Animal Welfare and Climate Change Nexus Story Grants

Story themes

World Animal Protection is pleased to offer story grants to selected journalists from the African continent to produce in-depth or investigative stories on animal welfare in relation to environmental and climate coverage in the region.

We are specifically seeking story pitches from cross-sectoral sectors, especially stories that explore the impacts of intensive farming (factory farming) on the environment and climate effects.

Journalists may explore topics including (but not limited to):

The hidden impacts of factory farming on environmental degradation and climate change
The interdependence of factory farming on the health and wellbeing of humans, animals, and their environments (such as zoonotic diseases, environmental contamination, antimicrobial resistance, etc.) and One Health approaches to address these connected concerns in a multidisciplinary and integrated way
Efforts to protect land and marine biodiversity from the impacts of deforestation to create land for planting feed for factory farmed animals and other extractive activities
Expose the under-reported threats to wildlife, biodiversity conservation, and climate resilience; and viable, potentially scalable solutions to counter challenges posed by factory farming.
Highlight the communities threatened by air and water pollution, displacement and/or rights violations by factory farm setups.
We aim to support the production of stories that raise awareness about factory farming in relation to environmental and climate issues, amplify the voices of those most impacted, and drive meaningful conversation among communities and policymakers at the local, national, and regional level, bringing about positive change.

We encourage stories that report on potential solutions and highlight how vulnerable communities are responding to factory farming challenges. We are interested in supporting stories that use relevant data to illustrate the issue in a compelling and easy-to-understand way.

Finally, we are looking for stories with the potential to address domestic or transboundary factory farming concerns, which highlight avenues for regional cooperation to tackle factory farming in relation to climate change.

Issues that have already received a lot of media coverage or don't provide fresh angles on well-covered issues are less likely to be selected.

Story logistics

We will accept applications up to 10th October 2022. However, applicants are advised to apply early as this is a rolling deadline. All stories must be published/ produced or aired by December 15, 2022. Applicants should consider this timeline when drafting their workplan.

Safety

We encourage reporters to follow best practices for COVID-19 when out in the field, so you do not endanger yourself or the people you’re interviewing. If needed, you should include any COVID-related costs, such as tests or personal protective equipment, in your budget.

Language of publication

Stories can be produced in any language. However, applicants who intend to write or produce stories in their local language need to also include an English translation. Please include the cost of translation in the budget.

Story budget

All applicants are required to provide a detailed budget with justification for the amount requested using the template provided below. We ask that the budgets be reasonable and account for costs necessary for reporting, such as travel, accommodation, translation, and data visualization. Please also note on your budget form if you are receiving funding from any other donors for the story.

We will consider larger grant amounts for stories using innovative, collaborative, or investigative approaches that may be more resource-intensive and time-consuming.

We expect that proposals will largely reflect what equipment the applicant already has access to (including cameras, drones, lighting, tripods, etc.) and will not consider budgets that heavily focus on purchasing new equipment.

We will consider a stipend for the reporter's salary, particularly if the applicant is a freelancer. Please estimate the time you’ll need to complete this story and propose compensation that you believe reflects a fair market rate. We ask, however, that this comprises no more than 30% of the total budget.

Acknowledgement of World Animal Protection support: Published stories and/or broadcasts must disclose World Animal Protection support by including this tagline: "This story was produced with support from World Animal Protection."

Republication rights: Those who are awarded grants are free to publish or broadcast their stories first in their affiliated media as long as World Animal Protection is also given rights to edit, publish, broadcast, and distribute them freely.

Eligibility

For the purposes of this grant call, we are accepting applications from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Egypt, Zambia, South Africa, Ghana, and Nigeria.

Groups of journalists, including those from different countries, are eligible. However, the application must be made in the name of one lead applicant. Lead applicants are responsible for communicating with World Animal Protection and receiving funds on the group’s behalf, if awarded.

For the purposes of this grant opportunity, we will accept applications only in English. Unfortunately, we do not have the capacity to consider applications in other languages at this time. Applicants must either have a working understanding of English or have a translator available to assist with communication with World Animal Protection staff.

Applications are open to journalists working in any medium (online, print, television, radio, and multimedia) and other expert media practitioners with professional reporting experience. We welcome applications from early-career journalists and experienced reporters with a track record of reporting on health, agriculture, and environmental issues. We encourage applications from freelance reporters and staff from all types of media organizations—international, national, local, and community-based.

World Animal Protection reserves the right to disqualify applicants from consideration if they have been found to have engaged in unethical or improper professional conduct.

Judging criteria

Applicants should consider the following points when devising their story proposals.

Relevance: Does the proposal meet the criteria and objectives of the call? Why does this story matter and to whom? Is the main idea, context, and overall value to the target audience clearly defined?
Angle: If the story has been covered, does your proposal bring new insights to the topic or offer a fresh angle?
Impact: Does the proposal have a compelling narrative or investigative element that will inform and engage, draw attention, trigger debate, and spur action?
Innovative storytelling: The use of creative approaches, multimedia, data visualization, and transboundary collaboration will be considered a plus.
Plan for timely publication: Reporters, whether freelance or employed at a media outlet, will need to include a letter of support from an editor in their application, committing to publish the stories by 15th December, 2022.