UK Aid Direct

Communications and branding guidance

For UK Aid Direct grant holders

March 2019

UK Aid Direct

Welcome

Communications and branding advice for your UK Aid Direct project

Grant holder guidance on ukaiddirect.org (bookmark this page)

Introduction to the communications team

• Charlie Covington, Communications Manager

• Laura Else, Communications Specialist

• UK Aid Direct communications team

UK Aid Direct

Announcing your grant award

• Only after an organisation has signed their grant agreement should a project be publicised

• Communicating a grant award should only happen once the Department for International Development (DFID) or UK Aid Direct has announced

• Your communications team will keep you updated

UK Aid Direct

Be prepared – supply images and content to UK Aid Direct communications

Provide UK Aid Direct communications team with:

• 2-3 photographs of your projects (if you have worked in this thematic or geographic area before) for the UK Aid Direct website profile card and other comms

• Supply background information to the photographs

UK Aid Direct comms then shares the photographs and information with DFID comms

When the project starts, please do send additional images, case studies, news or videos to UK Aid Direct comms

UK Aid Direct

Permissions and safeguarding

• Ensure you have permission to share photographs

• Refer to your internal safeguarding policy when uploading / using and sharing media, that includes children and young or vulnerable people

• See UK Aid Direct Communications Handbook 2018 for a note on this and a template for photography consent and beneficiary consent you can use for your project files

• We may use the images (as well as DFID) on our websites, social media, internal documents, publications

UK Aid Direct

Publicity – our expectations and how we will support

We expect our grant holders to seek their own publicity regionally. This means

• Sending out a press release to the regional media

• Following up on press releases sent out

• Contacting your local MP, a template is available to download

We will support by

• Providing a quotation from the Secretary of State to add into your press release

• Amplifying any coverage you secure, for example, re-Tweeting or sharing press releases on our social channels

Don’t forget to

• Let us know about any press coverage you secure, activities you have taking place or news stories you post on your website!

UK Aid Direct

Press releases

• A sample press release template is available to download

• Remember to use wording like:

“This project will be funded with UK aid from the UK government’ or

“This project is funded with UK aid from the British people.”

• Send it to us so we can secure a quote from the Secretary of State for you to add into it

• Make sure to include video footage, images or a photocall opportunity

• Prepare your list of named individuals to receive the press release – we can provide this if required

• Follow your press release up with a phone call, an email won’t cut it

UK Aid Direct

DFID communications

DFID communications will support you by

• Sharing your grant news with the sector press

• Potentially writing about your organisation on a specific cause day. For example, International Women’s Day

• Potentially sharing any film footage you may have sent through to UK Aid Direct comms, on their social channels. It would need to be clear, show impact and ideally use the UK aid logo / branding well. See the Communications Handbook for advice on this.

Top tip: be prepared

Sometimes requests for extra material (in the form of photographs, background stories etc.) come through to UK Aid Direct comms. These usually have a quick turnaround as is the nature of government communications. Try to be organised and ready in case that call comes through.

UK Aid Direct

UK Aid Direct communications

UK Aid Direct communications will support you by

• Posting an announcement on ukaiddirect.org in the news section

• Your project profile will also show here (for Community Partnership grant holders), here (for Impact grant holders) and here (for Small Charities Challenge Fund grant holders)

• Announcing on social media and tagging your organisation

• Sharing with our partners: WEDC, OPM, Education Development Trust and KIT

• Sharing via our grant holder newsletter, The Insider and through our social media channels

• Amplifying any social posts from grant holders

UK Aid Direct

Grant holder communications

Your website – your news story

• Plan the news/project pages of your website

• write your story

• include the UK aid logo and the wording about where the money has come from

Example: Irise International, grant holders http://www.irise.org.uk/

UK Aid Direct

Grant holder communications

Your website, the UK aid logo

Are you mentioning your grant in your Partners section of your website?

We encourage you to do so, and you can use the UK aid logo here also.

Example: AfriKids Partners page

UK Aid Direct

Grant holder communications

Your social channels

• Draft your posts and when able to communicate…

• Include photographs

• Tag @UKAidDirect in Twitter posts, as well as @DFID_UK

• Use hashtags like #LeaveNoOneBehind #UKAidDirect#Aidworks

• include a call to action

• Follow @UKAidDirect and @DFID_UK on Twitter

• Share your social media channels with us

UK Aid Direct

Branding your project

The UK aid logo should be used in association with your grant award.

• The logo can be downloaded from the UK aid standards for using the logo page

• Examples of the logo being used in the field can viewed here

• Rules of use can be found in the grant holders’ Communications Handbook

UK Aid Direct

• When used effectively it helps to create a consistent approach to how people see UK Aid Direct and UK aid

• It is a requirement for all projects in receipt of UK Aid Direct funding to acknowledge the funding from the UK government in all written materials and verbal statements

• It demonstrates that your project is receiving funding from UK tax-payers

• It helps the general public see what DFID does and where the UK development budget is being spent

Why using the UK aid logo is important

UK Aid Direct

When to use the logo

Refer to your grant agreement to remind yourself what you agreed would be branded with the UK aid logo.

Here is a quick checklist for reference:

✓ Infrastructure e.g. bridges, buildings, wells,

✓Educational materials e.g. public health leaflets

✓ Shipments and goods e.g. blankets, tents

✓ Signs at distribution points

✓ Small packets e.g. medical supplies, malaria nets

✓ Staff clothing, if part of effective programme delivery e.g. uniforms for outreach staff

✓Communications or events associated with the programme e.g. annual reports, press releases, speeches / lectures, video content, websites

× Partners’ everyday stationary, incl. business cards

× An organisation’s offices and office equipment

× Vehicles not exclusively used for DFID projects

× Staff clothing, unless for programme delivery

× Small goods e.g. pens, mugs, toothbrushes, etc

× School books / bags

× Clothing for beneficiaries

UK Aid Direct

• Neither UK Aid Direct or DFID comms need to approvethe use of its branding, providing all guidance in thisdocument is adhered to. However, any materials wherethe branding is featured must not be damaging to thereputation of UK Aid Direct or DFID

• All materials where the branding is used must be inkeeping with UK Aid Direct priorities. For example, we donot condone the use of the branding on material that isnot in support of DFID’s wider strategic objectives

For more information on UK Aid Direct priorities, visit: https://ukaiddirect.org/about/fund-priorities/

Branding rules and permissions

UK Aid Direct

You will need to write about your funding from UK AidDirect in reports and communications and we ask you tofollow a few simple rules:

Writing about your grant

UKAIDDIRECT

Common mistakes:

• Hyphenation: UK-Aid-Direct

• Acronyms, e.g. UKAD, UK Aid D etc.

• Abbreviation, e.g. ‘UK Aid’

UK Aid Direct

UK Aid Direct

Keep us informed throughout your grant lifecycle

We love to hear good news from our grant holders, as well as case studies and learnings from your project

What? Write a brief summary of the award or complete a Case Study template

How? Email UK Aid Direct communications and your performance and risk manager

Then? The communications team meets regularly with the technical team to discuss next steps

When? In an ad hoc way or with your narrative reporting

Please note: There are no guarantees your news can / will be shared externally by us

UK Aid Direct

Useful links

UK Aid Direct grant holder guidancehttps://www.ukaiddirect.org/grant-holder/guidance/• Finance: principles of reporting, budgeting, exchange rates• Grant set-up• Grant documentation• International Transparency Initiative (IATI)• Organisational Capacity Assessment Tool (OCAT)• SMILE• Communications support• Fraud• Presentations

UK Aid Direct Communications Handbook 2018

Also in the Communications section of the guidance page:• Press release template• MP letter template• Case study template • Learning template• Beneficiary consent form template• Photographic consent form template• Filming consent form template

UK Aid logo guidance and assets .Gov link