The Centre for Investigative Journalism

What The Centre for Investigative Journalism does

The Centre for Investigative Journalism (CIJ) is a UK-registered charity (no. 1118602) founded in 2003 and headquartered at Goldsmiths, University of London. It operates as a think-tank, alternative university, and experimental laboratory that trains professional journalists, editors, and advocacy researchers in investigative skills, with curricular pillars covering data journalism, open-source intelligence (OSINT), financial investigations, climate and environmental investigations, source protection, and story-based inquiry methodology. Courses are taught by working investigative journalists and field experts through both scheduled open-enrolment courses and bespoke training programmes delivered to news organisations including the BBC, ITV News, The Economist, HuffPost UK, The Telegraph, and Vice Media. The organisation runs a portfolio of programmes including the annual CIJ Summer Conference, the biennial Logan Symposium, UK regional conferences, the Source Protection Programme (delivered with the Freedom of the Press Foundation), the global Open Climate Reporting Initiative (OCRI) operating across 58+ countries, the Lyra McKee Bursary Scheme for underrepresented early-career journalists, and the Climate Change in News Media project with UNESCO.

There is no proprietary technology platform; delivery relies on standard video conferencing (Zoom) and Google Colab for data-journalism exercises, while a public handbook series and a YouTube video archive provide durable educational content. The revenue model is a hybrid charitable structure: foundation grants from named funders including the Reva & David Logan Foundation, Lorana Sullivan UK Foundation, Bertha Foundation, JournalismFund Europe, Trust for London, Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, and Arts Council England, alongside sliding-scale training fees from scheduled courses and bespoke enterprise programmes, with free places cross-subsidised by larger newsrooms. Geographic reach spans the UK as the home base and a global footprint across Africa, Latin America, South Asia, MENA, and limited North America, sustained through partnerships with Google News Initiative, UNESCO, GIJN, Abraji, ACOS Alliance, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Name

The Centre for Investigative Journalism

Legal name

The Centre for Investigative Journalism

Website

https://tcij.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Centre for Investigative Journalism is a UK-registered charity founded in 2003 that trains journalists, editors, and NGO researchers in investigative skills through scheduled courses, bespoke training, the annual Summer Conference, the biennial Logan Symposium, and global initiatives including OCRI and the Source Protection Programme.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Investigative Journalism Training

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Professional and Management Development Training (61143)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Compliance & Risk Intelligence Publishing (KYC/AML, ESG, Cyber, Privacy) (MPAJACAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Professional Certification & Training Content Publishing (Exam Prep, CE/CPD) (MPAJACAL), Information Security, Privacy & IT Governance (CISSP CPE, Privacy CE) (EDAAALAL)

Keywords

• Investigative journalism training
• Data journalism courses
• OSINT training
• Financial investigations training
• Climate journalism training

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Training fees and bursaries: The CIJ charges sliding-scale booking fees for scheduled training courses to ensure larger newsrooms subsidise places for freelancers and small organisations. Some training programmes offer free places supported by external funding.
2. Donations and charitable grants: As a UK registered charity (no. 1118602), the CIJ relies on donations and grants from foundations including the Reva & David Logan Foundation, Lorana Sullivan UK Foundation, Bertha Foundation, JournalismFund Europe, Trust for London, Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, and Arts Council England.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The CIJ is a UK-registered charity and think-tank that trains journalists in investigative skills through scheduled and bespoke training courses, an annual Summer Conference, the biennial Logan Symposium, regional conferences, and themed programmes covering data journalism, OSINT, financial investigations, climate reporting and source protection. It also runs bursaries such as the Lyra McKee Bursary and produces free handbooks and a video archive to support investigative practice worldwide.

Product overview

The Centre for Investigative Journalism (CIJ) is a UK-registered charity offering a comprehensive portfolio of investigative journalism training and support services. The organisation operates as a think-tank and experimental laboratory that provides training across multiple formats: Scheduled Training Courses (regular courses on data journalism, OSINT, financial investigations, and climate investigations), Bespoke Training (tailored programmes for organisations), and a major annual Summer Conference. Supporting programmes include the biennial Logan Symposium, Regional Conferences, Talks and Screenings series, and the Access to Tools programme in partnership with Google News Initiative. Thematic initiatives include the Open Climate Reporting Initiative (OCRI), Journalist Security Training, Dark Green (climate finance training), Deep Focus (non-fiction storytelling lab), International Investigative Practice, Lyra McKee Bursary Scheme, Community Journalism support, Source Protection Programme (SPP), and Masterclass. Educational resources include downloadable Handbooks and a Video Archive on YouTube. The CIJ's offerings collectively serve to train journalists in investigative techniques, support diverse and underrepresented voices in journalism, and strengthen the capacity of media to hold power to account.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Open Climate Reporting Initiative (OCRI): An initiative of the CIJ focusing on raising the standard of environmental investigations through training and skill-sharing across multiple global regions.
• Dark Green
• Source Protection Programme
• Lyra McKee Bursary Scheme

Products and services

• Scheduled Training Courses Frequent scheduled training courses on data journalism, OSINT, financial investigations, climate investigations, web scraping and audio skills, taught by working journalists and experts through real-world examples and hands-on exercises; available to individual journalists and organisations on a sliding-scale fee basis.
• Bespoke Training
• CIJ Summer Conference Annual three-day training conference for editors, journalists, researchers, activists and students featuring cutting-edge classroom-based training in investigative journalism, hosted at Goldsmiths, University of London; the UK's only training conference with an emphasis on investigative skills.
• Logan Symposium

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 3,000 journalists trained in 65+ countries since 2021 (Source Protection Programme)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers24 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• ACOS AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025The CIJ has partnered with ACOS Alliance to deliver security trainings to reporters on the frontline, initially focusing on journalists covering migration at the US-Mexico border.
• Electronic Frontier FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025The EFF partners with the CIJ to deliver security trainings to frontline journalists, providing technical expertise in digital rights and security.
• UNESCOcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2022The CIJ partnered with UNESCO's Section for Media Development and Media in Emergency on the Climate Change in News Media project, training 40 journalists from 14 media organisations in Cameroon, Gabon, Ghana, and Nigeria, resulting in over 100 published stories.
• Freedom of the Press FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021The Freedom of the Press Foundation collaborates with the CIJ on the Source Protection Programme (SPP), a unique operational and information security training course delivered online. The Foundation provides expertise in digital security and source protection for journalists.
• Google News InitiativecoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 16 August 2018The CIJ partners with the Google News Initiative for the Access to Tools programme, which brings investigative skills training to local newsrooms, independent media, academics, and citizens around the UK. The partnership has delivered workshops across the UK since 2018, with the GNI providing support and resources.
• Abandon Normal DevicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAbandon Normal Devices (AND) collaborates with the CIJ on Deep Focus, an experimental lab for non-fiction storytelling supporting UK-based journalists, artists, and filmmakers.
• Center for Artistic Inquiry and Reporting (CAIR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAIR partners with the CIJ on the Deep Focus programme, providing support for non-fiction film production and investigative storytelling.
• Manchester Metropolitan University School of Digital Arts (SODA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerManchester Metropolitan University's School of Digital Arts (SODA) hosts the Deep Focus lab at its Manchester facility, providing workshop space and technical support.
• Adisi-CamerooncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdisi-Cameroon collaborates with the CIJ on the Climate Change in News Media project for Francophone Africa, helping deliver workshops to media organisations in Cameroon and Gabon.
• Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCJID partners with the CIJ for Anglophone Africa on the Climate Change in News Media project and OCRI, delivering training to journalists in Nigeria and Ghana.
• Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGIJN partners with OCRI through regional coordinators, including Maxime Koami Domegni who serves as Francophone Africa Editor for GIJN and OCRI's regional coordinator.
• Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (Abraji)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAbraji collaborates with OCRI as a partner organisation for climate and investigative journalism training in Brazil and Lusophone Africa.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Pulitzer Center: The Pulitzer Center funds and trains journalists on underreported global issues including climate, accountability, and human rights, with strong educational programming for both journalists and students. It is comparable in combining investigative journalism grants, training, and curriculum development.
• Freedom of the Press Foundation: FPF is a CIJ strategic partner that co-developed the Source Protection Programme and provides digital security training and tools for journalists. The two organisations share a strong overlap in source protection and journalist security training content.
• Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE): IRE is the most established US-based investigative journalism training organisation, running the annual IRE Conference, hands-on workshops, and a NICAR data journalism arm. It is the closest direct peer in mission and training delivery, although CIJ focuses on UK/EU and global-South markets while IRE is US-centric.
• Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN): GIJN is a global network of investigative journalism organisations that runs training programmes, conferences, and resources for investigative reporters worldwide. CIJ is a GIJN partner on OCRI; both serve similar audiences with overlapping training, conference, and resource offerings.
• European Journalism Centre (EJC): The EJC runs journalism training programmes and grants for European journalists, including data journalism and investigative skills. It is a direct peer in offering professional development to working journalists in the same geography as CIJ's core UK/EU base.

Emerging players

• Rory Peck Trust: The Rory Peck Trust provides practical support, training, and resources for freelance journalists worldwide, with a focus on safety, security, and professional development. It is comparable as a UK-based journalism training and support organisation, though more narrowly focused on freelancers.
• Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma: The Dart Center provides training and resources for journalists covering trauma, violence, and crisis — a specialised niche within journalism training. It overlaps with CIJ's Source Protection Programme and security training offerings but focuses specifically on trauma-informed reporting.

Broad incumbents

• International Center for Journalists (ICFJ): ICFJ is a major global journalism training and support organisation with a much broader portfolio than CIJ, operating programmes across 180+ countries. It is comparable in mission (journalism training) but operates at a significantly larger scale with broader remit beyond investigative reporting.
• Reporters Without Borders (RSF): RSF is a major international press freedom organisation that runs journalism safety training, advocacy, and support programmes. It overlaps with CIJ's journalist security training but operates at much larger scale with a global advocacy and protection mandate.
• Thomson Reuters Foundation: The Thomson Reuters Foundation runs the Reuters Institute and TrustLaw, including training programmes for journalists globally with a focus on human rights, media law, and investigative reporting. It is comparable as a journalism training provider targeting professional journalists, but with broader corporate backing and scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCq1u6m3WuNoFL-zzrerE5JA
• Facebookfacebook.com/276099960477
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/centre-for-investigative-journalism
• Instagraminstagram.com/cijournalismuk
• Xx.com/cijournalism

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The Centre for Investigative Journalism