Associations and member bodies

Digital transformation for associations and federations

For associations, federations of societies, peak bodies and scholarly organisations: a website your staff can run, a CRM or association management system that fits how you work, reporting leadership can trust, and AI where it earns its place. We phase it so you see progress in the first quarter, and you decide before every major commitment.

Talk to us about your program

2018: building since
70+: designers, engineers and product people
Sydney: headquarters with team members across several countries
230+: code repositories in our own GitHub organisation, before counting client-owned ones

What the program covers

The website, first

Usually the most visible priority: experience, accessibility, search, SEO and discoverability in AI answer engines, with staff able to publish without a vendor in the loop. It runs as its own workstream alongside discovery, so a focused first release does not wait for every other decision.

CRM or association management system

Choosing and implementing the platform that holds your members, around how your organisation actually works. In a federation that includes a data model that respects each member organisation's own consent and data-sharing rules.

Integration and reporting

Leadership rarely has one view across membership, publications, events, advocacy and governance. We connect the systems behind it, and start with a lighter reporting model before a full data platform where that is enough.

AI where it earns its place

Discoverability in AI answer engines, semantic search across publications and policy positions, recommendations that guide a member to the right journal, event or pathway, and drafting support for staff. Each one has to earn its place against a real user need. More on our AI work.

Run, optimise and govern

Service reviews, a quarterly roadmap and an optimisation backlog once the platforms are live. Where it helps, a fractional CIO: senior technology leadership for a set number of hours each month, without a full-time hire.

Five phases, each with a decision point

Each phase has a defined output and a decision before the next commitment. A broad transformation is more realistically a two-year journey than a one-year program. Compressing it much further usually means change management gets cut or deferred, and that is often where the value is lost. Durations below are typical, and we can compress them when you have a fixed deadline.

Mobilisation, about two weeks

Governance, access, a stakeholder plan and a risk register.

Discovery and future state, six to eight weeks

Current state, architecture, platform options, a roadmap and firm pricing for what follows.

Quick wins and foundations, 8 to 12 weeks

Website governance, analytics, accessibility, SEO and AI discoverability, and a reporting dashboard prototype.

Core implementation, six to nine months

Website and CMS, CRM or AMS, integration, data, reporting and training.

Run, optimise and govern, ongoing

Service reviews, the quarterly roadmap, the optimisation backlog and, if you want one, a fractional CIO.

Discovery is a fixed, time-boxed commitment

A fixed fee, a week-by-week workplan and a defined set of artefacts. It is designed to keep the demand on your staff low: short interviews, a document request list, and AI-assisted synthesis of what you already have between sessions. Every artefact is procurement-ready, so if you choose a different partner for implementation, the discovery still stands on its own.

Current state assessment

An evidence-based view of your environment, with a register of pain points you have agreed with.

Data model and requirements baseline

What the platforms have to hold and do, traced back to the interview, document or analytics export it came from.

Future-state architecture and platform scorecards

Options compared on fit, risk, cost, supportability and speed to value, platform-neutral.

Roadmap, statement of work inputs and firm pricing

Implementation ranges replaced with firm figures, which you approve before any build begins.

Five gates, so you stay in control of spend

Each gate is a decision pack. At every one you can proceed, pause or change scope.

1. Current state agreement

Do we share an evidence-based view of the environment and the pain points? You get a findings pack and a confirmed backlog.

2. Target operating model

What capabilities, roles, workflows and governance should the solution support? You get an operating model and capability map.

3. Platform shortlist

Which options are worth evaluating in detail, and why? You get the shortlist, the criteria and demo scripts for vendors.

4. Recommendation

Which solution best balances fit, risk, cost, supportability and speed to value? You get the architecture, a scorecard and the options.

5. Implementation readiness

Are you confident on scope, cost, responsibilities and sequencing? You get the roadmap, delivery plan and statement of work inputs.

How we price, and why ranges exist

Fixed where scope is known, ranged where discovery has not happened yet, and no hidden contingency.

Fixed where we can be

Discovery is a firm fixed fee. It does not move on the basis of what we find.

Ranged where scope is genuinely open

Implementation ranges sit within roughly 30%, and every range is tied to a stated assumption.

Ranges close after discovery

Discovery replaces the ranges with firm pricing, and you approve again before implementation begins.

Built for nonprofit budgets

Packages you can take one at a time, phased approvals, and funding staged across financial years.

Licences excluded and visible

Software, SaaS, hosting and third-party costs are passed through, with your approval first.

Scope controlled in writing

Change requests are assessed and approved before work proceeds, with two structured review rounds for each design deliverable.

Three ways to start

Discovery first

Mobilisation and discovery, ending in a future-state architecture, platform options and firm implementation pricing. Best if you want maximum confidence and platform neutrality before committing.

Discovery plus quick wins

Everything in discovery, plus website governance and analytics, accessibility and SEO foundations, a dashboard prototype and an integration proof of concept. Best if you want visible progress in the first quarter while the full program is planned.

The full program

Website, CMS, CRM or AMS and integration, a data foundation and reporting, change management and training, under one accountable program governance. Best if you want one partner across the whole ecosystem.

AI in three layers, kept separate

Most proposals answer the AI question with one of these. You should expect all three, and expect governance to be treated as seriously as capability. We do not propose AI where a simpler solution is more reliable, cheaper to run or easier for your staff to maintain.

How we deliver

AI speeds up content and accessibility audit, so the whole content estate is checked rather than a sample, plus current-state synthesis, requirements mapping traced to evidence, migration and redirect planning, and quality review. You get more coverage for the same fixed fee.

What we build

Candidates are prioritised in discovery on value, effort and risk: AI answer-engine discoverability, semantic search, recommendations for members and researchers, and drafting and reporting support for staff. We built an AI journal recommender for the American Chemical Society.

How it is governed

A named person is accountable for every deliverable: AI assists and a person signs off. Your content and member data are not used to train third-party models. Tools come from a disclosed register you approve, AI-assisted findings are traceable to their source, and tooling is chosen to keep your data in the jurisdiction you require.

Built so you are never locked in

We build the back end as APIs and the front end as a separate application. Your data, content and core platform capabilities stay portable if you ever move the work to another team.

The people you meet are the people who do the work

The senior team in the scoping conversation is the team that does the work: an account lead with decades in structured publishing and content architecture, a program lead who owns discovery and the roadmap, a technical lead for platform and integration, and a UX and information architecture lead.

The proof

Work we have shipped, not a capability deck.

Common questions

Do we have to commit to the whole program up front?

No. There are three ways to start: discovery on its own, discovery plus a first round of quick wins, or the full program. Every phase ends at a decision gate where you can proceed, pause or change scope, so the first commitment is the only one you make before you have evidence.

Can the website go ahead before we choose a CRM or AMS?

Yes, and it usually should. The website is normally the most visible priority, so we run it as its own workstream alongside discovery rather than behind it. A focused first release, followed by richer functionality, beats holding the launch until every other decision is made.

What does discovery cost?

A fixed fee, agreed before we start and scoped to your organisation. It does not move on the basis of what we find. Discovery ends with firm implementation pricing, which you approve before any build begins. See how we engage for what shapes the cost of the work after it.

What happens if we choose another partner for implementation?

Then you take the discovery with you. Every artefact is written to be procurement-ready, from the requirements baseline to the platform scorecards and the statement of work inputs, so it stands on its own whoever builds the solution.

What is a fractional CIO?

Senior technology leadership for a set number of hours each month, rather than a full-time hire. For a member body that usually means owning the technology roadmap, overseeing vendors and contracts, chairing service reviews and making sure decisions are taken with the whole organisation in view.

Do you work with associations outside Australia?

Yes. We are headquartered in Sydney, with team members across several countries. In the USA we work through Shakewell LLC, our US entity, in US hours: start at shakewellusa.com.

Trusted by

“I’ve worked with Michael and the Team for a number of years now on a web development project of strategic value to the University. Michael and the team work in deep partnership and are genuinely invested in the success of the project and the maximising the impact it can deliver to end users. Always exceeding expectations, you will not find a more amiable, grounded and technically proficient team!”

Kelly Whitney

WSU Associate Director; Careers, Talent & Organisational Success

Engagement models

How we work

Four straightforward ways to engage us. Pick the one that fits, or mix them as your needs change.

Staff Augmentation

Add experienced Shakewell developers, designers or specialists directly to your own team. Engagements typically run three to twelve months, but can be as short or long as you need, you get the skills without the commitment and cost of hiring full-time.

About staff augmentation

Fixed-Scope Projects

Have a defined outcome in mind? We scope it, price it and deliver it as a project, a clear timeline, agreed milestones and a single point of accountability from kickoff to handover.

Embedded Delivery Teams

For larger or longer-running work, a cross-functional Shakewell team (development, design and delivery management) plugs in as your delivery arm, working to your priorities and your reporting cadence.

Support & Maintenance

Already live? We keep websites, stores and apps secure, updated and performing through ongoing retainers, business-hours support as standard, with 24/7 coverage available for critical issues.

About support & maintenance