Vaccine Grant Program

Fact-checking organizations that are verified signatories of the IFCN’s Code of Principles and/or organizations that are members of the CoronaVirusFacts Alliance are eligible to apply.

Applicants agree that if they are awarded a grant, the IFCN and WhatsApp may use data and information they provide in the initial application and subsequent reporting form with other fact-checking organizations.

Each applicant/organization may only submit one application and a budget of up to $100,000.

• This grant is for the verified signatories of the International Fact-Checking Network and partners of its CoronaVirusFacts Alliance.
• This grant will support projects aiming to provide the public with accurate and authoritative information about COVID-19 and the vaccination efforts.
• Fact-checking organizations are allowed to partner with other organizations, but each organization can only apply once, with one project.
• Projects must be launched no later than May 2020 and should take no more than six months to be completed.
• Applicants will have to choose in which category their projects fit:

• • Editorial: Projects related to producing content to inform the public on COVID-19 and vaccination efforts (fact checks, explainers, translations, etc.)
  • Technology: Projects based on/or developing/using programming languages, APIs and applications to increase the effectiveness of fact-checking distribution
  • Media literacy: Projects related to strengthening media literacy and increasing the circulating of authoritative information, especially among communities vulnerable to COVID-19
  • Reach: Projects that are not centered around technology, but aiming to improve distribution by using promotion or partnerships to distribute accurate information on COVID-19 and vaccination efforts to the public.

Examples of applicants/projects that would not qualify:

• Applications made by organizations that aren’t part of the IFCN’s signatories list or the CoronaVirusFacts Alliance
• Applications that aim to bring together different partners, but fail to provide agreement letters, fully signed by all partners, before announced by IFCN as a recipient.
• Applicants with financial ties to producers of COVID-19 vaccines
• Projects aiming to exclusively grow social media reach through paid ads
• Projects that will exclusively cover existing or incremental staffing costs
• Research can be a component of eligible projects but not its primary goal
• Projects that are run by a government institution; public health experts with ties to government institutions can be part of the project team but not the lead applicants
• Projects aiming to develop/launch new chatbots on messaging apps. Projects focused on improving existing ones will be considered as eligible applications.

There will be two rounds of proposal analysis in this grant:

1st round: From March 22nd to April 1st.

Once the application process has been closed on the application platform, the International Fact-Checking Network will review each proposal and eliminate those that do not qualify (please see “What are we looking for in application” section). A shortlist of projects will be sent to the selection committee.

After the eligibility filtering, all applications will be subjected to evaluation based on the following questions:

• Is the budget in accordance with the project’s scope?
• Does the project offer a way to measure its impact?
• Is the project replicable in other countries or settings?
• Can the project start by May 31st?
• Is the project applicable to other topics beyond the scope of vaccine misinformation?

The applications meeting at least 4 out of these 5 criteria will be shared with the selection committee.

2nd round: From April 2nd to April 16th

Jury members will analyze each shortlisted proposal. The selection committee is expected to grade projects from 1 to 3 (being 3 the highest score) according the following criteria:

• Does this project have the potential to reduce rates of vaccine hesitancy among high-risk groups?
• Can this project improve the quality of the public debate on COVID-19 and the vaccination efforts?
• Is this project reaching a wider/new/disadvantaged audience impacted by the pandemic?
• Does this project have the potential to grow in the future?
• Does this project have the potential to be replicated by other fact-checkers with minor changes?
• Is the requested budget in accordance with the goals and scope of this project?
• Does this project have the potential to be fully completed and implemented in time and form?
• How original is this idea?

Important observations: If a proposed project somehow relates to any of the selection committee members or to their past or current work, those selection committee members will not participate in that specific evaluation and his/her score will be calculated based on the average of other selection committee members. Jury members don’t get paid for this work.

• 1. All grantees will have six months after being selected to complete the projects funded by this grant.
  2. All grantees as expected to work with the International Fact-Checking Network and WhatsApp to promote their projects
  3. Each grant recipient must provide IFCN with two short narrative reports and two financial reports: one of each at the midpoint of the project (July, 2021) and one of each after the end of the 6-month project term (November, 2021).
  4. The awarded amount will be delivered to the applicable grant recipient in two different payments: 50% at the beginning of the project term and the remaining 50% after the midterm narrative and financial reports are approved. (If your project requires a different distribution, please inform.)
  5. Poynter Institute for Media Studies, Inc. and WhatsApp (directly and/or through a third party (e.g., Submittable) may collect personally identifiable information to perform certain compliance checks and sanctions screenings