Grant support to strengthen investigative journalism and expose corruption in Ukraine

The grant competition is implemented within the framework of the EU Anti-Corruption Initiative (EUACI), funded by the European Union and the Government of Denmark. The programme aims to strengthen Ukraine’s anti-corruption infrastructure by promoting transparency, accountability, and integrity, particularly in recovery processes.

The call for proposals is launched under the component focused on engaging civil society and media in preventing and combating corruption. The competition places particular emphasis on supporting investigative journalism as a key tool for exposing corruption and reinforcing democratic governance.

Programme objectives:

• strengthening the capacity of investigative media in Ukraine;
• supporting high-quality, evidence-based anti-corruption investigations;
• enhancing the institutional effectiveness of media outlets and journalists;
• increasing public awareness and fostering a culture of integrity and accountability.

Priority areas:

• support for investigations conducted at the national level;
• development of professional and organisational capacities of media organisations;
• promotion of transparency and accountability standards.

Geographical focus:

Regional investigative media are eligible to apply; however, priority during evaluation will be given to projects operating at the national level.

Overall, the programme is designed to reinforce the role of independent media as a key mechanism of public oversight and anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine.

Applicants must:

• be a legal entity officially registered in accordance with Ukrainian law;
• be a non-profit civil society organisation with codes 0032, 0034, 0036, 0038, 0039;
• have proven experience in investigative journalism;
• have proven organisational capacity to manage and implement grants.

Applications may be submitted individually or as part of consortia/partnerships/networks.

A positive financial assessment of the selected project by EUACI is a prerequisite for receiving funding.

The total budget of the programme amounts to EUR 200,000. It is expected that approximately 2–3 projects will be supported. The optimal grant size is up to EUR 80,000, while the maximum grant amount is EUR 100,000.

Eligible Costs

Funding is provided exclusively for eligible costs, in accordance with the programme rules (as specified in the relevant Annex E). The project budget may include expenses related to:

• organisational development;
• strategic planning;
• fundraising activities;
• other activities aligned with the objectives of the call and properly justified in the application.

All costs must be reasonable, directly linked to project implementation, and compliant with the eligibility requirements.

Ineligible Costs

Costs that do not comply with the programme’s eligibility rules or are not directly related to achieving the project objectives are considered ineligible.

The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not obliged to fully fund the proposals submitted. The MFA will inform the leading applicants who have passed the preliminary selection about the indicative level of funding and provide feedback on the concept note. At the same time, the MFA will not specify specific activities or results, as this would be grounds for procurement rather than a grant.

• Conducting high-quality anti-corruption investigations.
• Measures to increase the institutional capacity of the media.
• Activities to raise public awareness of integrity.
• Organizational development, strategic planning, fundraising.

To participate in the competition, applicants must provide information about the organisations/entities involved in the project by completing the Background Information form (template in Annex F).

Applicants must complete the Project Proposal (Annex 1), Project Budget (Annex 2) and Background Information (Annex F) in English and send them by email to: euaci@um.dk with a copy to sofgol@um.dk, indicating the subject of the letter: Investigative Media Grant 2026.

Applications received after the deadline or without a detailed budget will not be considered.

If you do not receive confirmation of receipt of your application within 3 working days, please contact: euaci@um.dk and sofgol@um.dk.

Project proposals will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

• compliance with formal eligibility criteria;
• relevance to the objectives of the competition;
• experience and expertise of the organization;
• realism, clarity, and potential impact of the project;
• clarity of the budget and cost-effectiveness;
• sustainability and scalability of the proposed solutions;
• level of thematic expertise and experience in the field of anti-corruption.

The evaluation will be carried out by a Selection Committee, which will include external experts from investigative media and members of the EUACI team.

Please note that EUACI does not provide preliminary assessments of applicants' eligibility or the content of project proposals.

Project proposals will be evaluated and scored by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Evaluation Committee.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will make the final decision on the selection of applications based on the results of the evaluation of the full project proposals and will inform applicants of the results by 23 March 2026.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reserves the right to reject applications that do not comply with the instructions at any stage of the selection process.

Final eligibility check

• before the final grant is awarded, the MFA will conduct a final eligibility check, including requesting supporting documents and conducting additional checks within the scope of the MFA's obligations regarding partner assessment/due diligence in accordance with the Danish MFA's Financial Guidelines for Development Cooperation;
• the purpose of this check is to confirm the financial, operational and organisational capacity of the grant recipients, as well as their compliance with the MFA's general requirements and safeguards.

• Project proposal.
• Project budget.
• Background information.
• Eligible expenses.

Applicants must adhere to high ethical standards and principles of organisational integrity, including respect for human rights and environmental legislation, compliance with core labour standards and a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH), corruption, money laundering and terrorism.

Applicants may be excluded at any stage of the selection process if they fail to comply with these requirements.

The grant is administered in accordance with the "Guidelines for Programmes, Projects, Country Strategic Frameworks & Hard Earmarked Multilateral Support" of the MFA of Denmark. The organizer reserves the right to reject applications at any stage in case of non-compliance with instructions or ethical standards.