Flemish Society Autism (VVA)
The Flemish Society Autism (VVA) brings people with autism, their parents, family and social network together. VVA wants to motivate and activate our society so that people with autism and their environment can be themselves, starting from their qualities and taking into account their specific needs.
Our ideal is a society that is open to all facets of autism and where diversity is experienced as an added value.The association - with its many experience expert volunteers - is the driving force behind numerous initiatives.
What was the aim of your implementation?
VVA has been using CiviCRM for more than 10 years. The original purpose of the implementation was to manage membership records, and in particular the processing of membership payments. Over the years, that function has continued and the amount of data has expanded considerably. A portal was therefore added. This made CiviCRM's data more accessible to users who do not use the application on a daily basis but need to be able to find specific data quickly.
The approach and progress of the project
The portal implementation project started with a prototype of a portal so that users were clear on what a portal could do and what it should then make available. We started developing iteratively with the process (matching questions from supporters with available volunteers) as the starting point. This created a portal that offers search functions for users to quickly find the right contacts and functions to quickly edit or add data. The lead time of the project has been quite long because the exchange with volunteers for feedback always takes a bit longer. As a result, satisfaction and thus usage are high.
What has been CiviCooP's role: before, during and after implementation?
CiviCooP played no role in the initial implementation. CiviCRM support was taken over by CiviCooP several years ago.
When the portal was built, CiviCooP's role was initially to help think about the solution needed to allow more people to work with the CRM data and more processes to be supported by that same data.
CiviCooP now does the updates, supports the testing process and helps resolve issues and bugs. With regard to the portal CiviCooP develops new functionality, thinks about the process to be supported and translates this into the set-up of CiviCRM and the required functionality on the portal.
What role does CiviCRM play now?
CiviCRM and the portal are central applications for VVA. Membership records and payments are handled by CiviCRM. For the staff and volunteers who use CRM data less frequently, the portal is the central place for their work for VVA.