SJAA Grants Program: Applications, Criteria and Everything You Need To Know

The Science Journalists Association of Australia is delighted to launch its 2024 grants program, to support SJAA members to realise a science reporting project in print, online, audio or visual; travel for a reporting project; or undertake professional development.

This year, the SJAA grants program is offering three reporting, travel or professional development grants worth $1000 each, for student/early career and established freelance or in-house science journalists. The program will also offer an additional $1000 discretionary grant, for an exceptional application or to bolster an existing grant already awarded if it would benefit from extra funding, at the judge’s discretion.

Applications for the 2024 grants are due 11:59pm, Friday 3 May 2024. The application form is here and any questions should be emailed to contact@sjaa.org.au.

What are the aims of the grants program?

  • To foster the career development of Australian science journalists.
  • To encourage and support excellence in science reporting.
  • To build capacity in the Australian science journalism community.

What do the grants support?

The grants support SJAA members to undertake a science reporting project – print, audio, visual, or online – travel for a reporting project, or undertake a professional development opportunity that would otherwise be difficult for them to do because of financial or time constraints.

What are the grant categories?

Three grants will be offered in 2024, with the option of an additional grant to be allocated at the judging panel’s discretion:

1. Student or early-career reporting grant – one grant of $1000

These grants are intended to support a student member or an early-career journalist (up to three years’ experience) to undertake a reporting project. The grant includes matching the grant recipient with an experienced science journalist who can provide mentoring, editorial advice and guidance with their project and its possible publication/broadcast.

2. Independent reporting grant – one grant of $1000

This grant is intended to support a full or associate member to undertake an independent reporting project, with mentoring if desired. If the individual is employed full-time in-house, the grant can be used to support a reporting project that the recipient couldn’t otherwise undertake in their existing role, and which must be published/broadcast in an outlet other than the one they work for. 

The grant includes the option of matching the grant recipient with an experienced science journalist who can provide mentoring, editorial advice and guidance with their project and its possible publication/broadcast.

3. Professional development or travel grant – one grant of up to $1000

These grants are intended to support career development opportunities or travel opportunities for full, associate or student members. The grant can be used to support the costs of travel, accommodation, conference or course fees etc. for a freelance or in-house reporting project or a career development opportunity such as subsidising involvement in a science journalism conference, attending a training course or workshop, or enrolling in a longer program to up-skill. In both cases, it includes the option of matching the grant recipient with an experienced science journalist who can provide mentoring, advice and guidance.

4. Discretionary grant – one grant of up to $1000

This grant may be given to a worthy application, using the existing SJAA grants criteria, OR to bolster an existing grant already awarded if it would benefit from extra funding, at the judge’s discretion. The grant includes the option of matching the grant recipient with an experienced science journalist who can provide mentoring, editorial advice and guidance.

How to apply

Application requirements for the student/early-career and independent reporting grants:

  • A story pitch of up to 200 words.
  • Details of how the grant will help you with the reporting project (up to 100 words).
  • A list of possible or planned interviews.
  • The outlet(s) where the journalist hopes to get the work published/broadcast.
  • A short bio (100 words) and link to two examples of published work (or unpublished work for student journalists) or to an online portfolio.

Application requirements for a travel or professional development grants:

  • Explanation of the professional development or travel opportunity and what the applicant hopes to get out of that experience (up to 200 words, please include links to the opportunity if appropriate).
  • If the opportunity is a selective one, the applicant must provide confirmation that they have been accepted for it.
  • Details of what amount is requested and an estimate of how it will be spent.
  • The outlet(s) where the journalist hopes or plans to get the work published/broadcast.
  • Details of what amount is requested and an estimate of how it will be spent.
  • A short bio (100 words) and link to two examples of work or to an online portfolio.

Applications must be submitted by 11:59pm, Friday 3 May, 2023.
The application form is here.

Eligibility criteria

  • Applicants must be current members of SJAA (full, associate or student). If you’re not yet a member, sign up now.
  • Applicants for a student/early-career grant must be current tertiary students (includes post-graduate/masters students) or have been working as a science journalist for no more than three years.
  • The journalist must have no financial or employment ties to the subject matter and must declare any other conflicts of interest – real or perceived.
  • The project must be science journalism – as distinct from science communication.
  • The project must be of an appropriate size for the grant; for example, not a short news brief but equally not a documentary series.

Judging criteria

  • Journalistic merit: the story idea should be original, demonstrate a journalistic approach, offer new insights. (score out of 10)
  • Impact: how significant and important is the subject matter? (score out of 10)
  • Need: how would this grant help you to realise this project? (score out of 10)
  • Viability: assessing the viability and risk of the proposal (score out of 5)

Judging panel

The judging panel will consist of three members of the SJAA committee, but external judges may be invited to assist in the selection process. 

The judges’ decision is final but we will endeavour to provide feedback to unsuccessful applicants if possible.

Terms and conditions

What can the funds be used for?

The reporting grants are a fixed amount that is paid in full (plus GST if the applicant is GST registered). The travel and professional development grants will be paid according to the amount requested.

The reporting grant money can be used to pay for the recipient’s time, to pay for access to an event, course, research materials, travel to and from an event, accommodation etc. It’s expected that reporting grants will result in publication within nine months (see below).

The travel grant money is solely for travel and accommodation. The professional development grant money can be used for travel and accommodation, fees, stipends or to cover the recipient’s time to undertake the opportunity.

The money cannot be paid to an employer to subsidise an employee’s salary or to pay for use of the employer’s facilities. 

Publication

The work should be published or broadcast within nine months of the grant being awarded, in an independent outlet either in Australia or overseas. This can include self-publication in outlets such as Medium, but not personal blogs. In the event that grant recipients encounter difficulties in getting a project completed or published, SJAA will endeavour to assist them as much as possible but also acknowledges that sometimes stuff just goes south.

Where possible, the publication or outlet should include acknowledgement the work was produced with the support of the Science Journalists Association of Australia.

Mentorship

Successful applicants who would like mentoring will be asked to either choose from a list of available mentors or if they already have a specific mentor in mind, SJAA will endeavour to assist in setting up the mentorship.

The nature of the mentorship can be worked out between the mentor and mentee but SJAA can provide some guidelines/guidance to help this process. Mentors will spend their first session with the grant recipient making sure the project premise is sound, crucial interviewees are secured, and that there is a fall-back plan if the original plan changes.

The mentor must have no financial or employment ties to the subject matter, and will be paid a nominal fee for their involvement.

Acquittal

Grant recipients are asked to complete a short questionnaire at the conclusion of their reporting or professional development projects to describe their experience and how the grant helped them realise their story. Their responses may be used for an article in the SJAA newsletter.

Accounting

The successful applicants must invoice for the full amount, which will be paid within one week of the invoice being received. The nine-month count starts from the date of payment.

Other

SJAA is not liable for any legal issues which result from the project or story. 

Questions?

Email us at contact@SJAA.org.au