Leap: ICFJ’s News Innovation Lab
About
ICFJ’s goal is to identify the most pressing challenges affecting journalism and its mission to serve the public. Addressing those challenges requires creativity – and the time and support to think innovatively. That’s where ICFJ’s Leap news innovation program comes in.
Leap is a space to explore and shape the unfolding future of journalism.
We are supporting journalism innovators in several ways:
- Innovation lab:
- Solution Challenges: A 12-week program to explore, design, and develop products and learn innovation processes
- Hackathons: Events where developers and journalists can meet and invent together.
- Fellowships: Support for innovators working on tools and products that are helping journalism thrive.
About the Leap Solution Challenges
Mentors will lead small news teams through a 12-week design sprint and development process to solve a specific problem.
Every challenge focuses on a specific theme; this year’s program focuses on “AI and Journalism: Unmasking Disinformation in the Digital Era.”
How It Works
Explore (four weeks): Two workshops a week with experts in the field to map the landscape, identify needs and introduce new tools to address them.
Sprint (three weeks including half-days on Saturdays): An intensive Design Thinking process to rapidly develop and test a project or a product prototype.
Develop (four weeks): Teams work with mentors to develop their ideas enough to integrate into their newsrooms or pitch it to a funder for further development. We will provide grants to build out the best ideas.
Apply to the 2023 Solutions Challenge
Solution Challenge Program Selection Criteria:
We encourage small teams from the same organization to apply together so they can better implement what they create. But we also accept applications from individuals to form a group around a common goal.
Leapis right for you if you are a journalist, technologist or product person who:
- Can identify a journalism challenge and work to solve it with AI tools
- Likes to collaborate with others
- Wants to be a changemaker
- Is ready to commit at least three hours a week
- Is willing to share your product or outcomes with the journalistic community
- Is fluent in English
