Strengthening Investigative Journalism on Corruption and Illicit Finance through Capacity Building and Awareness Raising in the Western Hemisphere

To support investigative journalism on the topic of corruption, corruption proceeds, and illicit financial transactions (i.e. money laundering) of such proceeds, the U.S. Department of State has allocated $500,000 in FY 2017 International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement (INCLE) funds to this grant opportunity.  Foreign assistance will support work in at least two of four target countries in the region (Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, and Peru) to support investigative capacity building and awareness-raising between journalists and law enforcement, where possible.  These countries may serve as a pilot for future programming.  

The program's goal is to improve the quality and quantity of investigative pieces exposing corruption and illicit finance, particularly as facilitators of transnational crime, in the Western Hemisphere. The project also seeks to increase awareness among justice sector actors and journalists of relevant information produced by each group (i.e. law enforcement alerts, tips, or actionable reporting), and to identify and promote ways in which they might more effectively engage each other when possible. Project Objectives: Objective 1: Improve the ability, including the capacity, of investigative journalists to expose corruption and related illicit financial activity, and increase journalists' awareness of law enforcement activities and what makes information actionable, to include skills in producing such information and in accessing publicly available investigative information. Objective 2: Increase justice sector awareness of the work of investigative journalists and their willingness to draw upon helpful information for operational leads in their own investigations, and build relationships between law enforcement and journalists, only if it would be both possible and helpful in the countries selected.