Here is an excerpt from Microsoft’s article, “Special Olympics International Brings More Athletes to the Field with… Microsoft “Power Pages,” about advancing the digital transformation of the Special Olympics movement.
Special Olympics International is made up of 277 national and international programs, breaking stereotypes around the world. However, each program used its own systems and processes to communicate with its constituents, resulting in siloed data and an incomplete view of how the organization worked together as a whole. The nonprofit needed a unified way to recruit athletes and volunteers and collect consistent data that demonstrated how Special Olympics could grow to serve its communities.
“At its core, we’re trying to understand our people and use data to support our athletes, coaches, volunteers and families,” says Nathan Cook, CIO of Special Olympics International. “We’ve used Power Pages and Power Apps to facilitate accessible customer portals that allow people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their supporters to connect with us.”
The nonprofit is working with state programs in the United States to develop, test, and pilot these portals. Special Olympics International aims to make them available to more programs and, ultimately, to the entire global organization.
“These platforms give athletes more opportunity to get on the field and play,” Cook says.
