Newark Peer Learning + Collaboration Fund workshop materials
Welcome to the online toolkit for the Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020, Newark Peer Learning + Collaboration Fund workshop. This event is supported by funding from Democracy Fund.
Below you’ll find the worksheets we used during our time together, worksheets to help you plan future collaborative projects and related readings.
- The full agenda for the workshop.
- A copy of the workshop’s slides.
- City Bureau’s article “Is your journalism a luxury or necessity?“
- Hierarchy of information needs example from Northeast Ohio
- Newark’s blank hierarchy of information needs.
- List of all Newark attendees with contact info (password protected).
- Link to chat file and video recording from the event (password protected).
- Download the illustration of Newark’s information needs hierarchy by Derrick Dent.
Post-workshop feedback survey
If you attended the workshop, please take a moment to complete the following attendee feedback survey.
Graphic illustration of Newark's hierarchy of information needs
Information needs assessment toolkit
Outlier Media will kick off its information needs assessment in Newark on Monday, Aug. 17. We need all the help we can get to get the word out about the survey! Use the links below to access the tools you need to properly share the survey.
- You can use a variation of this language: We want to know what kind of resources and info you most need to survive and thrive in this difficult time. Text the word NEWARK to the number 73224 to ask and answer questions. We’ll then work to get you the info and resources you need.
- Click here to download a social card to share.
Sign up for Thursday, Sept. 3 follow-up to review results + apply for grants
On Thursday, Sept. 3, we’ll reconvene together to discuss what the Outlier Media information needs assessment in Newark uncovered. Sarah Alvarez and her team will present their findings and their guidance on what kinds of efforts could best fill in the information need gaps they identified.
This date will also kick-off the open call for funding to support proposals that directly address the information gaps identified in the survey. All grant applications must involve collaboration among news partners and/or community groups. More information about this funding opportunity will be shared on Sept. 3. The $45,000 in total that will be granted is thanks to generous support from The Nicholson Foundation and Victoria Foundation.
Worksheets to help you plan collaborative efforts
Project outline
Use this worksheet to outline your collaborative project. The series of questions on the worksheet will walk you through the basics of building a collaboration. This is just for brainstorming, and is not all-encompassing, so let the ideas flow!
Project budget
Use this worksheet to create a budget for your project. When you budget, don’t forget about expenses related to meetings, marketing, software, obtaining data, tracking impact, etc. Some of these things may be required if you are applying for grant funding.
Success + impact metrics
Use this worksheet to outline and plan for what success looks like. To ensure your project is successful, you’ll want to think about what success looks like when you’re first starting to map out the project.
Risk mitigation
To ensure your project is successful, you’ll need to openly acknowledge, discuss and plan for risks that could derail it. By having an honest conversation about what could cause the project to fail, you’ll naturally start to think about how you could restructure the plan to avoid those risks.
More info about planning collaborative reporting projects:
Do you need additional help planning your next collaborative reporting project? In case it’s helpful, you can refer to our tip sheets that cover different models of collaboration. Or you can visit collaborativejournalism.org/guides to peruse a series of guides ranging from equitable collaborations to tools and technology. For more, contact the Stefanie Murray at the Center for Cooperative Media by sending an email to [email protected] and we’ll do our best to help you or connect you with someone who can!
You can also click here to learn more about the six different models of collaborative journalism, or you can click here to see our database of collaborative projects from around the world.