Public Business supports original reporting on the wider implications of business. We’re looking for deeply researched stories about companies and the impact they have on the economy, the environment or society. We welcome proposals for projects of all lengths, but we are particularly keen to receive proposals for medium-to-long form work.
Our grants cover the hard costs of reporting, such as travel, interpretation, security and other logistics, including obtaining or reproducing documents. The amount of the grant will depend on the project proposed, but most grants will fall between $2500 and $6000.
Travel costs should be kept to a reasonable minimum. We will cover economy class, non-flexible flights, on the cheapest available carrier, up to a maximum of $4000. For local travel, we expect grantees to make use of public transit, and where this is not available, we will cover car rentals if submitted as part of the itemized budget. Hotels should similarly be reasonably priced, up to $100 a night for a maximum of three weeks.
Our grantees are working journalists, and should have access to the tools of the trade, or be able to obtain them from the publishing outlet. Our grants do not cover office space or basic equipment.
Similarly, we do not provide a stipend or per diem for grantees, who must be paid – either as staffers or freelancers – by the news outlet publishing the work. Our grants cover hard costs to enable reporters to do more than news budgets allow them, but our stories are not wholly free to participating news outlets.
Exceptions to these guidelines are of course possible, but all budgets should be agreed in advance.
While we welcome proposals which include an agreement from a news outlet to publish the work, we do have relationships with several news partners, and are prepared to place stories directly.
Our grants come with an obligation to participate in an emerging platform for collaborative and transparent journalism. Namely, grantees will have access to our network of academic and nonprofit researchers of business, as well as to material these researchers produce. Grantees will be expected to share – securely, on our site – their own material (data, documents, interviews) for fellow researchers to read and comment on. Selected material from this exchange will be made public on our website, and journalists and researchers will be encouraged to use our blog as a platform to continue their discussions. Our goal is ultimately to build a public archive and conversation hub about business and its implications.
To apply, please submit the following:
1. A description of the project, why it matters now, and how it satisfies our mandate to cover the wider implications of business. A list of stories that exemplify this mandate can be found here.
2. A detailed budget for the amount of money requested.
3. If relevant, a letter of commitment from participating news outlet.
4. An indication of what forms of source material this story might make available to our platform.
5. A resume, and links to previous work in any and all media.
Please include email and phone contact, and submit applications to grants@publicbusinessmedia.org.