Key publications

This page summarises The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation (IAF) key publications. The publications and resources all link directly to the PDF document that is available for you to download.

These key publications will evolve over time as new documents emerge, or are updated and developed

The publications and guidance are listed in alphabetical order.

This page was last updated on: 1 February 2024.

Adults Delivering the Award

This policy is in development. The link references the Growing the Award Volunteer Network which details the policy, procedures and requirements relating to supporting and managing adults delivering the Award.

Annual Report

An Annual Report is produced by The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation for each financial year.

Annual Report and Financial Statements 2016/17

Annual Report and Financial Statements 2017/18

Annual Report and Financial Statements 2018/19

Annual Report 2019/2020 and Financial Statements 2019/2020

Annual Report and Financial Statements 2020/21

Annual Report and Financial Statements 2021/22

Annual Report Summary 2022

The Summary of the Annual Report 2022 includes the Chairman’s Report, key achievements and significant events and the Financial Summary.

Annual Report and Financial Statements 2022/23

Annual Review

Our Annual Review illustrates how the Award has progressed around the world during a calendar year.

Annual Review 2017/2018

Annual Review 2018/2019 – concise digital version

Annual Review and Financial Statements 2018/2019 – full version

Award in numbers

This publication is updated annually with the latest figures and statistics about the Award around the world. You can find information including long-term positive habits shaped by doing the Award, the Award’s Net Promotor Score and information on volunteering and the Award. If you are a national office, running the Award in your country and wish to adapt the global statistics to reflect your national market, then please contact your Operations Manager ([email protected]).

Award marketing publications

Publications to promote the Award and encourage new participants and volunteers to get involved.  They are individually targeted to different groups.

The Award at a Glance 

Parents: Your young people and the Award

Volunteers: Helping young people to thrive

Schools and teachers: World class learning outside the classroom

Brand Guidelines

The Brand Guidelines are determined by which branding route a country has chosen. They set out the elements governing the Award brand, the application of the logo and supporting visual images. You can access each of the separate Brand Guideline packs, depending on your branding route.

Brand Guidelines: Independent Award Centres

This is the Brand Guidelines for our Independent Award Centres.

Brand Guidelines: NAO Endorsement

This is the Brand Guidelines for National Award Operators who have chosen the Endorsement branding route.

Brand Guidelines: NAO Monolithic 

This is the Brand Guidelines for National Award Operators who have chosen the Monolithic branding route.

Brand Guidelines: Operating Partners

This is the Brand Guidelines for Award Operating Partners.

Brand Guidelines: Supporter Pack

This is the full Brand Guidelines with every branding route included.

Brand Essentials

The Brand Essentials publications are one-page summaries linked to the full Brand Guidelines packs listed above. They are a quick and easy way to see key information regarding your branding route, but are by no means exhaustive. They should always be used in conjunction with the relevant Brand Guidelines pack where possible.

Brand Essentials: Award Centres and Operating Partners

This is the Brand Essentials for Award Centres and Operating Partners.

Brand Essentials: Independent Award Centres

This is the Brand Essentials for our International Award Centres

Brand Essentials: NAO Endorsement

This is the Brand Essentials for National Award Operators who have chosen the Endorsement branding route.

Brand Essentials: NAO Monolithic

This is the Brand Essentials for National Award Operators who have chosen the Monolithic branding route.

Case for Support 2024

The Future Is Our Youth’ Case for Support publication highlights the invaluable impact that a holistic education has on the development of young people and how The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award makes a difference to the lives of young people globally, emphasising the Foundation’s role in nurturing universal skills to become the changemakers of tomorrow who are truly #WorldReady.

Global Consent Form

We require anyone who shares their photographs and video footage with us to gain the relevant consent for international use from any people featured. Please ensure that those included in any photographs or film footage sign and return this downloadable form, which guarantees their consent for international use of this content for ten years.

Global Consent Overview 2022

A one page summary of why we look to gather your Award stories, photos and video.

Glossary of Terms

The glossary is a reference tool which can be used by anyone who is involved with the Award. This includes Award Operators, participants, partners, supporters, International Award Foundation staff and Trustees. It provides the agreed definitions by the Foundation and its Operators.

Guiding Principles

The Guiding Principles are designed to ensure that a young person has a meaningful and purposeful journey through their Award, as well as ensuring that the impact of achieving their Award provides a lasting personal legacy.

The Award’s guiding principles are:  individual, non-competitive, achievable, voluntary, development, balanced, progressive, inspiration, persistence and enjoyable.

Please see International Handbook for Award Leaders page 14 for further information.

Life and Legacy: HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

In honour of the life and legacy of our Founder, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh KG KT, we are inviting you to become a champion of young people’s infinite potential and help us sustain His Royal Highness’s vision and ambition for young people, wherever and whoever they may be.

Media Pack

A toolkit for journalists including key facts about the Award, the long-term benefits and impact on both participants and the wider community, that come from doing the Award, case studies of participants and much more.

Photography Competition T&Cs 2022

These are the terms and conditions for our 2022 #WORLDREADY Moment photography competition.

Research Review

The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation (The Foundation) has produced this paper to summarise the predominantly qualitative international research which has studied the impact of the Award. This research took place between 1997 and 2019. It was conducted by a range of organisations including academic institutions, professional bodies and consultancies.

Staff and Award Operators can use this summary to communicate with their different
stakeholder groups about the impact of the Award. This is only a summary document, and a fuller summary of each individual piece of research, as well as the full copy of each study is available on request from the Foundation ([email protected]).

Social Value Report

Changing Lives in a Changing World is our social value model and evaluation publication, created in conjunction with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). It measures the social value of the Award as a non-formal education and learning framework.

Social value is the value of the difference we make. It is the value of the changes that stakeholders – such as young people, adults involved in the Award delivery, businesses and governments – experience due to the Award.

Through our social value model we are uncovering how these changes occur. Through welfare economics we can represent these changes in monetary terms. Social value evaluation helps us understand the contribution of the Award to society and economy.

The methodology of our social value evaluation uses quantitative research and data to value the following broad, long-term effects of the Award on individuals and their communities.

Global Strategy, 2018-2023

The International Award Association Global Strategy is a document that sets out the strategy for the Association as a whole in developing and growing the Award worldwide. The current strategy projects forward to 2023.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award and Scouting

The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award (the Award) and The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) have worked together for many years. The Award is the largest global framework for recognising young people’s achievements in non-formal education and adds another form of global recognition for young people undertaking their Scout Awards.

Find out more about how we work with Scouts here.

Transforming the Award

The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award is a non-formal education and learning framework operating in more than 130 countries and territories around the world, through which young people’s achievements outside of academia are recognised and celebrated.

Our ambition is that every young person aged 14–24 in the world should have the opportunity to participate in achieve their Award.

This document helps set out how we plan to achieve the scale and growth needed over the coming years.

Unlocking Infinite Potential

Over the next three years, we plan to raise in excess of £25 million, to, amongst other things, help enable more than two million additional young people to start their Award journey, particularly those from at risk and marginalised backgrounds. This ‘Case for Support’ document explains how the Award intends to support the next generation to be #WORLDREADY.

#WORLDREADY Discussion Paper

There are 1.8 billion young people aged 10-24 in the world today; the largest youth generation in history. Though fast-paced developments in technology mean the world has never been smaller or more accessible, it has also become increasingly unstable, uncertain and often insecure.

As today’s young people set out to find their place in this world, and are bombarded by information, expectations and uncertainty, we believe they are growing up with a mosaic of complexities and challenges unseen by previous generations.

In this rapidly-changing environment, how do young people prepare themselves for their future? For their world? This paper explores some ideas.