Under construction

This is the start of something big – a project to improve digital communication channels at SCVO.

Hi, I'm Calum

I recently started working at SCVO and head up the Web Team within Digital. I'll be using this blog to document the development of all our web properties to help colleagues within the organisation better understand what we're doing and why we're doing it, and to share our experiences with others outwith the organisation – we want to show that it's entirely possible to build high-quality web services with a small team and it shouldn't cost the earth.

de•vel•op (dɪˈvɛl əp) v.t.
1. to bring out the possibilities of; bring to a more advanced, effective, or usable state

Our objective is to maintain a public-facing online presence that continues to meet user needs by providing clear, accessible, and relevant information. In order to develop this website to help the organisation communicate effectively, we need to take a step back and plan the journey ahead.

The starting point – an audit of our current portfolio of websites. Over the years, many different sites and services have been created by and for SCVO. Not all need to remain online, and those that are required are in various states of repair. I'm sure this is a familiar situation for many organisations!

Secondly – a review, is it technically and operationally possible (or even desirable) to amalgamate all the websites and services into a single platform? Is that consistent with current user needs?

Thirdly – an early consideration a coherent brand identity to be used across the organisation – not only for websites but for all digital and traditional communications messaging.

Open Source

To foster a culture of transparency and openness we intend to promote and contribute to open source software projects. We'll also be opening up the source code of some libraries and software developed in-house that may be of use to others.

On this blog, we'll be writing not only about what we're doing but also how we're planning and organising our work – and explain more about the methodologies and tools we're using to do so.

#WebsiteGoals

Our aim is to develop a useful and accessible digital presence that allows stakeholders, volunteers, and the public to quickly find and share content curated by the organisation – as well as providing support to the organisation so messages are disseminated effectively and people can engage with SCVO.

We hope to encourage other organisations within the third sector to take a holistic approach to their digital communications and media – this is not just about making a flashy new website!