National Parks: New Perspectives bursaries – pitching guidelines

  • Contributor information: CNP

22 October 2021

Our new National Parks: New Perspectives bursary scheme is now open for entries. We’re looking for factual-based storytelling ideas which we will support five successful applicants to realise with £1,000 funding and professional training and mentoring from our partners Ocean City Media.

Following on from a successful pre-application workshop earlier this month, we felt it would be useful to share some more pitching guidelines to help you with your application – particularly in relation to question 6 on the online application form:

  • What is your proposed bursary project about (max. 350 words)? 

Please tell us about: your chosen topic(s) and the National Park(s) you will be focusing on; the media format in which you are going to present your project; and how you are going to deliver the project (delivery milestones, key tasks and methods used) – see website for guidance.

This is where we want to hear your pitch – to find out more about your proposed story and decide whether it’s one we can grant a bursary to.

Story pitch – what we’re looking for…

  1. The basics – it must relate to People, Nature or Climate (or all three!) and feature at least one National Park in England or Wales.
  2. Top line – the essence of your story in a paragraph. Think of it like a headline. What’s the first thing you would tell your friends about the story? That’s your top line.
  3. The subject of your story – audiences engage best with authentic, human voices. Whatever your message, it will be greatly enhanced by choosing the right messenger(s).
  4. Universal themes – National Parks are protected landscapes where people live, work and visit. There is no shortage of themes from housing, transport and climate change to diversity. How will your story address them? 
  5. Context – what is the story’s purpose? Context is the foundation of a story and the reason why an audience would want to engage with it now. Think about what’s going on in the wider world.
  6. Setting – the National Parks offer the ultimate dramatic backdrop and can inspire a vast array of emotions in audiences, how will your story use the landscape?
  7. Format – how will your story be presented/told? Written, filmed or podcast? How will you use digital tools to enhance your storytelling?

Good luck! The deadline for entries is 23:45 on Monday 15 November 2021. The successful applicants will be informed in December 2021, with the scheme running from January – June 2022. See here for full details, including timeline.

If not already done so, please sign up to our mailing list to be kept up-to-date with all the latest developments and get application deadline reminders.

If you have any questions ahead of your application, drop us a line at info@cnp.org.uk