Call 1 - Media for Change, image

The Western Balkans Media for Change project invites media outlets in Serbia to apply for grants.

This regional Project implemented across the Western Balkans is delivered by a consortium led by the British Council in partnership with the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN), Thomson Foundation and INTRAC (The International NGO Training and Research Centre), and is funded by the UK Government.

The Project is announcing Call for Applications within two LOTs:

LOT 1 - Business Innovation Synergiser programme

LOT 2 - Production of quality audience-engaged content

Applicant may apply for both LOT1 and LOT2 under this Call for Applications, but only one application can be approved for a grant (either LOT 1 or LOT 2).

This LOT is tailored for established media organisations and larger outlets with a validated business idea or an already developed plan or strategy that have the capacity to absorb the support to implement the business idea/plan/strategy.

The following non-exhaustive list of activities, will be considered as eligible under LOT 1:

  • Introduction of new or upscaling existing services, types of fundraising, crowdfunding, monetization options;
  • Developing new or upscaling existing products and tools to attract and diversify audience;
  • Implementing audience/community engagement strategies that could be used to increase trust and reinforce the mission of media outlets, and could be used as a basis for a new stream of monetization;
  • Introducing or improving digital content distribution and outreach approaches sensitive to the needs and interests of their targeted audience/community with a special focus on women, youth, minorities, people aged 65yrs+, diaspora.

This LOT offers support towards production of quality engaging content created with engagement and for diverse audiences, including women, young people and underrepresented groups. 

The types of activities eligible for support should be centred around, but are not limited to: 

  • Production and publishing of quality content in various formats based on information and data obtained from the Engaged Citizens Reporting (ECR) tool. Local and cross-border investigative cooperation is encouraged. 
  • Innovative approaches and activities for engaging the audience (debates, social media campaigns, local community events, cooperation with local CSOs and others) in production of quality, investigative, fact-checked, gender-sensitive, appealing, and innovative content.
  • Innovative tools and methods for promotion of the produced content which attracts larger and more diverse audiences.

Important notes:

  • Applicant must be a legal entity / media outlet established in Serbia before 1 January 2020.
  • Applicant must prove all due taxes paid in accordance with the local legislation.
  • Applying in partnership with another media outlet / organisation for the grant application purpose is not allowed as the grant scheme is focused on building individual capacity of selected media outlets.
  • Applicant cannot be a beneficiary of UK funds or another donation or grant scheme financing activities that are identical to the ones proposed for this grant scheme.

For detailed information, Western Balkans Media for Change invites all interested parties to download the documents that are attached to this post. Please follow the instructions in each document on how to submit your application(s).

  • Deadline for applications for this Call is 14 February, 2024 at 24.00 local time.
  • Applications must be completed in English language.

Online info session

The Western Balkans Media for Change project will hold an online info session in response to this Call on Tuesday, 30 January 2024 at 14.00 hours to inform potential applicants about objectives of the Call, application process and to enable interested applicants to raise questions and receive clarifications.

Media outlets interested to attend the info session may register by sending following information - name of media outlet, name of representative(s), position(s) and email address(es), to mediagrantsserbia@britishcouncil.org.

Registration of participants is open until 14:00 hours on Monday, 29 January, allowing us the time to email the agenda and link for online session to all interested participants. The working language of the session is Serbian.

In case you missed our info session, please read the questions and answers: FAQ
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