Building Community, Creating Solutions

Organization Name:
National Council for Science and the Environment
City & State:
Describe your creative piece – what is it and what has it been used for, and why is it innovative?
New brochure to enhance the visibility and public's awareness of the National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE), a small 501(c)3 non-profit organization based in Washington, DC dedicated to improving the scientific basis of environmental decision-making. Our NCSE Brochure seeks to convey a simple, coherent but compelling story about NCSE, its vision and goals, and its programs that span an array of issues focused on research, education and communication. It has been used to raise awareness among key stakeholders and the general public, as well as a marketing tool for strategic meetings with funders and potential project partners from government, corporate and non-profit sectors. The brochure is innovative in its use of a series of bright, arresting and positive images to convey the key themes of NCSE's mission, programs and impacts with limited text in non-technical language. It is also an odd size so it stands out against other organization's marketing materials.
What issue or problem were you working to address with this piece?
NCSE had not developed a brochure highlighting the value and impact of its programs and initiatives since 2004 with a small staff of 15 and limited time and resources. However, celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2010, staff decided it was time to revamp the organization's image and marketing materials as cost-effectively as possible. The main issue was developing a brochure that is visually appealing and accessible to all audiences despite the fact that NCSE is a fairly academic, science-driven organization with an array of individually-branded programs that are not always clearly identified with NCSE in the public's minds.
How has your submission successfully impacted your organization’s ability to solve this issue/problem?
NCSE specializes in bringing together the diverse communities creating and using environmental knowledge, and working collectively to make science relevant to real world problem-solving for critical environmental challenges from climate change and energy to biodiversity and oceans. Enabling the organization to enhance its visibility and outreach to research, education, environmental and business organizations as well as local, state and federal agencies is critical to its mission. A professional, attractive and easy-to-read brochure also enhances NCSE's credibility as it is typically expected for a non-profit to possess basic marketing and communications materials.
Creative Submission - Files