Children's charity creates consistent content

The International Save The Children Alliance has implemented a content management system to support its global internet strategy.

The alliance, which co-ordinates the work of 28 Save the Children organisations, is using software from supplier Sigmer Technologies to ensure consistency in its online presence.

'We wanted to create uniformity with our brand and content structure across multiple web sites,' said Becky Marshall, webmaster for the International Save The Children Alliance Secretariat.

'We also wanted to provide our small and medium-sized members, who often lack the funds, with the ability to manage their own site's content.

The organisation found that the complex task of requesting additions to the web site often deterred members from making as many updates as they would if they had the ability to edit the content themselves.

'We still wanted to control the brand message content, but save authorisation time by providing our members with the ability to change certain types of web content,' said Marshall.

The new system allows members to update pages with little technical expertise. 'Our members now have access to a vast range of images, case studies and other resources that they can use to raise their profile in their own markets,' she said.

The biggest increase in activity has been on the organisation's intranet, where staff can share key resources, says Marshall.

'An example of this is our emergency workers in Iraq. They regularly upload images and experiences of their work onto the site. We can then share this information and images in the form of case studies,' she said.

The International Save the Children Alliance is the world's largest independent organisation for children, with members in 28 countries and representatives in over 100 countries.