The Nuffield Foundation funds research that shapes policy, influences debate and improves lives across education, welfare and justice. Over many years, its website had grown into a substantial knowledge base, housing thousands of reports, projects, grants and publications.
The challenge wasn’t creating more content. It was helping people find the right evidence when they needed it most.
We were commissioned to redesign and rebuild the website, creating a modern, accessible platform that better connected the Foundation’s research, funding programmes and wider mission.
Heartbeat
Researchers, policymakers, journalists, teachers and funding applicants all arrived with different objectives, so the experience had to work just as hard for someone searching for a single publication as it did for someone exploring an entire area of research.
Our UX approach focused on clarity over complexity. A new information architecture, powerful search, richer filtering and stronger links between projects, publications and funding created a more connected experience, helping users move naturally between related content. The refreshed design introduced greater warmth and accessibility without losing the authority expected of one of the UK’s leading independent foundations.
Impact
The new website transformed a large and growing archive into a far more intuitive research platform, making the Foundation’s work easier to navigate and more accessible to the audiences who rely on it.
Beyond improving the user experience, the platform gives the Foundation a flexible digital infrastructure that can continue to grow alongside new research programmes, grant funding and publications. The result is a website that doesn’t simply house knowledge; it helps people discover it, connect it and use it.
