Open Grants

Poynter notes that Monday October 15 is the deadline for two notable grant series: the Knight News Challenge grants and the MacArthur Foundation's Digital Media and Learning competition. (Yea, sorry, I know this is kinda late notice for those who want to apply.)

What is really interesting is that Knight is providing an open application process. I think this is great; I would have no trouble doing this for a Digital Library Federation-related effort (that's my day job).

As we become more adept at opening up conversations, we'll see invitations for participation extended to ever more previously secluded corners of our social engagements. Grant writing and submission, even if performed by a team, are almost punishingly- solitary, and the eyes of others should be welcomed by anyone comfortable with dialogue.

This year's application process for the Knight News Challenge is different from last year's. Applicants can choose to submit an "open" (public) application, which registered News Challenge site users can comment on. They can revise and hone their application until the deadline. As of this writing, 252 open applications are available for public review, comments, and ratings.

This is all part of the transformation of both reading and writing from private acts to normatively social interactions.