In collaboration with a non-profit organization in the social sector, AdvanceWorks has spearheaded a transformative project in Chicago. Focused on awarding scholarships to underage children with disabilities, our team developed two dynamic web applications—an intuitive front-end for digital applications and a comprehensive BackOffice tool for an efficient award selection, support, and payment processes.

Team Collaboration

Our experience with an interdisciplinary team of 11 professionals has resulted in positive outcomes, fostering a collaborative environment that maximizes creativity and problem-solving.

Goals Achieved

The main goals for this project were:

Digital Transformation of Manual Processes – Transitions from paper-based applications to a digital platform for scholarship submissions.

Reduce time spent on operations – Implementing efficient tools reflected a significant decrease on the time spent by collaborators in the award selection process, enabling them to perform other crucial tasks.

Support decision-making – Integrated with Plaid to enhance financial data insights, supporting informed decision-making.

Results

The implementation has shown promising outcomes, with modernized digital processes enhancing operational efficiency. The user-friendly platform has improved accessibility, providing a seamless experience for applicants. Integration with Plaid has fortified decision-making, leveraging financial insights for more informed and impactful award selections.

Next Steps

Our forward-looking strategy involves user feedback gathering to refine and optimize the digital application process. Enhanced data integration will explore additional integrations to enrich data sources, and scalability planning will prepare for potential expansion and increased demand for scholarship applications.