The success of any place-based community directory depends on whether residents can find relevant content when they visit it.
In an ideal world, every group, charity, community organisation and public service would create and maintain their own listings. The information would always be accurate, up-to-date and owned by the people delivering the service.
The reality is usually different.
Many organisations don't have the time or capacity to post on another platform. Others simply don't know the platform exists. Larger organisations and public services often have valuable activities and services available, but it's difficult to persuade them to actively maintain content on a hyperlocal directory.
As a result, many platforms face the same problem: they need a critical mass of content before they're useful to residents, but building that content through outreach can take years.
As part of the Build Move Thrive project, a Sport England funding project by Active Cheshire, we explored whether there was a different approach. Using AI-assisted research, we identified physical activity opportunities that were already publicly available online and used this information to rapidly increase coverage on Living Well Warrington.
The important part wasn't the AI technology, it was the human verification process we developed.
Rather than importing everything we found, we used a simple quality assurance approach based on the source of the information:
- Listings from existing platform members were imported first - they are the most trusted source.
- Anything from charities and non-profit organisations were imported second.
- Other organisations or businesses required review by the platform's licensing organisation, Warrington Voluntary Action, to choose who to import against their business sponsorship policy.
- Aggregator websites were useful for discovery but information was not directly imported from these, due to copyright considerations. Instead, we sent outreach inviting organisations who were listed on aggregator websites to add their own content to the platform.
We also introduced a new type of listing that is not owned by a registered member, but simply points users towards the original public source. This means residents can discover opportunities that might otherwise remain hidden, whilst information stays connected to its owner.
For organisations that want a stronger presence on the platform, the listing can be claimed and managed directly by the provider.
My insights
I don't see this as a replacement for organisations managing their own content. That's still the best outcome. What this approach offers is a way to make a platform useful from the day it is launched.
Residents get access to a much broader range of information, whilst our clients maintain oversight of quality and relevance. Over time, providers can claim their listings and take ownership of them, creating a more sustainable model.
Every platform is different, but the challenge of building useful, trusted content is a common one. If you'd like to explore how this model could work for your platform, we'd love to hear from you. Get in touch to start the conversation.