UNDP is inviting media-focused civil society organisations to submit proposals for a small grant that aims to advance issue-based reporting by producing high-quality communications content on critical issues related to corporate accountability to the environment and/or climate change.  

A. BACKGROUND  

The EU-UNDP ‘Agents of Change: Youth and Media for Responsible Business Practices’ (AOC) initiative seeks to partner with, and empower, youth and media actors to drive accountability and influence policy action in Asia.  By engaging youth and media as mobilisers, the initiative aims to urge policymakers and businesses to address business-related human rights abuses and adverse environmental impacts in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and related global standards on responsible business. The countries of focus for programming intervention include Malaysia, Indonesia, Mongolia and Thailand.  

The objective of the project is to 1) ensure greater engagement with youth on business, human rights and environment (BHR+E) issues, creating the necessary political dynamics that boost implementation of the UNGPs; 2) strengthen the role and deepen the interest of media professionals to cover B+HR and environmental rights issues in a gender responsive manner, thus galvanising momentum in support to access to effective remedy for abuses of rights in the context of business operations; and 3) raise the scale of dialogue on B+HR issues among media professionals and youth through regional and national dialogues, enriching the enabling environment for the uptake of policy measures that lead to a level playing field for those businesses committed to responsible business practice.  

In Malaysia, following the launch of its first National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights 2025-2030 (NAPBHR), the Business and Human Rights agenda continues to advance on key thematic areas – governance, labour and the environment – while underscoring intersectionality and the ways in which specific groups remain vulnerable through impacts on their substantive and procedural rights. Critically, climate change is emerging as a compounding risk, particularly for underrepresented groups such as low-income communities, and migrant workers. These populations often face disproportionate exposure to environmental hazards such as flooding, heat stress, and coastal erosion – underscoring the need for duty bearers such as businesses to assess and mitigate their environmental and human rights risks.  

Building on this background, AOC continues to advocate for the recognition of the Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment (R2HE) and advance a constitutional protection of environmental rights in Malaysia in line with the national agenda. With increased recognition of the role of duty bearers in climate-related harms, this line of advocacy maintains the necessary momentum and pressure on the State towards rights-based decision-making, aligning with AOC’s priority to keep the business sector accountable to human and environmental rights.

B. THEMATIC AREAS  

AOC aims to bring awareness to crucial community-level issues. Specifically, this intervention aims to surface stories on responsible and sustainable business practices, and interventions that mitigate corporate-related human rights and environmental harm while safeguarding vulnerable communities. Application proposals for this grant must align with the following thematic areas:  

Priority areas:  

• Produce a 3-part data storytelling series that highlights critical human rights and environmental issues covering corporate accountability to the environment and/or climate change in Malaysia, with a focus on successful BHR+E initiatives, policies, or community-led actions;
• Highlight the perspectives of underrepresented communities disproportionately affected by climate/environmental-linked challenges caused by impacts of businesses, featuring local experiences, and incorporating cultural and gender-sensitive approaches;
• Employing innovative new media approaches to storytelling in media outputs, such as long-form “scrollytelling”, visual storytelling (e.g. short documentary/ video series), and/or data-driven journalism/storytelling, and produce a clear dissemination plan to mobilise public awareness and action
• Topics must be directly related to Business and Human Rights, with a focus on themes in the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (2025-2030).

Format:

• Print media – i.e. print articles  
• Digital media – i.e. online articles, videos, short documentaries

Out of scope:  

• Podcasts  
• Social media posts (Note: This refers to the production of social media-specific content as an output. The grant recipient may still share or repost the final approved outputs in the acceptable format on their social media platforms.)

C. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA  

• Only non-governmental and independent media-focused civil society organisations registered in Malaysia, active for at least the last 3 years, which promote independent, and quality journalism can apply for this grant.  
• Unregistered media collectives or informal groups may also apply, provided they do so in partnership with an eligible registered organisation that will serve as the lead applicant and grant recipient.
• Demonstrated experience in producing high-quality, in-depth journalism pieces related to environmental or social issues.  
• Able to produce a list of similar projects/samples (minimum of 3) executed over the past three years by the organisation.
• Proposals should focus on human rights and environmental issues related to corporate accountability to the environment and/or climate change, and relevant to the local or regional context.
• Proposals should promote positive advocacy approaches to B+HR and the environment.  
• To ensure alignment with the grant’s objectives, proposals must include a detailed storyboard outlining their proposed topics, preliminary sources, and methodology for review and approval by the UNDP project team before production begins. Proposals must also include a risk assessment addressing potential political, legal, or safety concerns related to their reporting, along with mitigation measures.

D. PROJECT CRITERIA  

Under the AOC Small Grant for Media Organisations programme, UNDP will contribute up to 35,000 USD to one CSO.  

The proposed project activities must be completed by 30 November 2026.  

1. The selection criteria will involve the following elements:  
2. Experience and capacity of the applicant  
3. Relevance of the proposal to the theme of the grant  
4. Innovation in the proposed storytelling approach
5. Feasibility of project implementation
6. Commitment to inclusive representation

Prior to the disbursement of each funding tranche, grant recipients must submit an updated media risk landscape analysis as part of mandatory compliance with grant reporting requirements.

E. ADDITIONAL NOTES

Selected stories will require prior review and approval by the UNDP project team before publication. While editorial integrity will be respected, the primary purpose of the grant is to raise awareness of Business, Human Rights, and Environmental (BHR+E) linkages, which will take precedence over unrestricted editorial freedom and out-of-scope reporting.

UNDP retains the final decision to identify suitable topics through stakeholder consultations and risk analysis, accounting for country-specific circumstances when working with media partners and youth initiatives.

F. STORY DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW PROCESS 

G. HOW TO APPLY  

Interested organisations must submit the following application documents to the e-mail: anusha.rym@undp.org and cc jehan.wan.aziz@undp.org with the subject “Agents of Change 2026 Media Small Grant Application” not later than 28 February 2026. Inquiries can be made using same email addresses.

Application documents:  

Fully completed project proposal using the template provided: Annex 1: Proposal Template – AOC Media Small Grant Application

Copy of registration certificate of the applicant organisation  

Only successful candidates will be notified by March 2026.