The Journalism 360 Challenge is open from March 8, 2017 at 12:01 a.m. ET until April 10, 2017 at 11:59 p.m. During this time, you can visit knightfoundation.org/j360, click “Submit” and complete the application questions listed on the form. While the submission phase is open, you can save your application as a draft and revisit any time. Once completed, you can submit your application by clicking the orange “Submit” button. Please be sure to do so before the challenge closes at 11:59 p.m. ET on April 10, 2017.

Yes. Your application will not be viewable to the public and will only be reviewed by staff at Knight Foundation, the Online News Association, Google News and a select group of advisers and readers who will assist us in determining the challenge winners.

Yes. You may edit your submission with updates, changes based on feedback or basic corrections throughout the submission phase. Once the review phase begins, applications will be closed for editing. Please make any changes as soon as possible.

Yes. The Journalism 360 challenge is open to applicants from anywhere in the world. However, the application must be completed in English to be placed under consideration.

We ask a few questions to get a sense of your project, how you’re approaching it, and who you are. During the first stage, you do not need to provide a detailed budget or complete a request for a specific amount of funding. We’ll ask budget questions in the next stage for those entries selected as semifinalists.

We will review and evaluate initial applications on the strength of your idea, its potential to advance the field of journalism, replicability, innovation and your ability to execute the project. Please note that these applications will be reviewed by thought leaders across many fields. Do your best to make sure that a stranger with little to no knowledge of your field could understand the first few sentences of your application. Be brief and be visual. Ask people who don’t know your project to review your application. Make sure it fits the theme. Make sure that a stranger with no knowledge of your field could read the first few sentences of your application and then describe your idea concisely to someone else. The simpler the better.

We will notify you if you are a semifinalist and ask you to provide a detailed budget form outlining what your projected expenses will be and how much the project will cost.

Yes. The challenge focuses on early-stage ideas, recognizing that building fast and failing fast will help advance the use of new technology in newsrooms. We’re hoping to help demystify the techniques and technology used for immersive storytelling to democratize the platform for news organizations, journalists, nonprofits and individuals alike.

Knight Foundation will determine the winners of the challenge. During the review process, we read applications with the help of a group of outside advisers and field experts as well as representatives from the Online News Association and the Google News Lab.

Winners will receive a share of $250,000 for early-stage projects that address the question: How might we experiment with immersive storytelling to advance the field of journalism? Winning ideas will receive up to $35,000 to test, refine and build out a project.

We’ll pay for what it takes to design, develop and implement the project, as well as marketing and travel. We don’t fund universities’ overhead costs or administrative fees.

Knight Foundation is a national foundation with strong local roots. We invest in journalism, in the arts, and in the success of cities where brothers John S. and James L. Knight once published newspapers. Our goal is to foster informed and engaged communities, which we believe are essential for a healthy democracy. Read more about us at knightfoundation.org.

The Google News Lab was created in 2015 with a mission to collaborate with journalists and entrepreneurs to help build the future of media. Throughout the past two years, the News Lab has worked alongside news organizations and innovators around the world to help address the most important topics at the intersection of media and technology. In particular, projects and experiments focus around Trust and Verification, Data Journalism, Inclusive Storytelling, and Immersive Storytelling.

The Online News Association is the world’s largest association of online journalists. ONA’s mission is to inspire innovation and excellence among journalists to better serve the public. The membership includes news writers, producers, designers, editors, bloggers, technologists, photographers, academics, students and others who produce and distribute news for digital delivery systems. ONA also hosts the annual Online News Association annual conference and administers the Online Journalism Awards.

Anyone, anywhere, of any age. The challenge is open to journalists, technologists, entrepreneurs, gamers, software developers and academics, to news organizations, startups, established businesses, nonprofits and individuals, anywhere in the world. Awards to minors will be made to an intermediary designated by Knight Foundation.

As required by IRS rules, Knight Foundation funds can’t be used to: 

• Engage in direct lobbying activities (i.e., contacting legislators regarding specific legislation).
• Engage in grassroots lobbying activities (i.e., encouraging the public to contact legislators regarding specific legislation). 
• Participate or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for elective public office.
• Support a voter registration drive (unless the grantee is a Section 4945(f) organization).
• Benefit a private party (other than through providing grant funds to conduct activities in furtherance of charitable and educational purposes).

We offer charitable grants to registered U.S. nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status.

Yes. There are several funding options. Don’t worry too much about those specifics before applying. If you’re selected to move forward as a semifinalist or finalist, we’ll communicate with you about the details.

• Grants to for-profits (for charitable activity)
• Program-related Investments [sample PRI term sheet]
• Knight Enterprise Fund (an equity investment for projects raising a full round of funding)

Yes, if you’re proposing to do new, innovative things within the existing project

Yes. We have funding mechanisms to make partnership projects possible.

Absolutely, and you should, if you have an idea that fits the theme.

As many as you like.

Yes, absolutely. But you should keep in mind that we’ve found that the most successful technology projects are those with technology expertise on the team from the early stages.

If you win, you’ll own your intellectual property. But under most funding mechanisms, you’ll be required to release what you make as open source (for software) or Creative Commons (for content and documentation). The only exceptions are companies in which we make an enterprise investment. Legalese detail: Grants to nonprofits have a strict requirement: any software developed with grant money must be released as open source (typically under GNU General Public License 3). The same is true for grants to for-profit companies. The business receiving a grant agrees to bind itself to the open source license it owns as if it were a licensee. If a program-related investment is made, only the initial release must be open source, and future versions may be licensed in different ways. At the end of the funding period, the company may pay back the funds it received or Knight may take a stake in the company. An Enterprise Fund equity investment has no open-source requirements.

Software that is available for anyone to use or build upon at the conclusion of the grant period. You will own your platform, but you will have to share the software you develop under a GNU General Public License(GPL) (or other open source license, by agreement with us) and any content, documents, manuals or instructions under Creative Commons licensing. We consider exceptions to these requirements on a case-by-case basis.

Knight Foundation’s intellectual property (IP) licensing policy seeks to use IP terms and conditions in its agreements that allow projects to achieve their highest possible impact and Knight’s highest social return on investment. This licensing policy also aims to increase the transparency of grant outcomes by allowing for greater sharing of knowledge and adoption among user communities. The specific type of license required by Knight Foundation depends on the type of IP being created, the type of organization receiving the support and the specific objectives of the project. In general, non-charitable organizations (for-profits or individuals) receiving a grant must use the most permissible IP licenses. In addition to licensing the IP, non-charitable organizations will also be licensees themselves and so subject to the terms of the license for any future versions of the IP. If non-charitable organizations receive a program-related investment (PRI) they are not required to be licensees.

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