About

The Radio and Audio Funding Award (RAFA) is awarded annually to an emerging audio producer based anywhere in the world to create an original radio or audio documentary in the English language. The application must fulfil the core criteria detailed below. A main award of £5,000 plus mentorship from a top industry professional will be awarded to an audio documentary-maker to produce a feature-length programme. We will also be awarding £1,000 to each of our four runner-ups.

Ahead of announcing our 2022 winner, we will be hosting a virtual development workshop for our finalists at the beginning of January 2023. See below for more details.

Applications for 2022 are now closed.

Criteria

Authored Story

  • A story-teller with demonstrably strong interviewing skills
  • Demonstrates passion for the subject whilst retaining fair-mindedness
  • Demonstrates a real sense of independence
  • Personal but not partisan
  • Wry humour welcome
  • Strictly no ‘Whicker impersonations’

Engagement

  • Unique access to engaging characters in unusual or inaccessible locations
  • Contributors have agency, their story emerges in their own words
  • A demonstrable flair for coaxing the human spirit into revealing itself
  • The author demonstrates intimacy with but does not overshadow the subject

Curiosity

  • Spirit of inquisitiveness that leaves viewers wanting more
  • Tells us about something new and unexpected about the world
  • Excites wonder
  • Understands how wit can illuminate the toughest or most nuanced real life drama

Original use of technology

  • Playful with story-telling means – breaking new ground and/or using old ground to re-invent new style

Not partisan:

  • No campaigning, pre-set agendas or political theories

Guidelines

  • Open to audio producers from anywhere in the world, but the programme must be in the English language
  • Award money will either be paid into the award-winner’s registered production company, or to an individual (if they are applying as a sole producer)
  • Up to six minutes of original taster audio recording is required at the time of applying
  • Applicants must have an executive producer on board at the time of applying
  • If applicants reach the finals they will be awarded £1,000 and invited to join a virtual workshop on Saturday 7th January 2023
  • Our 5 finalists will be contacted by Friday 16th December 2022 and our winner will be announced on Thursday 19th January 2023
  • The judges’ decision is final.

Application Checklist

We recommend that, well in advance of the deadline, you go through the full application questions in order to prepare your answers according to the requested word limits, and gather the necessary links and information. You can download a Word template of the application form from the button at the end of this section. You can expect to answer questions on the following:

Section 1: The title of your project and a two-sentence ‘hook’.

Section 2: Your name, if your application is connected to a registered audio production company or if you are applying as a sole producer, details of the production company (if applicable), your role in connection to the application.

Section 3: A link to 6 minutes of preliminary sound recording for your project (for judging purposes), confirmation that you have the right to upload this, the likelihood that your programme will be finished before the Autumn 2022 deadline.

Section 4: Up to 1500 word synopsis of your project, up to 300 words on how your project meets the criteria, an estimated budget (in GBP) of various elements in production and post-production of the programme, any existing funding or plans for future funding, details of your executive producer, confirmation that your project complies with our majority sponsor criteria (see section 4.6 in the RAFA Terms and Conditions).

Section 5: Your background in audio documentary making, 50 words on how you learnt your documentary making skills, 50 words on what inspires you to make documentaries, 50 words on how the funding will benefit your project, 50 words on why an audience would really love to hear your programme, your compliance with rules on transferring funds, your agreement with our terms and conditions.

To enable you to further plan your answers in advance before applying via our online portal, you can download a Word template of the application form from the button below. Alternatively, if you have any issue with the online portal you may send a completed version of this Word template directly to apply@whickerawards.com ensuring that the document and email subject are named accordingly to your programme title.

Download Application Form Template

FAQs

Do I need to pay to enter?

No, all of our awards are free to enter.

Do I need to be a UK citizen to apply?

No, we accept applications worldwide.

Does my proposal have to be in English?

Yes, we will only consider proposals in English. The taster audio material and proposed programme should be in the English language, or in voiced over dubbing for audio originally recorded in languages other than English.

Is there a deadline for applying to the Radio and Audio Funding Award?

Yes. The Radio and Audio Funding Award is awarded annually, and is open for applications until Midnight GMT on Wednesday 30th November 2022. 

Can I submit more than one proposal per cycle?

No. We will accept one proposal, per applicant, per award, per year.

When will I find out if I have been successful?

Shortlisted applicants – five projects each year – will be contacted on Friday 16th December 2022. These five finalists will be invited join a virtual development workshop on Saturday 7th January 2023 and our winner will be announced on Thursday 19th January 2023. If you have not been successful, you will be notified by email ahead of any public announcement of the finalists.

Can I request feedback if my project is not accepted?

Our resources for giving feedback are very limited. If your application is unsuccessful and you are prepared to wait, we can arrange for a 7 minute feedback slot by phone.

Is there an age limit for applying?

No, all of our awards are open to applicants of all ages (18+).

Whicker’s World was all about travel, so are these awards for travel programmes?

No. Whicker’s World was always more about the people rather than the places – and this legacy exists to support documentary-makers who can introduce us to wondrous ‘new worlds’, whether or not they are across the globe or across the room.

What do you mean when you say you are looking for “authored” work?

In its most literal interpretation, this would mean that the programme is narrated. However, the meaning of ‘authored’ can be stretched and expanded in this context. Above all we are looking for a story that could only be told by the applicant who is proposing the project. They will have ownership of the story, outstanding access, and a demonstrable passion for the subject at hand.

The phrase that Alan Whicker used in this regard was a ‘signed’ documentary. It meant that he stood by whatever was said or done in the programme, as such Whicker’s World programmes showed the world from Alan’s point of view as he interacted with it. This was true even when it appeared that those he met were doing all the talking and when he hardly appeared on screen. In the same spirit we are looking for your take on another world that remains truthful, professional and acknowledges other points of view. We are also looking for wit and flair in the way you script, edit, select and juxtapose your contributors and perhaps reinvent, or stretch, the grammar of the form to new heights. In other words, we are looking for a story well told. In this way a documentary with no presenter or narrator may still be considered ‘authored’.

How do I apply?

Click on ‘Apply now’ below. Please note that we can only accept applications via our comprehensive online form. Ensure that you are eligible to apply according to our criteria and terms and conditions before starting your application.

How long will the application form take me?

We cannot put a timeframe on this, but you should set aside ample time to complete the form. We recommend that you read through the application form in advance in order to fully prepare your answers and materials ahead of time. Visit our application checklist for more information.

What length should my completed radio or audio documentary be?

The usual broadcast length for audio documentary is 28 minutes long, this would be the ideal length. However, we will consider submissions for documentary proposals structured to be as long as 45 minutes.

What if I cannot attend the development workshop on Saturday 7th January 2023??

The development workshop is not compulsory, but we will try our best to accommodate each of our finalists.

Have a question that hasn’t been answered above? Contact us at info@whickerawards.com

Judges 2022

Ibby Caputo

Leanne Alie

Hugh Levinson

Radio & Audio Funding Award Winner 2022

Read More

Radio & Audio Funding Award Finalists 2022

Read More

Previous RAFA Winners

See all the previous winners of this award.

Read More

Documentary Audio Recognition Award (DARA)

Read More

Other Funding Resources

The Whickers remains committed to enabling those who create audio and allowing great documentary ideas to flourish.

Read More
Steve Titherington

Steve Titherington is Sr. Commissioning Editor at the BBC World Service for the last seven years with a special brief to lead bold editorial projects and create new program formats. New shows include The Why Factor; Trending, the Food Chain and The Inquiry – and BBC MINUTE, a new 24/7 global news service for young people listening via pop music stations or music streaming sites. Before that Steve has been Executive Editor of Global News, Deputy Head of WS News Programmes and Editor of the World Service Newsroom where he led award winning coverage during 9-ll and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was Launch Editor of the WS 24 hour News stream and has also led major news coverage for the World Service in the USA, Russia, and China. He has also been a reporter for File on 4 and for World TV and has reported from around the world from Haiti to Hong Kong.

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Pam Fraser Solomon

Pam Fraser Solomon is an award-winning producer/director. She was a senior BBC Drama producer and has directed over a hundred hours of audio dramas. Her television credits include EastEnders, Holby City and BBC2’s award-winning documentary Moira Stuart: In Search of Wilberforce. Pam was also a script editor for the autobiographical feature film Farming, development producer for the BBC short film One Night In White Satin, produced the Radio 4 series Stories From Notting Hill, was producer/director for DTA and Goldsmiths University New Cross Fire audio drama project and worked on Audible’s Getting Better: The Fight For The NHS.

Pam is currently producing a documentary feature film and a slipstream short film, she is also the producer/director of a new drama podcast series for Spotify. Pam is the Chair of Theatre Deli and Head of MA in Creative Producing at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts.

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Eleanor McDowall

Eleanor McDowall is a Director at Falling Tree Productions. She is the series producer of BBC Radio 4’s Short Cuts, which won the Gold Award for Best Radio Podcast at the British Podcast Awards in both 2017 and 2018. Her documentary work has received a Prix Europa, The Whickers’ ‘Audio Recognition Award’ twice and the Gold Award for Best Factual Storytelling at the Radio Academy’s ARIAs. In her spare time she runs the Radio Atlas podcast – an English-language home for subtitled audio from around the world – and Field Recordings.

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Ibby Caputo

Ibby Caputo is a journalist and the winner of The RAFA 2019. Her winning documentary, A Perfect Match was broadcast on the BBC World Service and NPR. It drove up registrations on the Be The Match National Bone Marrow Donor registry in the United States, and has been incorporated into curriculum at the University of Cape Town and at Harvard University.

 

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Peregrine Andrews

Peregrine ‘Pez’ Andrews is an award-winning radio producer, mixer and sound designer, operating mainly from his Moving Air Studio in West London. His mixing work includes prime-time TV, film, art installations and lots of radio, working particularly with Falling Tree Productions. In 2011 he won the Radio Production Award for best sound designer and his own productions have won two silver Sony awards and a nomination. His Sound of Sport, a deconstruction of the soundtrack of TV sport, remains his most popular work and became a 99% Invisible podcast.

Peregrine also lectures part-time at Ravensbourne University and the Met Film School.

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Hugh Levinson

Hugh Levinson is a commissioning editor for factual output for BBC Radio 4. He previously worked as a producer, reporter and editor for BBC Radio Merseyside then The World at One on Radio 4 before moving to current affairs, producing and editing series like Crossing Continents, Analysis, From Our Own Correspondent, The Bottom Line, the Reith Lectures and podcasts including Murder in the Lucky Holiday Hotel, The Ratline, The Lazarus Heist, Deeply Human and the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Podcast. He also worked for Newsnight and for The Japan Times newspaper in Tokyo. He likes talking about guitars unless forcibly stopped.

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Leanne Alie

Leanne Alie is a podcast producer, presenter and consultant. She is passionate about making content for diverse audiences and is an advocate for diversity and inclusion in the audio industry. Leanne is a leading voice in the UK podcast industry, having carved out opportunities for creators from diverse backgrounds through implementing diversity strategy across a variety of influential organisations such as Audio UK, Digital Radio UK, London Podcast Festival and The British Podcast Awards. She is also a trustee of the Multitrack Fellowship and is currently the Commissioning Producer for BBC Sounds Audio Lab

Leanne is also the host and creator of Coiled podcast; a documentary podcast exploring Black hair in all its forms and textures, which has been featured in the Radio Times, Stylist, The Guardian and was named one of Apple Podcasts Top Podcasts of 2021.

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