Diversity Council Australia had built a detailed maturity framework for the RISE project. The challenge was making it work at scale. A manual spreadsheet process could not handle all the data collection, scoring, analysis and reporting.
Simple and Engaging worked with DCA and anti-racism consultancy Kind Enterprises. Together, they turned the expert framework into a digital assessment and reporting process built for the job.
The organisation and project
Diversity Council Australia is an evidence-led organisation supporting workplace diversity and inclusion. With Settlement Services International and Chief Executive Women, DCA developed RISE—Realise. Inspire. Support. Energise—to address access to senior leadership roles for Culturally and Racially Marginalised women.
The project combined organisational change with support for aspiring leaders. Its published scope included work with 25 organisations and leadership development for 375 participants.
The operating problem
DCA needed to assess two connected views. One covered workplace policies and practices. The other covered the experiences of CARM women. Many existing approaches looked at one group or one view at a time. DCA’s model had to show how several factors overlap.
“When you start looking at the intersections between, for instance, gender and race, that increases the complexity of this work no end.”
Dr Jane O’Leary, Research Director, Diversity Council Australia
DCA had built the framework in Excel. Running it at the planned scale would have taken too much manual work. The team needed to keep the depth of the framework while making it usable, secure and easier to maintain.
The requirements
- Approximately 100 questions with different response options.
- Two participant pathways determined by responses.
- Complex qualification, branching and scoring logic.
- Four levels of organisational DEI maturity.
- Analysis across 12 assessment areas.
- Respondent anonymity and Australian data storage.
- Accessible data collection and report outputs.
- Comparative benchmark calculations and descriptive statements.
- A setup that could accommodate future change without inefficient rework.
These were not separate software features. Together, they collected evidence, applied DCA’s model, produced useful insight and supported the wider RISE program.
The solution
Phase 1: Data collection
Simple and Engaging worked with DCA to turn the paper and spreadsheet framework into an online assessment. The tool guided each person through the right path. It applied the rules and scoring, protected anonymity and supported access needs.
Phase 2: Aggregation and analysis
The next step applied DCA’s analysis rules in the same way each time. It calculated maturity ratings across 12 areas. It also found benchmark scores, high and low areas, question averages and statements linked to each rating.
Phase 3: Organisational reporting
The reporting process created a personal 63-page report when needed. It produced a designed PDF and an editable, accessible Word file. Both went to DCA staff. The reports included custom tables, colour highlights, charts and plain explanations.
How the partnership worked
DCA brought the research model, assessment logic and report requirements. Simple and Engaging brought the workflow, technical translation and delivery skills needed to make that model operate reliably online.
“We needed people who could give practical advice on how to convert our idea, our concept, into a fit-for-purpose online tool.”
Dr Jane O’Leary, Research Director, Diversity Council Australia
The work was flexible and built around DCA’s needs. The goal was not to force the framework into a standard product. It was to keep the depth of the model while choosing a technical setup that fit.
Early results
The original case study was published while RISE was still underway. These results are early feedback, not a final impact study.
- Pilot organisations described the tool as insightful and easy to use.
- Participants reported that the questions and response options validated their workplace experiences.
- Participants expressed confidence in the anonymity of their responses.
- The project attracted interest at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.
- DCA gained a structured evidence base it could use to refine practice and support organisational change.
“They have found filling in the ASSESS to RISE tool very validating because they feel like the questions and response options make it clear that DCA understands their workplace experiences.”
Dr Jane O’Leary, Research Director, Diversity Council Australia
Delivery evidence
DCA’s feedback points to the value of a partner who understood the idea, turned complex needs into a working tool, adapted when needed and kept an eye on cost.
“You knew how to create a very high-quality product in a streamlined way, on time and on budget.”
Dr Jane O’Leary, Research Director, Diversity Council Australia
This feedback describes the working relationship, not just the finished technology. Complex assessment work needs shared problem-solving, clear needs and practical choices about what to keep simple.
What this case demonstrates
- Subject-matter complexity can be preserved without keeping the end-to-end process manual.
- Collection, analysis and reporting should be designed as one workflow.
- Accessibility, anonymity and data location need to be requirements from the beginning, not checks at the end.
- Automated reporting is only as reliable as the definitions, scoring logic and exception handling behind it.
- A right-sized partner can help a nonprofit translate its expertise without forcing it into a generic product.
Related work
- How Diversity Works New Zealand scaled DEI assessment and reporting
- How to create a maturity assessment for nonprofits
- Automated maturity assessment services
- Impact measurement and reporting support
Translating a complex framework into a working tool?
If your organisation has a strong assessment model but still collects, scores, analyses or reports by hand, contact Simple and Engaging. We can discuss what the tool needs to do and a practical way to build it.
