Google News Initiative Innovation Challenge 2019 for Middle East, Africa and Turkey (Up to $150k for selected projects)

Deadline: September 2, 2019

Applications are open for the Google News Initiative Innovation Challenge 2019 in the Middle East, Africa & Turkey Region. The Challenge will focus on reader engagement and new business models in any form. Google will fund selected projects up to USD $150,000 and will finance up to 70% of the total project cost. Special discretion on the total project cap may be considered by the Jury depending on the scale and impact of a very large collaborative effort.

Funding

Google will fund up to $150k for selected projects. Special discretion on the total project cap may be considered by The Jury depending on the scale and impact of a very large collaborative effort. Google will finance up to 70% of the overall costs of the selected projects. The remaining self-funded costs can be operational costs. Eligible expenses include personnel costs, engineering costs and the purchase or licensing of any equipment, tools, hardware, software and other assets or materials needed for the project as well as marketing expenses (capped to 20% of the total amount requested). Editorial expenses are not part of the eligible costs and will not be covered. Funding may not be spent on general and overhead costs.

Eligibility

• The Middle East, Africa and Turkey GNI Innovation Challenge is open to organizations of every size, including freelancers and sole traders, that aim to produce innovative, original journalism and to enlighten citizens with trustworthy journalistic content, whose projects focus on encouraging a more sustainable news ecosystem.
• Incorporated organizations must be incorporated in one of the eligible countries within (countries listed in Terms & Conditions) in the Middle East, Africa and Turkey.
• Unincorporated organizations must be registered in the Middle East, Africa and Turkey or, if unregistered, have their principal place of business based in the region.
• All ideas are welcome but we are requiring all projects to have clear indicators showing the impact of the project from a user perspective and/or from a business perspective (eg: audience indicators, business plan when relevant). Successful projects will also need to be delivered within one year.
• They encourage innovative projects – focused on but not limited to- the areas below:
  • Business Models
  • Distribution
  • Interface
  • Social
  • Workflow
• Projects can be experimental but must be measurable with well-defined goals. We encourage you to clearly underline the opportunities of the project by providing clear key performance indicators (KPIs). KPIs should have a significant digital component.

Evaluation Criteria

Projects will be evaluated against four main criteria:

1. Impact on the news ecosystem: Projects should demonstrate potential for significant positive impact on the creation of new revenue streams and/or change the way people consume digital news.
2. Innovation: Preferred projects will be innovative (use of technology, business model, new reader engagement approaches etc) and be transformative for the applicant and for users.
3. Feasibility: Projects should demonstrate clear indicators and metrics, or even a business plan when relevant, and set out key risks and mitigation steps.
4. Inspiration: How can the project help news organizations learn from each other? Willingness to share knowledge, open source code or/and to contribute to the improvement of the ecosystem overall.

Projects that would NOT qualify for Innovation Challenge funding include:

1. Projects relating to news coverage only or projects merely translating news content into other languages
2. Upgrades of legacy publishing systems
3. Projects that relate to simply collating or listing data (for example, the publication of job listings or stock exchange data, or the re-publication of newswire articles);
4. Projects on training or education only
5. Projects which do not have any monetization component
6. Projects which do not impact a news organization
7. Projects which reflect research without implementation

Application

Only online applications in English will be considered. You will be asked to provide descriptions, detailed project plans and budget information via our online application form. You will also have to accept the Middle East, Africa and Turkey GNI Innovation Challenge Application Terms and Conditions.

Click here to apply.

For more information, visit GNI Innovation Challenge.