Terms of Reference for IUCN Consultancy

Title: Graphic Design and Visualisation of the IslandPlas Plastic Waste Profiles

Objective of the Consultancy

The objective of this consultancy is to engage an experienced graphic designer or design agency to develop an understandable, engaging and accessible visual identity for the seven IslandPlas national Plastic Waste Profiles (PWPs), covering Cabo Verde, Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, and Zanzibar.

IUCN holds in its possession the draft PWP reports, and the aim of this consultancy is to transform these technically detailed reports into clear, visually compelling and easy-to-navigate publications. The assignment will focus on professional publication layout, information design, infographics, diagrams, maps, icons and data visualisations, while ensuring that all seven reports are aesthetically consistent and recognisable as one IslandPlas publication series.

About IUCN

IUCN is a membership Union uniquely composed of both government and civil society organisations. It provides public, private and non-governmental organisations with the knowledge and tools that enable human progress, economic development and nature conservation to take place together.

Created in 1948, IUCN is now the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network, harnessing the knowledge, resources and reach of more than 1,400 Member organisations and around 15,000 experts. It is a leading provider of conservation data, assessments and analysis. Its broad membership enables IUCN to fill the role of incubator and trusted repository of best practices, tools and international standards.

IUCN provides a neutral space in which diverse stakeholders including governments, NGOs, scientists, businesses, local communities, indigenous peoples organisations and others can work together to forge and implement solutions to environmental challenges and achieve sustainable development.

Working with many partners and supporters, IUCN implements a large and diverse portfolio of conservation projects worldwide. Combining the latest science with the traditional knowledge of local communities, these projects work to reverse habitat loss, restore ecosystems and improve people’s well-being.

www.iucn.org

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About the Project

The IslandPlas project is an IUCN-led initiative, supported by The Coca-Cola Foundation, that targets seven African Islands; Cabo Verde, Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, and Zanzibar. The project, running until end of 2027 envisions African Islands that are free from plastic waste in the environment, and in which circular measures are in place to prevent plastic leakage into the ocean. The project actions are designed to reduce and prevent plastic pollution into the environment through demonstrating effective, quantifiable solutions to addressing plastic leakage.

Among others, the project contributes to achieving the objectives prescribed in the Declaration adopted by the Ministerial Conference on the Blue and Circular Economy in the Island States of Africa and the Indian Ocean (September 2023), that advocates for a blue and circular economy, enabled through circular entrepreneurship, skills development, increased investment towards science, research and development, and legal and policy reforms. The project is designed to strengthen understanding of national plastic material flows and waste and pollution footprint, integrate and support informal waste sector actors and local communities, support local ventures for innovation to reduce plastic pollution using locally-appropriate solutions, strengthen institutional capacities (governmental, municipal, community level) to catalyse change, and explore potential for an inter-regional recycling hub.

At the regional level, the project aims to achieve three main outcomes:

1. Sustainable and improved livelihoods of informal waste sector actors engaged in a circular plastics economy (9,600 beneficiaries);

2. Quantifiable regeneration of plastic waste material through circular approaches, including through plastic material recovery (14,000 tons), recycling (5,600 tons) and upcycling; and

3. Strengthened sector innovation and enterprise development with new growth opportunities through direct capital investments to locally-appropriate solutions (US $2 million).

As part of the project, IslandPlas is developing a national Plastic Waste Profile for each of the seven project countries. The profiles bring together technical evidence on plastic material flows, waste generation and management, collection and recycling systems, plastic leakage, policy and governance, stakeholders, infrastructure, data gaps, challenges and opportunities for action. The technical content will be developed and quality-assured separately by IUCN and its technical consultants; this consultancy therefore focuses on visual communication, information design and final publication production.

Description of the Assignment

The selected consultant will be responsible for the graphic design, information visualisation and final layout of seven national IslandPlas Plastic Waste Profiles, whose draft reports exist. The consultant will work from technical content supplied and approved by IUCN and will be expected to identify opportunities to communicate complex information more effectively through visual design.

The assignment should go beyond formatting text. The consultant should actively identify what information can be communicated more clearly through infographics, diagrams, charts, maps, visual summaries, pull-out statistics and other information-design techniques, without changing the scientific meaning of the content.

1. Develop a common visual identity and report template

• Develop a professional visual approach for the IslandPlas Plastic Waste Profile series in consultation with IUCN.

• Establish consistent publication layout and page architecture, cover design, typography, section hierarchy, colour palette, tables, charts, maps, photographs, call-out boxes, references, iconography and illustration style, in accordance with the IslandPlas brand guidelines, and the IUCN Great Blue Wall Style Guide.

• Create standard approaches for highlighting key statistics, findings, recommendations, uncertainty and data gaps.

• Ensure all seven reports are aesthetically consistent and immediately recognisable as part of one IslandPlas publication series, while allowing appropriate country-specific identity through photography, maps and other visual elements.

2. Design and layout seven national Plastic Waste Profiles

• Apply the approved visual identity to the national profiles for Cabo Verde, Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, and Zanzibar.

• Convert the supplied technical content into professionally designed publications with a consistent structure, visual hierarchy and reader experience across all seven reports.

• Where report structures or information vary between countries, propose appropriate design solutions while maintaining overall consistency and comparability.

3. Develop infographics and data visualisations

• Translate complex quantitative and qualitative information into clear, accurate and engaging visual communication.

• Potential visual products may include plastic material flow diagrams; waste generation, collection and recycling statistics; plastic leakage pathways; waste management system diagrams; value chain diagrams; stakeholder maps; policy timelines; geographic maps; plastic waste composition; sources and destinations of plastic material; data gap summaries; and visual presentation of priority actions or recommendations.

• Develop clear country-level headline statistics and visual summaries that allow readers to quickly understand the most important findings.

• Simplify and clarify information without changing its scientific meaning. The consultant will not be expected to undertake new scientific analysis and should seek clarification from IUCN where any modification or interpretation is required.

4. Improve accessibility of complex technical information

• Use design to create a clear hierarchy between headline findings, key statistics, supporting evidence, technical detail, data limitations and recommendations.

• Where appropriate, break up dense sections using visual summaries, pull-out statistics, diagrams, icons, illustrations or other information design approaches.

• Ensure the profiles remain technically robust while being accessible to both specialist and non-specialist audiences, including government decision-makers, waste management practitioners, private sector actors, development partners, researchers and communities.

5. Maintain consistency and comparability across countries

• Use consistent terminology, visualisation formats, icons, graph styles, units, page structures and visual hierarchy for comparable indicators across the seven reports wherever possible.

• Develop the visual system so that it can support future regional comparison and synthesis of IslandPlas results.

6. Image selection and visual assets

• Work with project photographs and other visual assets supplied by IUCN and recommend where photography or illustration would strengthen the publications.

• Ensure captions and image credits are correctly assigned and consistently presented and develop icons or simple illustrations where required.

• Any externally sourced visual material must have appropriate permissions and licensing for IUCN use.

7. Review, revision and final production

• Develop an initial draft design concept and representative sample pages for IUCN approval before full production begins.

• Apply the agreed approach to one complete country profile as a prototype to test the full design system, including infographics and data visualisation.

• Roll out the approved design system across all seven country profiles and incorporate consolidated feedback from IUCN.

• Provide final publication-ready, web-optimised and editable/source files, including editable versions of original infographics, illustrations and graphic assets created through the consultancy.

Duration of the Assignment

The consultancy is expected to run for approximately eight (8) weeks from contract signature spread out over three months. The final schedule will be agreed during the inception phase and may be adapted according to the readiness of individual country reports and the timing of consolidated IUCN feedback.

The assignment will cover design concept development, production of a complete prototype profile, rollout across all seven countries, revisions and final publication production.

Deliverables and activities

The consultant will provide the following deliverables and carry out the following activities:

Deliverable / Activity - Description - Indicative Timeline

1. Inception and Design Concept - Kick-off meeting with IUCN and submission of the proposed creative direction, visual identity, typography, colour palette, report structure and proposed approaches to data visualisation. - Week 1

2. Sample Report Pages / Visual System - Design approximately 5–10 representative pages demonstrating the cover, contents, section pages, body text, data visualisations, tables, photography, call-out statistics and other core design elements. - Week 2

3. First Complete PWP Prototype - Design and layout one complete country Plastic Waste Profile, including proposed infographics and data visualisations, for IUCN review before rolling out the design across the remaining profiles. - Weeks 2–3

4. Seven Draft Plastic Waste Profiles - Complete the first design and layout of all seven country reports using the approved visual system. - Weeks 4–6

5. Revised Final Reports - Incorporate consolidated IUCN technical, communications and country team feedback and deliver seven final designed reports. - Weeks 7

6. Final Publication Package - Deliver final high-resolution and web-optimised PDFs (including French and Portuguese versions), editable/source design files and editable versions of all original infographics, illustrations and graphic assets created through the consultancy. - Week 8

Payment Schedule

The Timetable below summarises the chronological order of deliverables and indicates milestones at which IUCN will pay the Consultant.

Deliverable - Milestone payment

IUCN approval of the inception/design concept and representative sample pages. - 20%

Submission of the complete first design/layout of all seven country Plastic Waste Profiles - 30%

IUCN approval of all seven final reports and receipt of the complete final publication package, including editable/source files and graphic assets. - 50%