Country Fire Authority
Empowering the Country Fire Authority's 6000 members
At District, we take pride in partnering with organisations that perform vital work in their communities.
The Country Fire Authority (CFA) is one such organisation, protecting Victorian communities through their network of dedicated volunteer firefighters, and we were honoured to help them enhance both their community outreach and internal engagement by building a flexible, secure, and user-friendly platform tailored to their needs.
The Need for Enhanced Engagement Capabilities
Moving from their existing Engagement HQ platform, the CFA sought to upgrade their digital engagement capabilities with a more comprehensive solution. They were drawn to District's advanced administrative features and powerful reporting tools, which offered deeper insights into community and volunteer engagement.
For the CFA, it was essential for the engagement platform to support both public-facing communication and internal volunteer coordination. Additionally, they needed a solution that aligned with their strict security requirements, supported seamless authentication for over 6,000 volunteers, and allowed for easy content management without reliance on third-party tools.
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Our Solution: Two Distinct Sites for Effective Engagement
To address the CFA’s unique needs, we built two distinct engagement sites:
- An External Engagement Site - Designed to connect the CFA with the broader community, offering a platform to share safety information, fire preparedness updates, and more.
- An Internal Volunteer Site - Built to facilitate communication with over 6,000 CFA volunteers, offering tailored tools to support volunteer coordination, training, and feedback.
We ensured a smooth transition by migrating over 100 historical projects from their previous platform, maintaining continuity of service while significantly enhancing functionality.
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Key Features and Benefits
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Single Sign-On (SSO) Integration
The internal and external sites now feature SSO, integrated with Azure Active Directory. This not only simplified access for volunteers and staff but also ensured that the platform met their specific user roles and permission requirements.
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Security
Security-conscious as always, the CFA was pleased with our emphasis on cybersecurity and the platform’s high availability hosting—guaranteeing uninterrupted access, even in the event of a server outage.
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Survey Tool Integration
With the ability to rapidly deploy surveys and embed them in other channels, the CFA could remove Survey Monkey, giving them more flexibility without the need for additional tools. This capability has become a cornerstone of their engagement efforts.
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Customisable and User-Friendly Interface
The easy-to-use content management tools and user-friendly interface has enabled CFA admins to customise the homepage and content of both platforms without external assistance. This independence allowed them to tailor their communications more effectively and respond quickly to community and volunteer needs.
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Distinct Themes for Each Site
- With the ability to easily customise our themes, we created two distinct websites, creating clear visual distinctions between the two while maintaining an intuitive user experience across both platforms.
The Result: A Soft Launch with Big Potential
After a successful soft launch, the CFA are poised to fully engage with their communities and volunteers like never before. The feedback so far has been overwhelmingly positive, particularly around the platform’s user-friendly design, customisable features, and simple, yet sophisticated survey tools.
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Conclusion
Through our partnership, the CFA now has a dynamic, secure, and flexible platform that supports their mission to enhance fire safety across the region. By focusing on their specific needs, whether it’s engaging the public or supporting their dedicated volunteers, we’ve provided a solution that not only meets today’s challenges but is built to grow alongside their future requirements.
We’re proud to support the CFA’s vital work and look forward to seeing how their new platform will continue to foster engagement and collaboration for the years to come.
