The Flinn Foundation and The Arizona Republic have entered into a grant-based partnership that will enable the state’s largest media platform to pursue a multimedia initiative to deepen public understanding of the biosciences in Arizona, including research, industry development, and clinical advances.
The two-year, $300,000 grant from the Phoenix-based foundation will enable The Republic to publish in-depth print and online articles, produce video reports, use high-tech formats such as virtual and augmented reality, and connect the public to the biosciences at in-person events.
Read The Arizona Republic’s announcement of the partnership
The Republic has previously partnered with the Arizona Community Foundation to report on child welfare in Arizona and with the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust to cover environmental issues. This is the first time the Flinn Foundation has partnered with a media outlet.
While this new grant will fund in-depth reporting on the biosciences in Arizona through the hiring of a multimedia reporter and digital developer, the Flinn Foundation will have no role in editorial decisions made by The Republic.
The Flinn Foundation administers Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap, the long-term strategic plan to advance the state’s bioscience sector through 2025. The Roadmap’s vision is for Arizona to become globally competitive and a national leader in the biosciences in such fields as precision medicine, cancer, neurosciences, bioengineering, diagnostics, and agricultural biotechnology.
This week, the Flinn Foundation will host Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap Progress Report luncheons in Phoenix, Tucson, and Flagstaff to highlight the latest progress of the state’s bioscience sector. Data is presented biennially in the categories of jobs, wages, firms, National Institutes of Health grants, research and development, venture capital, and tech transfer. Data will next be presented in 2020.