Alzheimer's Association
www.alz.org
The Alzheimer’s Association, the world leader in Alzheimer research and support, is the first and largest voluntary health organization dedicated to finding prevention methods, treatments, and an eventual cure for Alzheimer’s. Local chapters provide core services to families and professionals, including information and referral, support groups, care consultation, education, and safety services.
The Challenge
The Alzheimer’s Association approached Beaconfire for guidance related to implementing a Web Content Management System that would best serve the national office and the organization’s 81 local chapters, each of which operates as an independent charity. The association desired to improve operational efficiencies, reduce duplication of effort, and leverage the excellence and successes among all the Alzheimer’s Association chapters for the benefit of the association and Web site users.
Beaconfire was asked to help the association develop a business plan that would answer the following key questions: ·
- What are the benefits and returns on investment of a CMS? ·
- What technology path is right for the Alzheimer’s Association?
- What are the software, hardware, and vendor options? ·
- What are the likely costs? ·
- What are the likely staff and resource needs? ·
- What should the funding model be? ·
- How should the association approach certain critical areas of operations?
The Solution
Beaconfire led a process to identify the association’s goals and objectives, review priorities, and explore how other organizations create a balance of centralized technology while preserving flexibility for local affiliates. Then, using the information gathered through this process, Beaconfire developed a business case for why the Alzheimer’s Association should invest the time and money required to implement a CMS.
The business plan provided detailed information about what a CMS is, examined what would be needed to undertake the project, and explored how to move the chapters from their current decentralized approach to handling online content and branding to a more centralized technology that at the same time provided the flexibility the organization desired for its chapters. The association then used the plan to build consensus and gain buy-in from its chapters for the need, cost, and overall benefit and value the association would receive by undertaking a CMS implementation. The plan provided a road map to understand the costs, business processes, and management concerns related to coordinating a CMS across a network of sites.
After careful consideration by the Alzheimer’s Association leadership and local associations, they have decided to invest in a CMS. Beaconfire then proceeded to conduct a software evaluation with the Association to determine which CMS solution best fit its requirements.