From Skills to Shifts: How Climate Investigations Get Results
29 January 2026
Climate Investigations Training Scholarship 2026
The CIJ is offering a Climate Investigations Training Scholarship in 2026. We're looking for 10 experienced journalists who want to upskill and use investigative techniques to produce deeper and more impactful climate-focused investigations. In January 2025 we launched the Climate Investigations Course (CIC).
Lyra McKee Bursary Scheme 2026
Applications for the #CIJLyraMcKee Bursary Scheme 2026 will open in early February 2026. This page will be updated with more information prior to the scheme opening for applications. #CIJLyraMcKee Bursary Scheme: The #CIJLyraMcKee Bursary Scheme was established in memory of the young and courageous Northern Irish investigative journalist Lyra McKee, who was shot dead by dissident republicans in Derry in April 2019.
Training
Deep Dive into Data Journalism – Online (AM)
Intro to Information Security for Journalists
Worried about digital threats to journalists? Ever been trolled or harassed online? Ever thought you’d love to work with a whistleblower or sensitive information but wouldn’t know where to start? With this two hour course you can go from muddling along online, to implementing a solid introductory foundation in information security to protect yourself and your sources.
Investigating Data with R
Events
The Cost of Source Protection: Catherine Herridge in Conversation with Trevor Timm
Catherine V. Herridge, an Emmy Award‐winning veteran investigative correspondent, discusses the First Amendment, the U.S.A Press Act and the protection of confidential sources. Following a series of articles she wrote in 2017 about a federal espionage probe, the subject of the FBI case sued the US Government, accusing them of leaking information to Herridge, an alleged violation of the Privacy Act.
Adapting Investigative Journalism
Cathy Newman: Follow the Abuser. John Smyth and the Church of England
Cathy Newman talks about the exhaustive Channel 4 News investigation into John Smyth, the most prolific serial abuser in the Church of England. Her investigation, with her colleagues on the investigation team, started with a letter from a source, and took Channel 4 News journalists to three different countries.
Surveillance, Undercover Reporting and Source Protection: Dónal MacIntyre
Veteran TV investigative journalist Dónal MacIntyre joins Summer Conference to discuss a career of undercover work, protecting the identities of sources and his recent request to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) to confirm that the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) placed him under direct surveillance.
Initiatives
Open Climate Reporting Initiative
Climate change is a multi-faceted problem in which the issues at play are interlinked and complex, running across many different fields; scientific, financial and political. Finding solutions requires an understanding of these issues that can be facilitated through access to high-quality, trusted information and the ability to construct compelling narratives.
The Investigative Journalist’s Guide to Company Accounts
by Raj Bairoliya
An introduction from the author, Raj Bairoliya A little history is in order. A dozen or so years ago, I was complaining to my friend Michael Gillard about the standard of financial investigative journalism in the UK – it was a matter of serious concern to me as I make my living from investigating wrongdoing.
The Hidden Scenario
by Luuk Sengers and Mark Lee Hunter
The Hidden Scenario focuses on how making a scenario can help you investigate. Part One details the basic principles of constructing a chronology. In Part Two, we move on to the construction of powerful scenes.
The Story Tells the Facts
by Luuk Sengers and Mark Lee Hunter
This book will help you to make your investigative writing better by focusing on writing skills, because they transpose very well into other media. To order, please complete the order form. If you can tell a story in words and capture information in a narrative, the odds of telling a good story in film or radio go up, too.