How we helped

They were seeking a partner to support their Head of L&D in the selection process for a new Learning Management System to deliver their learning to both their staff and volunteers. The platform needed to replace an old and outdated system which had become unstable, unreliable and not fit for the digital age. The replacement solution was to deliver the original capabilities, new requirements captured from staff and volunteers, plus integrate with new systems within the IT estate that supports the ‘There for Everyone’ programme.

We engaged with the Samaritans Head of L&D and started a series of workshops with both staff and volunteers to understand what they wanted and needed from a new system. The findings were then compiled into a list of user and technical requirements, that LMS providers would need to adhere to.

Working with the project manager looking after the transformation activities in Samaritans, there was a period of understanding the internal systems that needed to interface to the new LMS and translating that into technical requirements of the LMS.

With Davies’ expertise, an RFI and RFP was then built that encompassed all of the technical requirements, linkages to The Samaritans IT systems and their future strategy for these systems.

The Results

The benefit seen by the client was one of helping cut through the supplier dialogue to understand in simple terms the capabilities of their products, ensuring the RFI and RFP were built on solid foundations to deliver an implementation time frame that was significantly reduced by cutting though supplier jargon and recognising early potential suppliers based on educated decisions.