Checklist: Increase the amount and effectiveness of funding
☐ Is the overall level of funding adequate to support sustainability, not only short-term outputs?
☐ Does the funding model include an appropriate mix of modalities (e.g. core, project, and emergency funding)?
☐ Are funding timelines predictable and multi-year where possible, allowing media organisations and media development actors to plan ahead?
☐ Are funding structures designed to support editorial independence and avoid distorting incentives?
☐ Have you considered how funding may affect local media markets, competition, and existing actors?
☐ Are eligibility criteria and application processes accessible to a diverse range of actors, including smaller or local organisations?
☐ Are compliance and reporting requirements proportionate to the size, capacity, and risk profile of partners?
☐ Are funding mechanisms flexible enough to adapt to changing political, economic, or security conditions?
☐ Is there coordination with other donors to ensure coherence, complementarity, and reduced fragmentation?
☐ Are there provisions for rapid or emergency funding in response to crises affecting media actors?
☐ Does the funding approach support the long-term ability of partners to access and manage funding independently over time?
Common risk flags
Over-reliance on short-term, project-based funding for structural challenges
Funding that creates dependency without building sustainability
Administrative requirements that exclude smaller or local actors
Lack of predictability leading to staff turnover and institutional instability
Funding that influences editorial priorities or undermines independence
Fragmented donor approaches with overlapping or duplicative funding streams
Insufficient consideration of potential market distortion or unintended economic effects
Absence of emergency mechanisms in volatile or crisis contexts
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