How VandenEnde Foundation launched a new call without an implementation project
An opportunity comes along and you want to act on it quickly. But your application process is built around the regular rounds. VandenEnde Foundation launched De Ideeënbus within one week, without a single change to the existing process.
1 week
to set up the new flow
<2
months from idea to launch
0
changes to the regular process
A temporary call demands speed. With De Ideeënbus, VandenEnde Foundation wants to give young artists up to 28 years old the chance to realise their ideas this summer. A different target group, a different form, its own assessment process. Within one week, the complete flow was live in the foundation’s existing system, so the call could open straight away.
Problem
De Ideeënbus is a new, temporary call alongside the regular application process. The call had to go live at short notice, so there was no room for a lengthy implementation project. The first idea was therefore to collect submissions through a separate mailbox. Workable, but then you end up with submissions in your inbox and assessments in a separate document, outside your own system. How do you set up a new call quickly, without falling back on manual work and without disrupting your existing process?
Approach
VandenEnde Foundation put the question to FindNFund: can this call also run within our own grant management system? Together, the process was walked through from two sides: that of the applicant and that of the foundation. This resulted in a blueprint for the setup: from application form to internal decision-making and evaluation. The speed did not come from setting up less, but from not having to build anything. Smart Grantmanagement is designed so that a foundation can configure a new flow without custom development. The conversation was therefore about the process, not the technology.
Solution
Within one week, De Ideeënbus was running as a fully-fledged flow in VandenEnde Foundation’s system. Not a simplified version next to the real process, but the same functionality as the regular application rounds: its own form, its own assessment, its own decision-making, all recorded in the same system. What was set up within that week: • Its own application form with its own questions and criteria • Its own assessment process with internal roles and permissions • Decision-making and recording per application • Communication to applicants from the system • Record-keeping and evaluation afterwards No separate system alongside it, no loose mailbox. The foundation manages this temporary call the same way as its regular application rounds, and applicants submit through the familiar environment.
Impact
Less than two months passed between the first idea and the launch, of which the technical setup including testing took one week. As a result, the full application period remained available to reach young makers. All applications arrive centrally in FindNFund, where they are assessed and recorded, and the regular application process continued undisturbed.
“Just before the start of the summer holidays, the VandenEnde Foundation decided to launch the Ideeënbus. The idea behind the initiative was to create opportunities for young makers to develop an idea further or put it into production. Makers could use the summer months to submit a short project plan. After the summer, the ten best ideas were selected and the final result followed in September. In collaboration with FindNFund, a new application portal was online within a week. Within two weeks the Ideeënbus could be communicated, and ideas started pouring in almost immediately. The Ideeënbus became a great success, thanks to the speed with which the application portal for the Ideeënbus came about and the flexibility of the developers during the build. This allowed the VandenEnde Foundation, together with FindNFund, to set up a short and practical route and help ten young makers take a step forward in their careers.”
Ronald Ockhuysen
Director, VandenEnde Foundation
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