International Knowledge Network of Women in Politics
Extensive resource and support website in four languages built
with Drupal 7
As a project created and funded by five international organizations, the International Knowledge Network of Women in Politics (iKNOW Politics) provides a shared knowledge network for women in politics and offers tools and resources in Arabic, English, French and Spanish. As a membership driven website with an active community of more than 9,000 members, Drupal continues to be the perfect solution for iKNOW Politics.
Project Goals
iKNOW Politics, works to increase the participation and effectiveness of women in politics by using technology to:
- Provide access to critical resources
- Stimulate dialogue
- Create knowledge
- Share experiences on women's political participation
To meet these goals iKNOW Politics hirede Fuse IQ to enhance their Drupal 6 website built 2 years ealier. Upon analysis Fuse IQ found the existing build laden with security risks and poor implementation. We presented to IKP the idea of a completely new build using Drupal 7. We identified the needs and gaps and risks keeping the exisitng build and presented a Project Plan for moving forward. Within the existing approved budget we now have launched a completely new site. Our efforts included:
- Strategies for a new IKP web-presence based upon existing functionality needs and prioritized requests by their constitueny
- An overhaul of how groups pages are managed and maintained
- An improved information architecture and taxonomy of information
- A new translation process and workflow
Results
- New Drupal 7 website
- Refreshed logo design
- Redesigned home page layout to provide a multitude of information for the various audience types
- Easy access to resources and experts
- Users can create knowledge through multilingual discussion circles
- Expert knowledge is shaared through responses to member queries
- Share experiences by using tools designed to facilitate lessons learned and best practices
- Two new translation modules created by Fuse IQ and donated to the Drupal community
We are now engaged in "Phase 2" where we are not only providing ongoing day to day support as needed but also strategizing various tools and features to enhance this new build. User feedback informs the priorities of these decisions as well as ongoing brainstorming sessions designed to examine the international landscape of how ICT is being used.
