The International Press Institute (IPI) is pleased to announce that the Norway-based Fritt Ord Foundation has joined the 2018 IJ4EU fund as a contributing partner.

Fritt Ord has provided IPI with a grant of 200,000 NOK (approximately 26,500 euros) to provide additional financial support to projects selected by the independent jury last month.

The additional funds will be distributed across several of the 12 selected projects in consultation with Fritt Ord, according to financial need and with priority given to projects with significant participation of freelance journalists.

“The Fritt Ord Foundation’s contribution will allow the IJ4EU fund to provide additional support to certain projects that were already selected by the independent jury due to the strength of their cross-border, investigative proposals”, IPI Deputy Director Scott Griffen said. “Fritt Ord’s partnership with the IJ4EU fund is another strong sign of support for this particular fund as well as for investigative journalism in Europe more broadly.”

IJ4EU is a new fund designed to encourage cooperative investigations that cross European borders. Primary funding for the project, which will pay up to 70 percent of the costs of investigations, comes from the European Commission and the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom. The fund is managed by IPI.