Development of a Brandbook and Visual Guidelines for the EU4Reconstruction programme 

General Background 

The European Union (EU), together with Denmark, Germany, France and Lithuania, launched EU4Reconstruction, a €37 million Team Europe Initiative (TEI) that unites the strength, experience and solidarity of the EU to support Ukraine’s ongoing recovery and reconstruction. 

The initiative aims to strengthen governance, improve public investment management, and enhance coordination across levels of government, with a strong emphasis on EU values. 

The initiative is divided in two parallel streams: 

Stream 1. Reconstruction governance and construction sector reform, municipal support and participation. Stream 1 is implemented by GIZ (Lead Organisation) and Expertise France (Partner Organisation). 

Stream 2. Institutional strengthening of the SARDI ecosystem and large municipalities. Stream 2 is implemented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark (Lead Organisation) and CPVA (Partner Organisation). 

EU4Reconstruction will reinforce the leadership of the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development, strengthen the State Agency for Reconstruction and Development of Infrastructure, empower local governments to manage reconstruction professionally and sustainably, and support civil society and independent media to play an active role in oversight, ensuring public trust and reducing corruption risks. 

EU4Reconstruction is a multi-component programme implemented through different streams and partners, which results in a complex communication environment. Stream 1 and Stream 2 operate with distinct institutional counterparts and thematic focuses, while remaining parts of a single overarching EU initiative. 

In this context, there is a clear need for a carefully designed and coherent visual identity that, on the one hand, allows for a clear differentiation of activities implemented by each stream and partner, and, on the other hand, consistently presents them as integral components of the unified EU4Reconstruction programme. It should be noted that during the start up phase, a logo and basic visual elements were developed and should be used as a basis for further branding. 

 In view of the above, EU4Reconstruction seeks to develop a comprehensive Brandbook and Visual Guidelines that will define the programme’s visual identity, strengthen communication quality and support the effective promotion of EU support to Ukraine’s reconstruction. 

This Terms of Reference defines the scope, tasks and expectations for the development of a Brandbook and Visual Guidelines that will form the basis of EU4Reconstruction’s visual communication. 

Objective 

To engage a qualified service provider to develop the EU4Reconstruction Brandbook and Visual Guidelines, including all core elements of visual identity and a complete set of templates and tools for daily communication needs across digital, print, documentation and event environments. 

Scope of work 

Development of the EU4Reconstruction Brandbook and Visual Guidelines should be based on the EU4Reconstruction Communication Framework (a copy will be provided to the selected Contractor), the results of the situational analysis of relevant EU-funded projects, as well as on the outcomes of working sessions with the EU4Reconstruction team. 

The service provider will develop and deliver a complete brand identity package. The assignment includes, but is not limited to, the following tasks: 

1. Conduct a review of the visual landscape, analysing relevant donor-funded projects and identifying key design trends applicable to EU4Reconstruction. 
2. Hold working sessions with EU4Reconstruction representatives to present, refine and align design ideas, concepts and proposed approaches. 
3. Develop an overarching visual concept aligned with EU visibility requirements as well as other donors, including correct application of the EU4Reconstruction logo, donor board and mandatory branding elements. 
4. Define the core visual components, including the colour palette (primary, secondary, extended) and typography (primary, secondary, digital fonts). 
5. Develop iconography and illustration styles to ensure consistency across all visual materials. 
6. Produce a fully structured EU4Reconstruction Brandbook and Visual Guidelines, outlining rules, applications, examples and technical specifications. 
7. Develop a complete set of communication templates (digital, print and corporate documentation), ensuring they are fully editable and ready for practical use by programme teams. 
8. Prepare applied examples using EU4Reconstruction content (e.g. sample social media posts, factsheets, posters, event materials, corporate documents, merch) to demonstrate the correct use of the Brandbook and templates in real communication scenarios. 
9. Deliver all final design assets and source files (including editable formats and ready-to-use exports) in an agreed structure, ensuring that EU4Reconstruction and its partners can independently apply and adapt the visual identity in the future. 

Deliverables 

The Deliverables are presented below in Table 1 with a tentative schedule. 

Table 1: Summary of deliverables/outputs and the tentative timeline for delivery. 

Read all details in Terms of Reference for Development  of a Brandbook and Visual Guidelines for the EU4Reconstruction programme.

Requirements for the Service Provider 

The assignment may be implemented either by an individual expert or by a team of experts or a company/NGO. In the case of a team/company/NGO, one person shall be designated as the Lead Consultant, responsible for overall coordination, communication with EU4Reconstruction and quality assurance of all deliverables. 

The contract will be awarded to a service provider meeting the following requirements: 

• Proven track record of development visual identities, brandbooks and/or visual guidelines, demonstrated through a relevant portfolio of completed projects (brandbooks, identity systems, template packages, etc.). 
• Practical experience of providing similar services to international organisations, public institutions, donor-funded programmes or similar initiatives will be an asset. 
• Strong creative and technical capacity in visual communication, layout design and template development for both digital and print formats. 
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (at minimum Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop) or analogical software and experience in preparing editable templates in MS Office and/or Canva, PowerPoint, Word, etc. 
• Registered as a company, or private entrepreneur or NGO according to Ukrainian legislation. 

If implemented by a team, the combined expertise of the team members must cover all the above requirements. 

Budget and timeframe 

The maximum budget for the assignment may not exceed EUR 5 000. The Tenderer’s financial proposal shall include all costs for a fee and project-related reimbursable expenses. 

The assignment will start following a notification issued by the contracting authority, but not earlier than the date of signing the contract between the Customer and the Contractor. 

The tentative start date is January 2026. All activities under this contract shall be completed within 3 months following contract signature. 

Payment will be made in a maximum of two instalments. The first instalment, representing a maximum of 30% of the total contract value, will be made after receipt and approval of the Contractor’s updated work plan. The second and final payment of 70% will be made upon final Brandbook delivery and approval of all other project deliverables and documents, including the final invoice. 

All payments are subject to verification of deliverable completion and approval by the EU4Reconstruction. 

Reporting and management 

The performance of the Contractor will be judged upon reaching the purpose of this contract as well as obtaining its results, as indicated in the section “Objective” and “Deliverables” herein respectively. Moreover, the performance of the Consultant will be judged upon the successful implementation of all the specific activities indicated in Section “Scope of work” of this document. 

All reports, supporting information and payment-related documents shall be submitted to the EU4Reconstruction Communication Manager. 

How to apply 

The deadline for submitting the proposal is 7 January 2026, 17:00 Kyiv time. 

All interested candidates should submit the following documents in English: 

• Fully completed Annex 1. Please note that: 

– If individual expert applies, submit his/her CV. 

– If team/company/NGO applies, submit CV for a Lead Consultant. 

• Portfolio of previous projects 
• Financial offer (Annex 2, forms 1 and 2) in EUR. 

If these documents are not submitted in line with the requirements above, the bid will not be considered. 

The proposal shall include the aforementioned information and should be submitted within the above deadline to [email protected] cc to [email protected] indicating the subject line: “Brandbook for EU4R”.

Bidding language: English.

Any clarification questions regarding the terms of reference should be addressed to [email protected] cc to tetsmy@um.dk, not later than 2 January 2026, 18-00 Kyiv time. 

Evaluation criteria 

Read all details in Terms of Reference for Development  of a Brandbook and Visual Guidelines for the EU4Reconstruction programme.