Getting started
ESF Publicity Works supports the delivery of the 2007-2013 England ESF programme.
Publicising ESF is a contractual requirement if you receive ESF funding and it is also a great opportunity to promote your activity, achievements and your organisation.
This page provides some background to help get you started:
- What is meant by publicity?
- Audiences for ESF publicity
- How ESF Publicity Works can help you
- Gaining wider recognition for your organisation or project
What is meant by publicity?
In this toolkit, publicity is any communication activity that makes people more aware of your ESF or match-funded project’s activities and achievements.
Examples of ESF publicity include:
- publishing the ESF logo and references to European Union (EU) support on materials and websites
- displaying an ESF 2007-2013 project plaque at the provider’s and any sub-contractor’s ‘main delivery location’
- notifying and reminding ESF and match participants that the activities they are undertaking are supported by the ESF and EU
- publishing ESF related booklets, newsletters, e-zines and information on websites
- publishing project, individual or group case studies and success stories (these should be shared with your CFO/ESF funder)
- promoting events, celebrations, open days and awards initiatives
- engaging with news media through press releases
- integrating the above ESF-related measures into wider and corporate organisational level communications.
Audiences for ESF publicity
Audiences include:
- individual participants on the programme – and potential participants
- people visiting your organisation or project
- the media – including local and national newspapers, TV, radio, websites and magazines.
- professionals and organisations at local and national level involved in employment, skills, education and inclusion
- members of the public.
How ESF Publicity Works can help you
This toolkit sets out what you must do and provides guidance and support to publicise your project’s activities and achievements and the role of ESF. Whatever your knowledge of ESF or publicity it will help you:
- communicate its success in improving people’s lives to those who need to know as well as gain wider recognition at local, national and even international level
- motivate participants and staff – and deliver a successful project
- ensure your project complies with contractual requirements and the EU Structural Fund regulations relating to publicity – and reduce the potential risk of losing EU funds.
Helping people (often from groups disadvantaged in the labour market) to address challenging employment and skills issues and achieve good outcomes is a positive and engaging story. You should promote it widely - and it can reflect well on your organisation and your ESF partners.
Gaining wider recognition for your organisation and project
In many cases you can promote your project news, case studies and press releases to wider audiences, who can then publicise them further:
- local ESF partners including your CFO and networks you may belong to – who can promote your work in terms of its help in boosting the performance of your local economy and the skills and jobs agenda
- national organisations delivering ESF (such as the ESF Managing Authority) that are always looking for good ESF stories to publicise on their websites and other communication tools
- the wide range of UK and EU officials involved in policy and research who are interested in finding out about your project’s good practice (for example you can share your lessons and effective practice with ESF-Works – the forum for policy and practice lessons from the England ESF programme.
Wide ranging publicity measures undertaken by the above organisations will further raise awareness of the valuable work of your organisation.