Through my work, I speak to a lot of organisations who are frustrated with their local online community directories.
The conversation is usually the same:
"The information is out of date."
"People can't find what they're looking for."
"Community groups don't update their listings."
"We need a new platform with better search and navigation."
After more than 20 years helping local authorities, NHS organisations and charities build community platforms, I've learnt that technology is rarely the real problem. The organisations with the most successful community platforms aren't using radically different software. They're succeeding because they've built the partnerships, governance and shared ownership needed to keep information accurate, trusted and useful long after the platform has launched.
Process and Partnerships matter as much as Platform
It's easy to think of a community platform as just another website, but in reality it's much more than that. It's shared community infrastructure that helps people find support, enables organisations to reach local residents, gives professionals confidence when signposting people to community services and creates opportunities for people to become more involved in community life.
Like any shared community infrastructure, it needs people to look after it. It relies on organisations working together, clear responsibilities and a shared commitment to keeping information accurate. Without that, even the best technology will eventually become out-of-date.
The difference isn't just the software, it's the partnership.
Devon Connect: a partnership approach
One of the best examples we support is Devon Connect. Residents use it to find local services, events, volunteering opportunities and community support across Devon. But what makes Devon Connect successful isn't just the platform - it's the way it's run.
Instead of one organisation trying to manage everything, Devon Connect is delivered through a partnership of local CVS organisations. Each partner supports community groups in their own area, helping them add and update information so it stays accurate and relevant.
Made Open platforms have been designed to support this way of working. Multiple administrators can manage different areas while contributing to one shared platform, giving residents a single trusted place to find support while allowing local partners to retain ownership of the communities they know best. The platform also helps keep information up-to-date by automatically reminding organisations to review their listings, events and volunteering opportunities before they expire. If content isn't reviewed, it is automatically removed from public view until it has been updated and approved again.
Behind the scenes, partners meet regularly to share ideas, solve problems, review performance and agree future priorities. It might not sound particularly exciting, but it's one of the main reasons the platform continues to grow and maintain the trust of both residents and community organisations.
This ongoing collaboration doesn't just keep information accurate - it builds the trust, shared ownership and long-term commitment that make the platform valuable to everyone involved.
The results speak for themselves
Since launching in 2022, Devon Connect has grown into one of the UK's largest community-led platforms, connecting thousands of residents with local activities, organisations and support. It continues to grow year on year, generating social value through stronger community connections, volunteering and participation.
More importantly, it's helping people find support before they reach crisis point and encouraging more people to get involved in their local community. That's exactly what successful community platforms should do.
Why many community platforms struggle
Looking across the sector, I see the same challenges time and again.
One of the biggest issues is ownership and governance. If everyone is responsible for keeping information up-to-date, nobody really is. Successful platforms share responsibility between local partners and community organisations, so everyone understands their role in keeping information accurate.
Another challenge is that updating information often feels like just another administrative task. Community organisations are busy and if they don't see a clear benefit from keeping their information up to date, it quickly drops down the priority list. The best platforms give organisations a reason to stay engaged by helping them reach more people, attract volunteers, build partnerships and raise awareness of what they do.
Many platforms also receive lots of attention before they launch, but once the project ends, so does the momentum. A successful community platform isn't something you build once and leave. It needs ongoing support, regular communication and continuous improvement.
Finally, partnership is often overlooked. Technology is important, but it isn't enough. The strongest platforms bring organisations together, agree clear ways of working and regularly review how the platform is performing. That's what keeps information trusted over time.
Why this matters for neighbourhood health
Neighbourhood health is about helping people stay well by connecting them with support in their local community. That support might be a walking group, a lunch club, a carers' network, an advice service or a volunteering opportunity. These community assets already exist. The challenge is helping people find them.
Professionals need confidence that the information they share is accurate. Residents need a trusted place to discover what's available. Community organisations need an easy way to reach the people who need them.
That's why community platforms are becoming such an important part of neighbourhood health. They're not just helping people find services - they're creating trusted pathways into community life, making it easier for people to access support, get involved and build stronger local connections.
The real lesson
Well-designed technology matters, but on its own it won't create a successful community platform.
The platforms that succeed combine good technology with strong local partnerships, shared responsibility and effective governance that keeps information accurate, trusted and relevant over the long-term.
Devon Connect shows what's possible when these things come together. The platform provides the technology, while local partners provide the knowledge, relationships and trust that keep it alive. Together, they've created a trusted community resource that helps people find support, strengthens local organisations and makes it easier to deliver neighbourhood health.
How Made Open can help
Over the past 20 years, we've worked with local authorities, NHS organisations and voluntary sector partners to design community platforms that don't just launch successfully, but continue to grow and deliver long-term value.
Through this experience, we've developed our Connected Communities framework - a practical approach to building successful community infrastructure. We call it the 5Ps:
- Purpose – creating a shared vision and agreeing the outcomes you want to achieve.
- People – understanding the needs of residents, professionals and community organisations, and building the trust needed for long-term success.
- Partners – bringing together the right organisations to share ownership, resources and responsibility.
- Processes – putting the governance, workflows and ways of working in place to keep information accurate, trusted and sustainable.
- Platform – providing the technology that connects people with support and enables collaboration at scale.
The framework helps organisations think beyond the technology and focus on the foundations that make community platforms successful.
Because successful community platforms aren't created by software alone. They're built through a shared purpose, strong partnerships, effective governance and a long-term commitment to keeping communities connected.