case-common-impact

Common Impact partners provides Fortune 500 companies and world-changing nonprofits with content on how to create social impact partnerships.

They came to us with an interest in optimizing their existing web application to scale with their content management needs and growing client base. They also wanted to a low maintentnce dev ops solution that allowed them to focus on their core business. Lastly, they were interested in feature set validation and exploring tools that would allow them to better serve their users.

web application

dev ops

A purpose-built CMS

Common Impact, a leading provider of non-profit research and social impact support tools, sought to enhance their content management system (CMS) to better serve their clients. With a diverse range of information to manage, they needed a strategic approach to address their unique CMS needs.

Solution: We conducted a thorough analysis of Common Impact’s existing CMS infrastructure and requirements. After identifying the gaps and opportunities for improvement, we developed a comprehensive technical strategy that included a modern database and a front-end framework with reusable components. The robust CMS provided user-friendly features and a scalable architecture, enabling Common Impact to manage and publish content more efficiently.

Result: The new CMS significantly improved Common Impact’s ability to organize and manage their resources, streamlining their operations and enhancing their overall client experience.

Building a suite of organization assessment tools

Common Impact required an sophisticated solution that would enable companies to effectively plan and evaluate their social impact efforts while also measuring the potential return on investment (ROI) of their projects.

Solution: Our team designed and built a suite of online organization assessment tools that incorporated various aspects of social impact efforts, including project length, organizational needs, communication strategy, and budget requirements. The tools provided companies with a clear roadmap for their social impact initiatives, as well as a reliable means of estimating the potential benefits and ROI.

Result: The organization assessment app empowered Common Impact’s clients to make data-driven decisions regarding their social impact projects, fostering more effective, meaningful initiatives, and ultimately maximizing their positive impact.

Analysis

Feature validation, client needs assessment and product exploration.

Strategy

Feedback & analysis drove the product management strategy.

DevOps

Custom middleware provided scalable, yet low maintentnce DevOps.

Network

We built a skilled volunteer network to support the product.

Web App

Web app with several assessment tools and a CMS.

Support

Product training, ongoing support and maintenance.

Skilled volunteer marketplace

While collaborating with Common Impact to validate the existing and explore new tools that could be used to support their mission, we identified a need for a marketplace where organizations could connect with skilled volunteers, such as project managers, impact domain experts, and web developers, to support their social impact efforts.

Solution: We developed a user-friendly marketplace platform using a modern full-stack approach, addressing all aspects of efficient data storage and retrieval, as well as a front-end framework that enabled rapid iteration and ultimately, a seamless user experience. The platform allowed users to create profiles, search for opportunities, and communicate with one another, ensuring smooth and efficient collaboration.

Result: The skilled volunteer marketplace enables Common Impact’s clients to easily find and collaborate with the right experts, improving the odds of project success and positive outcomes.

Picture of forest with a heart shaped lake evocative of Common Impacts environmental focus

Technical challenges

During the development of the content management system (CMS), the marketplace, and the organization assessment tool, our team encountered several technical challenges that required innovative solutions and efficient problem-solving.

In developing the organization assessment tool, we needed to create an intuitive user interface that could handle complex calculations and display results in a visually appealing manner. This required our team to devise innovative ways of processing and presenting large volumes of data within the tool while maintaining an optimal user experience.

The creation of the skilled volunteer marketplace presented its own set of challenges, primarily in terms of security and scalability. As the platform was expected to handle sensitive user data and accommodate a growing user base, we implemented advanced security measures, such as data encryption and secure authentication protocols, to protect user information. To ensure the platform could scale with increased demand, we designed the system architecture with horizontal scalability in mind, allowing for seamless addition of resources as needed.