The FRONTIERS project, which won an open call for proposals for a grant of €1.5 million, is set to run from 2023 to 2027. During this time, it plans to enable up to 40 science journalists to spend longer time with research teams working on their reporting ideas at institutions of their choice. Universities and research centres conducting frontier research in any field of knowledge will be able to participate in the programme.
Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, said:
To communicate research effectively, and to push back against disinformation, we need committed and professional journalists. I welcome this initiative because the more we inform about the benefits of science, the stronger the ties between citizens and researchers will be. I believe these ties are a key engine for the future of science and I am glad that journalists are contributing to this effort.
Maria Leptin, ERC President, said:
Quality journalism is necessary to safeguard democracy, which is our collective responsibility. All institutions and bodies should contribute, and the ERC is certainly no exception. I hope we can send a strong signal to the research and media communities – and beyond.
FRONTIERS intends to finance the journalists’ stays, support the reporters and host institutions, provide training on independent and ethically responsible science coverage, and promote mutual learning between journalists and researchers. It will also propose a set of ethics principles, best practices and guidelines for journalistic fellowships, and develop a long-term sustainability model.
Apart from the main goal of backing independent science journalism, the project is expected to contribute to public’s trust in science, to tackling misinformation and improving social resilience against disinformation.
The consortium that will run the programme includes the Centre for Ethics in Science and Journalism (Italy), the NOVA University of Lisbon (Portugal), the Pompeu Fabra University (Spain), and Enspire Science (Israel), which coordinates the project.
