Supporting C3SC to Improve Communication in their Membership Network

ProMo Cymru supported Cardiff Third Sector Council (C3SC) in examining their online social networking space to better understand the challenges their members face when building networks and seeking partnerships.

What was the problem?

Cardiff Third Sector Council (C3SC) are a third sector infrastructure body serving the Cardiff region. They provide third sector groups with tailored advice, guidance and support to access funding, recruit and retain volunteers, and elevate the voice of the third sector.  

C3SC joined ProMo Cymru’s Digital Service Design Programme in 2024 in hopes of using service design thinking to improve their services. C3SC wanted to examine their online social networking space, the Cardiff Community Platform, to understand the challenges their members face when building networks and seeking partnerships.

The Cardiff Community Platform was launched in 2021, following a project led by C3SC. It was conducted in partnership with Vale of Glamorgan Council, CVUHB and Glamorgan Voluntary Council in response to the Covid-19 crisis. It was aimed at supporting more people and communities to benefit from volunteering in the longer term.

The research identified a need amongst third sector organisations for a dedicated space for organising and planning responses to emergencies and critical incidents. From this, the Cardiff Community Platform was designed as a ‘third-sector Facebook.’ At the start of the programme, C3SC were dealing with challenges in staff capacity and buy-in, as well as general usage of the platform across our membership base. 

Our approach

ProMo Cymru delivers the Digital Service Design Programme to third sector organisations in Wales. Through this programme, organisations receive training, mentoring and guidance to design and develop a new digital service or rethink existing services using the service design methodology. Participants follow the Discover, Define, Develop and Deliver process to find user-focused solutions that make a real difference.

The aim of the course is to provide participants with the knowledge and skills to design user-centred digital, accessible services that lead to delivering better outcomes for communities in Wales.

Researching their audience

C3SC conducted a consultation with their members about their experiences in connecting with other third sector organisations to support their longer-term sustainability through partnership working or peer support. In particular, they focused on the challenges and the barriers they encountered in this process. As a part of the exercise, they completed a user journey exercise mapping of their perceived experience of using a new digital tool. 

The key findings that C3SC took away from the consultation were that their members prioritised timeliness and ease of use with any new tool. Their biggest barrier in working in partnership with other groups was finding time to connect, and knowing which groups were trustworthy. These findings caused them to take a step back and evaluate the useability of digital tools as well as their own role in providing ‘vetted’ contacts and networking opportunities for their members.

Why WhatsApp?

C3SC then identified WhatsApp Communities as a skateboard (click here to find out more about this) for addressing the central need identified through their research. The skateboard aimed to support members to connect in a trustworthy and vetted closed environment using a platform that many people are already using and versed in. By using WhatsApp Communities, C3SC could offer their members a shared space to receive updates from them in a timely way and connect with other third sector organisations that they knew were members of C3SC. All members of C3SC undergo basic health checks by C3SC’s Third Sector Development Officers and their membership is signed off by their Board of Trustees.

Testing and iteration

C3SC initially tested with a small interest group, to trial how C3SC staff would use WhatsApp Communities. They wanted to gather feedback from members about what features they liked, what they wanted to be done differently, and if the system was useful for them. 

They created a small WhatsApp Community for their member organisations working to support carers in Cardiff. They had an announcement group where they shared relevant information for their work. They also had a general chat group where all members of the Community could interact. 

Feedback received was that the general chat needed more active guidance from C3SC, including actively encouraging members to introduce themselves and share what their organisations do. They found the announcements feature useful, and always read announcements, even if they did not take action as a result of the information. 

Outcomes and learning

C3SC learned that the WhatsApp Communities was an effective way to share information quickly, and that it was convenient for members to access that information on the go. While they still need to conduct larger testing with other interest groups and networks within their membership, C3SC are hopeful that these same benefits will be mirrored in larger Communities.

Cardiff Third Sector Council are also aiming to increase participation in the chats by using a targeted timeline and dedicated leads in each Community to ensure there are prompts for introductions, conversations, and that a staff member is quickly responding to questions that are raised to their team in the space.

Ultimately, the goal is to shape their use of the function to meet their members’ needs, empowering them to stay connected and develop sustainably by enabling them to more effectively take advantage of opportunities. 

After taking part in the course, a staff member from Cardiff Third Sector Council shared that:

“The exploration of the double diamond service design method was illuminating and provided a visual aid for guiding our actions. By placing focus on the service user (in this case, our members) this model aligns with our organisational ethos in working with our membership to shape our services and guide our development”.

When asked about the most challenging aspect of the course, they stated:

“As always within the third sector, time can be a challenging resource to allocate to non-critical tasks. The course provided us with a meaningful opportunity to dedicate to developing this approach and testing the WhatsApp Community functions. Moving forward, we will work across our staff team, guided by the management team, to ensure this work is not lost but continues to be rolled out in iterative testing, ensuring it strengthens our role in sustainably developing communities and groups and that we maximise the benefits for our members.”

Cardiff Third Sector Council were one of six third sector organisations that attended the 2024 cohort of the Digital Service Design Programme. Thanks to funding through the National Lottery Community Fund for the Third Sector Digital Support project, ProMo Cymru were able to offer each participating organisation £4,800 remuneration to contribute towards staff time and resources for the 7-month course.

Interested in the power of service design for your organisation?

At ProMo Cymru, we help organisations to design better services with people using a service design methodology. Our approach combines our experience in youth work, community organising, co-design, and cultural engagement and is underpinned by our thinking in digital creativity.