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StoryLab Data Journalism Grant

Humber College’s StoryLab and The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, a grant-giving non-profit organization that supports independent global journalism, are pleased to announce the inaugural StoryLab Data Journalism Grant. The purpose of this grant is to support enterprise, data-driven journalism projects related to important and underserved topics affecting Canadians. For our inaugural grant, we are accepting proposals for stories related to Indigenous land and property rights. Successful applicants will be awarded up to $10,000 to pursue their investigation.

Grant Overview

We are looking for proposals from freelance journalists that use open data to reveal new perspectives on property rights issues related to indigenous land rights, transparency in land transactions and concessions, resource rights, or overlapping land use rights—just to name a few.

  • We are seeking data-driven stories that utilize the tools of the trade—spatial data, satellite imagery, 360° cameras, drones, sensors, data visualizations, and interactive maps/graphics—but ultimately how to tell the story is up to you.
  • We encourage applicants to experiment with open data from a variety of sectors, for example: health data, investment data, law enforcement data, data from offshore and illicit financial flows, agribusiness data, development aid data, or population data to reveal new stories and under-reported issues related to land tenure and property rights.
  • We will also welcome proposals that seek to vet or verify datasets related to property rights generated by NGO’s, governments, or multilateral development banks. After publication, when possible, the datasets created during this grant period will be released for the public good.
  • We will consider projects of any scope and size. Please choose a team leader to submit the proposal, and submit only one project per journalist, data design team, or newsroom.

Thank You

The 2019 StoryLab Data Journalism Grant has been awarded to Jimmy Thomson. We are not currently accepting applications at this time. Please check back again in the future for new submission opportunities.

StoryLab Data Journalism Grant FAQs

01. What does the grant cover?

Once applications have been received, a panel jury will select up to two projects to fund. The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting will award a maximum of $10,000 CAD to eligible projects; depending on the scope and quality of proposals received, this will translate to either $10,000 for one project, or $5,000 each for two projects. Applicable use of funds includes travel costs, software, satellite/GIS, or hardware costs. If you are a journalist collaborating with a data designer and/or data visual specialist, you may include consultant fees in your budget.

02. What does the grant NOT cover?

The grant cannot be used as stipends for journalists/team members. That being said, we strongly encourage journalists to pitch and/or collaborate with an existing news organization. While we are happy to provide introductions to news organizations, we will not be involved in fee negotiations (but make sure to get paid!) It’s also worth noting that journalists who are in the employ of newsrooms or are being paid by a publisher in a full-time capacity are not eligible for grant funds.

03. Who is eligible?

The StoryLab Data Journalism Grant is open to Canadian journalists or Canada-based journalists who are not in the employ of newsrooms or are being paid by a publisher in a full-time capacity. Freelance journalists are strongly encouraged to partner existing newsrooms at any point of their project (on-the-ground reporting,fact-checking, publication, etc.) so long as the grant funds are allocated according to our eligibility requirements.

04. What other support do you provide?

As Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting grantees, grant recipients will receive ongoing support over the course of their data-driven project, including networking and story promotion.