Round 2020 of the Regional and Small Publishers Innovation Fund

Overview

The Innovation Fund was established by the Government to support regional and publishers to transition to and compete more successfully in the evolving media environment. The Innovation Fund was announced as part of the Regional and Small Publishers Jobs and Innovation Package. The objective of the 2020 Round is to support the production of public interest journalism by assisting publishers (which includes content service providers) to stabilise their financial position and increase their revenue so that they are able to operate on a sustainable basis in the medium term. The grants are designed to assist publishers and content service providers: to increase the sustainability of their news publishing activities (including news gathering, production and distribution) in the short to medium term; or to develop and trial transformational or innovative models for the sustainable provision of public interest journalism and reposition their businesses to adapt to the new media environment in the longer term. The 2020 Round will meet this objective by funding proposals that achieve one or more of the following outcomes for each successful applicant in relation to its production of public interest journalism: improve the capacity of publishers and content service providers to generate revenue from the production of civic and public interest journalism (for example, advertising or subscription revenue); or support business improvement activities that sustain or strengthen the financial position of publishers and content service providers by: increasing readership or distribution; and/ or reducing operating costs through more efficient business practices; or encourage innovation and experimentation in digital journalism.