FIRNS - The Facility for Investment Ready Nature in Scotland - Guidance for applicants - How to acknowledge our support for your project
How to acknowledge our support for your project
One of the Conditions of receiving funding from us is that you acknowledge our funding of your project during your Contract Period. This will be outlined in your Funding Offer. We may ask you to tell us how you will acknowledge our funding in your application.
1. What must I do to acknowledge your contribution?
You should use:
- Our dual Net Zero Scotland - NatureScot logo - and
- our funding support statement:
‘This project is supported by The Facility for Investment Ready Nature in Scotland (FIRNS). Delivered by NatureScot in collaboration with The Scottish Government and in partnership with the National Lottery Heritage Fund.'
If you have received funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, please follow the available guidance for Acknowledging your grant.
2. How do I get the logo and guidelines?
Net Zero Scotland and NatureScot logos
You can download the dual Net Zero Scotland and NatureScot logo from our web page: nature.scot/FIRNS-brand.
There are different logo formats available. If you have any problems accessing the logo or need further advice on how to use it, please email [email protected].
You must use the logo as outlined in the nature.scot/naturescot-brand guidelines and you must not distort the shape or adjust the colour of the logo.
3. Do I need to position the logo and support statement in a certain way?
Yes. This depends on what level of contribution we’ve made to your project.
| Contribution | Logo and support statement position |
|---|---|
|
We are the greatest contributor
|
Our logo should appear to the left of any horizontal list Our logo should appear at the top of any vertical list |
|
We are not the greatest contributor |
Our logo should appear in the list but in no particular order |
4. Why do I need to use the logo and support statement?
The awards we make are from public funds. We want the public to know how and where our funding is being spent. By using our logo and support statement people can see that our funding has supported your project.
5. What are the consequences of not acknowledging our contribution?
Acknowledging our contribution to your project is a Condition of your Funding Contract with us. Failing to do so is a breach of Contract and may result in action to withdraw and/or reclaim our funding as per our Standard Terms and Conditions.
6. When and where to use the logo
If you receive funding from us, you must make sure that you acknowledge this wherever possible. This will depend on your project. The table below outlines examples of where and how you could do this.
| Promotional opportunities | How to use the logo and support statement |
|---|---|
|
NatureScot’s blog: Scotland’s Nature |
There are opportunities to write and submit a guest blog about your project. This could be arranged to launch the project, hitting milestones or when your project is complete. |
|
NatureScot on X/Twitter: @NatureScot |
Where possible please use our handle in any posts about your project and acknowledge our support. Use @NatureScot and @ScotGovNetZero. You should also use #FIRNS. We shall retweet where possible. |
|
If posting about the project, please include @NatureScot and @ScotGovNetZero. You should also use #FIRNS. We shall repost where possible. |
|
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If your project involves photography then please tag NatureScot in your posts using @naturescot and @scotgovnetzero. You should also use #FIRNS. We shall repost the best. |
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We can share any film footage about your project. |
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Publications – leaflets, booklets, guides, posters, DVDs or reports produced by or for your project. |
Our logo and support statement must be present in all publications that your project produces. |
|
Publicity materials and events – your project/organisation’s website or press and media releases about your project. |
Our logo and support statement must be present in all publicity materials for your project. |
|
Interpretation boards and signage – information or display panels and signage produced by or for your project. |
Our logo and support statement must be present in all interpretation boards and signage for your project. |
|
Site based projects – a building or outdoor space your project is taking place in or contributing to. |
Our logo and support statement must have a prominent place during any site based work and we may ask for a permanent placement once your site based work is completed. |
|
Staff post (directly funded by us) – in a job description or recruitment advert for a staff post. |
Our logo and support statement must be present in any staff post-related documentation for posts we are directly funding. |
7. Can I acknowledge your contribution in other ways too?
We welcome any other ideas you may have to acknowledge our funding for your project. You’ll need to agree this with us before you use them and we will need to approve any designs.
8. Working with the Media
To ensure we work with the media in a careful and co-ordinated way, you should follow the media protocol below. Please contact [email protected] or your NatureScot Funding Officer in the first instance.
Email [email protected]
Website www.nature.scot
|
Title |
Media Protocol |
|---|---|
|
Name of fund |
Facility for Investment Ready Nature in Scotland (FIRNS). Please always use the full fund title with acronym in brackets, as above in first mention, with use of the acronym thereafter perfectly acceptable. |
|
Tone |
The tone of external communications will be positive, open, honest and factual, even if faced with criticism. |
|
Media queries/contacts |
You should inform NatureScot FIRNS funding officers of any media queries about your project as soon as possible. When appropriate, broader FIRNS queries should also be referred to NatureScot. If time allows, send statements to NatureScot for review before sending them to the media. |
|
News releases and publicity |
All news releases must acknowledge the funding received from the Facility for Investment Ready Nature in Scotland (FIRNS), delivered by NatureScot in collaboration with The Scottish Government and in partnership with the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and the amount of funding allocated to the project, when it has been formally awarded and the Offer of Funding accepted. Copies of news releases should be retained for audit purposes. News releases can be circulated to your NatureScot Funding Officer or [email protected] if you would find this helpful and/or require further guidance. When possible, please allow at least three working days for feedback. Please note that email news releases may be sent without logos as plain emails (without attachments) to prevent rejection by the recipient's system. FIRNS should always be credited, if possible, in any news releases, articles and other publicity items which mention the initial project funding. For writing support, please refer to the original news release issued by the Scottish Government to announce successful projects. News releases should be brief and to the point. News desks have to look at hundreds every day, so the challenge is to keep their interest beyond the first sentence. Choosing to write clear, straightforward English, using words that your audience will understand, will have an immediate impact. Simple language and straightforward sentences strengthen writing. Write in a way that provides people with the information they need, in a style that's positive, helpful and engaging. Bullet points can be a useful way of splitting up long sentences, and can be used to draw attention to particular points. Projects may use the following approved quote and Notes to Editors information from NatureScot in their publicity relating to a successful Round 1 award. NatureScot Chief Executive Francesca Osowska said: “As we tackle the climate-nature crisis with a growing urgency, everyone has the responsibility to get us to net zero. The FIRNS grant to insert your project name here is part of our commitment to offer communities, companies, charities and individuals across Scotland the opportunity to develop bold business cases and financial models which will attract the investment required to restore nature. “I’m inspired by the creativity and ambition projects such as insert your project name here show us as we scale up our efforts to halt biodiversity loss and create a nature-rich country for us all. A thriving natural capital market that benefits the restoration of our rivers, coasts, rainforests, peatlands, farmlands and urban greenspaces is great for communities and great for nature.” About FIRNS: About NatureScot: |
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Broadcast interviews
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Please inform your NatureScot Funding Officer or [email protected] of any requests for radio or TV interviews. Please consider, if appropriate, NatureScot staff as potential interviewees. Verbal communications (e.g. media interviews, public talks) must acknowledge FIRNS support and give credit to the Scottish Government and NatureScot as circumstances permit. |
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Pool video and images |
Internal video/images captured during the lifetime of the project remain the copyright of the funding recipient. These should be made freely available to NatureScot on request. If NatureScot uses the material, we will credit the recipient. |
|
Commissioned or in-house newsletter/magazine articles |
Commissioned and website articles should acknowledge the Facility for Investment Ready Nature in Scotland (FIRNS), Delivered by NatureScot in collaboration with The Scottish Government and in partnership with the National Lottery Heritage Fund with the agreed information about the project and should refer interested parties to: Facility for Investment Ready Nature in Scotland (FIRNS). Applicants should seek to publicise the project in their internal communications – e.g. Intranet, in-house publications - whenever possible. Proofs can be sent to your NatureScot Funding Officer or [email protected] before publication, where possible. |
Improving our service to you
We hope you found this guidance helpful. Your feedback is important to us and will help us to further improve our funding information and the service we provide. If you have any comments, then we’d like to hear from you.
Please send your comments to [email protected]. Thank you.
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