News

We recently kicked off a new project, working alongside Catalyst, to create the second version of a classification system for the charity sector.  Yep, that’s a big sentence. There’s a lot to unpack there. The project itself is fascinating, the scope is challenging, and the various stakeholders, previous work completed and partners make it a […]

The Open Working Line-up (OWL) is a team of people helping Catalyst-funded charities work in the open and reuse existing tools and technologies.   Working in the open is as simple as sharing your work with others – inside or outside your organisation – and using work that’s been done by others to help you with […]

I am yet to see an organisation that has completed a ‘digital transformation’. “Why?” you ask. Because ‘digital transformation’ is not something that is static or finished. It is a range of ever-developing and adapting processes which aim to adjust an organisation’s thinking and the ways it delivers its services. The Co-op Digital Team presents […]

UX, or user experience, design is the process of creating experiences that are easy, relevant, and accessible to everyone. This includes your website and how it links with ‘offline’ experiences, such as signing up to volunteer then helping out at a fundraising event. It also includes any other digital products like apps or voice assistants. […]

“Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won’t come in.” ― Isaac Asimov While driving last week a red sports car undercut me – at about 90mph.  That was an unsafe, overconfident, law-flaunting individual in the other car, wasn’t it? When I was […]

Got an idea for a new digital service or product? Want to develop or change something you are already doing? Designing and building a new website? Iterative working could help! Iterative working is a design methodology that helps you learn and improve your product or service as you go. It’s a continuous cycle of learning, […]

Over the past six weeks, Founders and Coders have been delivering our Collaborative Digital Training Programme in partnership with CAST. Working closely with the two participating charities Social Action for Health and Pursuing Independent Paths throughout the progress has emphasised the strength of a collaborative approach to designing digital products. In this article, I’ll outline […]

Charity is about community. Almost every charity serves a community, and most charities are interested in bringing the members of their communities closer together. For the most part, charities have focused on doing this in person. But now, in the time of lockdown, the only way to bring your community together is online. The thing […]

“In my work with charities I see confusion over the differences between different types of ‘design’. Sometimes this grappling with terminology leads to unnecessary angst. It would be super helpful to be able to signpost them to something.” – Ellie Hale, Digital Teams Lead at Catalyst That’s how this article came about. It’s a mini-guide […]

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. It’s precious as a pearl. So in 2018 the Tech for Good Hub asked six services the Tech for Good programme funded what hindsight advice they would give charities wanting to build digital services for the first time. All six had been successful. They were demonstrating impact after their grant […]

You want to move ahead with a digital service, maybe moving some of your existing service online, changing or expanding the service you offer. Have you carried out a risk assessment to help you decide how to do so safely? This article presents a robust process and downloadable guide to get you started. Why risk […]

Many charities reacted quickly to the constraints imposed by COVID-19 in 2020, adjusting their ways of working to keep their organisation active and deliver key services in communities and across the nation. In many cases, this meant placing greater reliance on digital technology. With the pace of change it was easy to ignore the need […]