Think was appointed to support the completion and delivery of The National Lottery Community Fund’s 2024-25 Annual Report and Accounts after the project had already begun. The scope included reviewing and finalising the UK report, ensuring accessibility compliance, producing the Welsh-language edition and overseeing a short-run print version.
Not every successful project begins with a contract award.
When The National Lottery Community Fund was seeking a supplier for its 2024-25 Annual Report and Accounts, Think submitted a detailed proposal covering design, artwork production, accessibility, Welsh translation and typesetting, quality assurance, project governance and final delivery.
The work was initially awarded to another provider.
Several months later, however, the Fund approached Think for support.
The Annual Report and Accounts is one of the Fund’s most significant corporate publications. As a statutory document, it combines organisational performance, governance reporting and financial statements, all of which require extensive review and approval from senior stakeholders, auditors and the National Audit Office.
This was not simply a report production exercise.
The publication contained detailed financial information, governance content, tables, charts and data visualisations, alongside strict accessibility requirements and multiple output formats.
As publication deadlines drew closer, additional expertise was needed to prepare the report for release and ensure it met digital accessibility requirements. Stakeholders were already seeking updates on the accessible version and the timeline had become increasingly challenging.
Think was brought in to support the final stages of delivery.
Entering a project late in its lifecycle brings a different set of challenges compared to starting from the beginning.
Rather than creating the report from the ground up, we inherited existing artwork files and an active publication schedule. The first step was understanding the work completed to date, evaluating document quality and structure, and identifying the most effective path to completion.
This was not a redesign project.
It was a technical delivery exercise that required expertise, accuracy and the ability to integrate into an established process while working to fixed deadlines.
While the design stage had already been completed, substantial work remained before publication could take place.
Every page of the English-language report required review and preparation for accessibility compliance. This involved far more than applying tags to a PDF. We carried out a comprehensive assessment of the document, examining structure, paragraph styles, navigation, artwork placement, layout consistency and hierarchy across more than 150 pages.
Accessibility was a key requirement. As a public body, The National Lottery Community Fund needed a publication that could meet recognised accessibility standards and be confidently distributed online. The final report had to be navigable, compatible with assistive technologies and structured appropriately for all users.
Working through the document in detail, we resolved inconsistencies, strengthened the overall structure and implemented the technical requirements necessary to create a fully accessible publication. Once the English version had been fully reviewed and prepared, we completed final accessibility testing and validation.
Following delivery of the UK report, we produced the Welsh-language edition, maintaining consistency across both publications while applying the same quality, accessibility and usability standards. We also prepared artwork for a short-run printed edition and managed the production process through to completion.
This required a dedicated print workflow, production-ready artwork and print management expertise to ensure the printed reports matched the quality and accuracy of the digital versions.
The result was a complex statutory publication delivered on schedule, fully accessible, compliant and suitable for a broad audience, including users who rely on assistive technologies.
Think supported the successful delivery of the Fund’s 2024-25 Annual Report and Accounts by reviewing and completing the UK report, implementing accessibility compliance, producing the Welsh edition and managing artwork preparation and print production.
Despite becoming involved late in the programme, we provided the expertise, structure and delivery support required to complete a complex publication project.
The final reports met required publication standards, maintained consistency between print and digital formats and enabled the Fund to provide an accessible experience for all users while delivering high-quality printed copies for key stakeholders.
The success of complex projects is not determined by how they begin, but by how effectively they are delivered.
This project highlighted the importance of experience, process and adaptability when compliance, deadlines and organisational reputation are at stake.
The National Lottery Community Fund did not require a new creative concept. They needed a partner who could join a live project, resolve challenges, deliver accessibility compliance, produce multilingual versions, manage print production, and ensure successful completion.
That is what Think delivered.