. Applicants are expected to invest (financially, with staff time or otherwise) at least 20% of the project’s cost. The budget you submit with your application should clearly indicate this breakdown and the source of the 20%, whether that is other funders or in-kind costs such as salary.

What can the DDRP funds be used for?

The DDRP funds can pay for records request costs, travel expenses related to the project, contractor and staff time and external related costs such as server time or data-tools.

How long should the project take from obtaining the funding to publishing?

The plan should be for projects to publish within three to 12 months. 

When will funding be available to awardees?

Once awardees are notified , payment will be made available within six to eight weeks.

What are the expectations of awardees?

We ask that awardees participate in trainings offered by the DDRP, join a Slack group to help support each other, share the background of how their projects came together and, when possible, make the underlying documents or data public after publication.

What data and/or documents gathered in the reporting process do you expect to be shared publicly?

The spirit of the DDRP is to share data but we do not require all data to be shared if it compromises safety, violates laws, or contradicts promises made during the reporting process.

Can academic institutions apply?

Yes, academic institutions can be the lead applicant. They will need to have partner newsrooms, listed on the application form, who will publish or co-publish.

Will you fund projects that already started?

Yes, we will support projects in different stages of reporting and production. 

Can I apply for more than one project?

Yes, the DDRP will accept multiple applications from the same person or team. Each application will be reviewed individually by the jury. 

How complex do the projects have to be for consideration in terms of scope or size of the data?

The DDRP is focused on helping newsrooms do more and better investigative reporting based on data/document analysis. We realize there are a wide range of different proposals that different newsrooms might submit. We’re looking for proposals that positively impact your newsrooms and the communities they cover. What’s impactful for one newsrooms might be out of reach for another. Being overly ambitious is neither helpful nor necessary. Ask for what will make sense for your newsroom.

What is the expected timeline for the 2024 cycle of applications?

  • Application submissions will open in January 2024

  • Awardees will be notified in March 2024

(Last update: June 2, 2023).

 

Still have questions?

Office hours are available between 10:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. CDT Thursdays. Feel free to book a time here or email questions to datadrivenreporting@northwestern.edu