National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence

Training, consulting, and advocacy.

The Problem

The National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence (NCDSV) designs, provides, and customizes training and consultation; influences policy, promotes collaboration; and enhances diversity with the goal of ending domestic and sexual violence. We work with local, state, national and international organizations that also seek to enhance prevention and intervention. NCDSV is recognized for the myriad of professionals we train to understand and better respond to the use of violence and to help end it. NCDSV is particularly known for leadership in working with the military community on this complex conduct. (Our President co-chaired the Department of Defense Task Force on Domestic Violence.) Our website is often complimented for providing information useful for all those professionals as well as victims, their families, and persons who are using violence. Our approach is to cooperate, coordinate and collaborate with others to accomplish our common goals. Our international work has taken us to over 15 countries with multiple visits with allies in Mexico and Peru NCDSV frequently responds to requests for technical assistance in building prevention and intervention programs in other countries as well as in the United States. Members of NCDSV were instrumental in the formation of local, state and national organizations such as the National Domestic Violence Hotline, the National Network to End Domestic Violence, and work in coalition with others addressing critical issues, such as the gun violence prevention community. By strengthening the efforts of the thousands of organizations now devoted to the issues of we contribute to the earlier accomplishment of our goal of ending violence. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and we are pleased to be considered at this time.

The Solution

Frankly, NCDSV's greatest need at present is to revamp our website to be much more nimble and fresh. We know from the feedback received from users, particularly younger ones, is that the site is not that friendly when viewing on a phone. The lowest bid received thus far was $10,000. Try as we might to set that much aside we have been unable to do so over the last few years this has risen to the top of our dreams. In the meanwhile, we concentrate on keeping the training and events calendar current, our most complimented page, http://www.ncdsv.org/ncd_upcomingtrainings.html. It has the information people want but is not searchable by topics or places so it's too cumbersome for those who are not patient. In addition, the calendar should be visible right on our home page and not deep down under the training tab. Once people get used to the way the site is organized they usually let us know how grateful they are to have found just what they were looking for and note the information is not available elsewhere. However, it should not take knowing our thought process in is setting up the content under the "Resources Tab", it should be where the new user can readily reach what s/he seeks. It would be so exciting to have the funding to enhance its functionality and bring a fresh, more current graphic style to it. Our look is old and the people in our photos probably are too now!

Planned Use Of Funds

We need to obtain consultation from a web design firm that can help us manage well the presentation of substantial resource material in a user-friendly way, including access on telephones, not just computers. NCDSV desperately needs a new, updated “look” appealing to the tech savvy as well as those less so! And we need the practical help of reorganizing the content so we open a “new” page with a splash while continuing to update the old.

We must have a searchable calendar of training, webinars and events; repeatedly we are told how appreciative people are of finding information there and throughout the Resources and Military sections they seek, but we believe there may be talented web designers who could help us organize all the resources more effectively. The jobs page, similar to the “Upcoming Training” can be hard for people to locate and it would be great to have visible links on the home page to each.

One thought is to have each page begin with the most recent 10 references that are the strongest info available while preserving content further down of older references. Researchers get in touch sometimes indicating that our site was the only place they could find something they sought that was several years old so we realize others purge things that we get appreciation for keeping. But we want the site to be nimble and effective for the quick searcher and not necessary to wade past older content…..unless you really want to do so!