FAQs
- Matt Kepple
FAQs FOR COLLECTIVE IMPACT EVALUATIONS | |
Can you collect and securely store a range of data types: numbers, text, photos, short films | Yes Makerble collects data using Stories which can be tagged with progress towards various ‘Trackers’ (outputs, indicators, outcomes).  Stories can include
-N umbers stored in Trackers |
Do you have a friendly, easy to use, accessible interface that can ideally be used remotely using the internet (access via pc, laptop, ipad, phone?)
| Yes Makerble is designed to have the familiarity of a social media platform.
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If we are working in partnership, can multiple partners access the platform at the same time? | Yes Each partner will have their own login credentials. |
Can allow each partner to access / extract their own specific data set (personalised logins?)
| Yes Data can be downloaded as a csv file Each partner will be a project. There are three permission levels that a user can have for a project:
So if you wanted, we could set partners’ access as follows:
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Can data be aggregated from different partner organisations and be inputted by different members of staff
| Yes Data from individual projects can be aggregated using a Progress Board.  |
Are there different User Roles?
| Yes On the Manage Colleagues page you can assign each user’s level of access to each project.
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Will we be supplied with a User Handbook?
| Yes We provide:
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Can we collect survey data, capture anecdotes/testimonials, store photos, video clips and other creative evaluation outputs, capture reflective learning and present results ?
| Yes You can capture these using stories. Each partner will have their own Project Profile page which shows the stories containing their:
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Can we interrogate qualitative inputs, e.g. from reflective journals?
| Yes You can create Labels and tag Stories with them. This is a form of qualitative coding as you can create Labels for the different themes you see emerging from the reflective journals and other qualitative inputs. You can then click a Label to see all of the stories that have been tagged with that particular Label.  |
What is the data storage capacity?
| You may upload 10 Gigabytes of data per month Data uploads beyond this limit are charged at £1 per bundle of 10 Gigabytes |
Can data be searchable eg. By organisation, field and keyword? | Yes |
Will we have a range of template forms for collecting quantitative and qualitative data with various fields?
| Yes From the Manage Goals page you can monitor which trackers are being used in which forms (templates/surveys).  There is a basic Search function however we will enhance this so that you can search by keywords. |
Can data be extracted? If yes, in what formats and can it be restricted to specific specific data sets? (E.g. by organisation, theme, demographic group or keyword)?
| Yes Data can be downloaded in the following formats:
Downloaded data is based on the filters you have applied and the page you are. So if you are using Labels for qualitative coding, you can download the Stories tagged to that label. |
Are there any additional costs – ongoing / annual fees? | The pricing structure is as follows:
A full breakdown of your costs can be worked out using the Costs Calculator |
How do you access the interface to input data? Desktop/app?
| The interface is accessible via any web browser on any device as the platform is cloud-based. I.e.:
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FAQs for LOCAL COMMUNITY ORGANISATIONS | |
Can we capture details about clients using admission forms to populate their record? | Yes Use the Create Contact form  |
Can we record individual targets for each client for each term that they are with us? | Yes You could use a Text Field on the Contact Form |
Can we plan a term’s worth of activities and log this on the system in advance? | Yes You can create Events in advance.
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Can a group leader find out the following information about sessions that are planned for the next day?
| Yes On the Manage Events page you can see your upcoming events and then clicking the Event will launch a popup that shows the Event Name and its Activities. Events can be set to be recurring.   |
Can colleagues see the events/appointments/sessions that are allocated to their colleagues? E.g. in the event that a member of staff is off sick? | Yes |
Before, during or after an event, can we find out what the pickup location is for each person who is booked in to attend the session? | Yes There are two ways to achieve this Option 1: this can be a field on the student’s Contact Record Option 2: if the pickup location is likely to change for each event, then this can be a field on the Event page Option 1 would be best as the location is set for the term (it occasionally changes). |
Can we include a report at the end of each session in which we include our observations about how each client did and their progress towards their target outcomes?
| Yes You can create a Post Event Update which includes:
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Is there a way to record whether there was a safeguarding incident or other major incident that another team member will need to follow up on? | Yes You can have a Tracker for Major Incidents that allows you to either record whether a Major Incident happened or not; or alternatively we can have a specific set of Major Incident types which you can choose from. In addition, you can setup an Alert every time there is an update which contains information logged against the Major Incident tracker  |
Can we create our own custom tables? E.g. that enable us to see a list of major incidents? | Yes You can create Custom Tables (we call them Views) that enable you to create your own table of for example, Major Incidents per Contact.  |
Can we collect feedback? | Yes There are multiple ways to do this using The Surveys App Option 1: if collected over the phone, staff member can use the Complete Survey button on the student’s Contact Profile Option 2: if collected via email, staff member can send the survey using the Send Survey button Would probably be a Send Survey button but may also be completed in person with the student.  |
Can we filter our data by date range? | Yes Date filters on the Manage Contacts page enable you to filter the contacts whose details are being presented to only contacts who fall within a particular Date Range.
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Can we compare our data demographically? | Yes Comparison can be achieved by using the Stats toggle to display the Mean Average result for each KPI.  |
Can we compare our data based on geographic region? | Yes |
Can we track the grants that we’re planning on applying to/have applied to/whether they were successful etc? | Yes You could create a project called Funders Each funder that you apply to could exist as a Contact Each grant that you apply to could exist as a Case related to that Funder (Contact) On the Grant’s Case page you will be able to set the status of the grant, e.g. Planning to apply, Applying, Applied, Successful, etc And you could add a todo list of Tasks next to each Grant’s Case page |
Can we upload files to the system, such as photos or Word files and is there is a storage limit in the system? ? | Yes You can upload photos, videos, audio files and other file attachments. Those files can be uploaded from multiple places:
There is no limit to the amount of data you can upload. Instead we have a Fair Usage policy whereby you can upload 10 gigabytes of attachments per month within your plan. Should you exceed this limit you will be billed £10 per 100GB of data you upload that month. |
How could we log/monitor red flags, say if someone phones in with a concern about a client? | There are a variety of ways in which you could do this. The deciding factor will be what you want to happen once a red flag has been raised. Here are some options:
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Is there a tags feature? | Yes We enable you to tag different types of content and in each case the tags feature has a different name. You can tag contacts by putting them into Contact Groups. You would probably have Contact Groups for VIPs, Volunteers, Donors, etc. You can tag stories and survey responses by adding Labels. This is typically used for qualitative analysis when you want to group together all the content that relates to a particular theme, e.g. “reduced isolation”. When people share best practice, ideas and suggestions, those are saved in your database as Tips. Those Tips can be tagged with the outcomes and KPIs that they relate to, e.g. if you wanted to crowdsource Tips from Volunteers on how to encourage VIPs to try something new like a new hobby. Is there another scenario in which you might want to add Tips? |
Can we archive inactive users? | Yes You could revoke the App Licences that are applied to inactive users. They would still exist as users in the system but they would be inactive. Their historical interactions with clients would remain available to you even while those users are inactive. |
Is there a mobile app for the platform or is itjust mobile optimised? | There is a Makerble Android Application which is focused on the Contacts App. It would allow you to:
The Makerble Android Application works offline as well as while connected to the internet. It’s accessible on mobiles as well as tablets. The entire Makerble Web Platform is mobile optimised. |
Can we assign tasks? | Yes You can assign Tasks to specific users, e.g. staff members. Tasks can be tagged to the Contacts they relate to (e.g. specific VIPs) |
What are the support hours/contact methods? | We are available from 10am to 5pm. We provide an email helpdesk and a phone line 020 8123 6253. |
Is it possible to attach documents to either the client or the timeline ? e.g. CV’s training record etc?
| Yes you can do both. |
Is it possible to extract a case note and either print this/ download this? Our clients sometimes have to provide evidence to the job centre that they have had contact with us | Yes you can save a case note as a pdf |
Is each app specific to a named person? Sometimes volunteers come and go so we would need to factor this in | Each licence is specific to a User (i.e. an Email Address). However you can manage your App Licences so if people come and go, you can either use the same Email Address for the new person or you can revoke the App Licence from one user (email address) and transfer it to the new person. |
Can we add or remove apps as we go along dependent on the needs of the service as long as we stick to the £25 per month minimum | Yes |
Would it be possible to auto populate forms – e.g referral forms. We usually have to refer to quite a few external agencies | Yes - we have a Documents feature that allows you to preload a Document Template (e.g. an external agency’s referral form) into the system. However the formatting for these is basic and better suited to generating Letters rather than populating forms with a specific Design. That being said, if this was an important feature to you, we would be able to add it as a customisation of the core platform. |
Timescales – please can you let me know estimated timescales from when we instructed | We can typically Go Live within a two week period if you have all the information to hand that’s needed in order to get started. |
Is there a demo version we could use – perhaps with just the ability to add 3 or 4 clients so we can get a hands on feel?
| We don’t have a demo version that you can use - it’s something that’s in our roadmap - but until then we’re more than happy to provide extensive demos where you can see how the system operates in practice. |
Accessibility | Makerble is compatible with screen readers. One of our clients is HEAR Network and their coordinator who is partially-sighted uses Makerble with her screen reader. |
Data Security | From a security perspective, data is backed up on a daily basis. In terms of access, every user requires a password to login to Makerble and we have the option of 2FA (2 Factor Authentication) as an added security layer if you require it. When activated it means that in order to login, someone must also type in a unique 6 digit code that is sent to their phone as an SMS or Voice Call. With regards GDPR compliance, we give you the ability to record whether your contacts have given consent for their data to be stored. We also make it easy for you to delete people’s data or provide it to them in the event that they exercise their rights to their data as outlined in the GDPR. |
What does your onboarding process look like? | Typically we allocate four days of support to the Onboarding Process and those four days are usually spread over the course of a few weeks. The exact length of the onboarding process very much depends on when you're ready to start and your intended go live date. Our onboarding process is split into four stages; Design, Build, Import and Embed. The design phase starts with a kickoff workshop in which we confirm that we've understood your processes correctly and mapped them to workflows on Makerble. This involves working through our series of onboarding templates that define how each of your forms and dashboards will work. After the initial kickoff workshop we put a weekly catchup in the diary in which we show you the progress with the build of the platform and make adjustments as we go along. We essentially do all of the setup for you based on the input you provide. I imagine that you'll have historical data that you'll want to bring across to Makerble; during the Import phase we'll work through those records and the Makerble fields they'll need to be imported into. Embed is the final stage and this is where we do User Acceptance Testing with a subset of your users to confirm that everything is working as expected ahead of us rolling out training to all of your users. |
OTHER FAQs | |
When someone accesses Makerble as a Participant, can they see everything that the charity records about them or can the charity only show them certain fields?
| No they cannot see everything that the organisation records about them. When you give a contact Participation Access it means that they can view the My Home and whichever Progress Board(s) you give them access to. They cannot see their Contact Profile page. |
With regards to access rights, if a Trustee wanted to just see data but not have edit access is that possible? | Yes. There are three role levels on Makerble:
For more information on User Roles, look at User Roles |
Do public facing boards hide contact data (e.g. for internal boards you can click on the charts and see names) e.g. if a funder wanted to see their reports? | Yes, public facing boards have restrictions that limit the data shown on charts |
Can you send an email directly from the system to an individual or only if it's part of an event/survey/alert? | SMS text messages can be sent directly to contacts and received from them. You can see your individual conversation history with a contact and also send bulk SMS to multiple contacts. Email is different. Emails are only sent to contacts when they are sent a survey. Emails are sent to users as part of notifications. |
Where do alerts show in the system? Does it come up as a notification? | Alerts appear in the top menu. Read more about how Alerts work here Automations |
How do people tend to report on journeys if they change projects? So, for example, this client has a student project and a graduate project. If they were moved from one project to another when they graduate, can they still report on the whole journey? | The profile page for each contact displays their entire journey with your organisation. So if somebody moves between projects, their Contact Profile Page will display updates relating to their interactions on all the projects they have been part of. |
| Yes, when you select Responses are anonymous you get a public shareable link that any member of the public can use to complete the survey: Collect survey responses from anyone with the link |
| Yes - you can add a field to the Event Category of the Text type or even of the Attachment type if you want it to include a lesson plan in PDF or Word document format: Design the Event Creation Form |
| Yes, you can add timesheets to update. To do this, activate timesheets o the project that the update will be within: Log time spent on an update (while posting the update) |
Can access be restricted to cases? Or can access only be managed at a project level? | Yes access can be restricted to Cases. By default access will be restricted to users who are Case Workers or Case Owners. (Senior staff - typically Project Managers and Organisation Admins - will also have access to the case). |
Can access also be restricted to only certain contacts? I think it can but can't see how you do it? | ‘Contacts’ don’t have access, only users do, i.e. ‘colleagues’. You can give specific colleagues access to a case by adding those colleagues as Case Workers of that Case. |
Is there an easy to see when a person was first referred and first seen by a service (rather than just scrolling back on a timeline) e.g. a report or something? | The ability to see when a contact was added to a service (e.g. moved to the Enrolled state of a project) will be visible in Q3 2021 using the Custom Views option on the Contacts page. Types of column that can be added to a Custom View |
Can Makerble be used for a Volunteers Application process:
| Yes you can create a project called Volunteers. You can add a List-type field in the Contact Form for Volunteers called Application/Recruitment Stage. In the Contacts App Splits tab you will be able to see a snapshot of the number of Contacts at each stage of the process. You can attach files relating to DBS checks and references. |
In addition, with volunteers they want to be able to:
| We can go one better than this and display the date that each user last posted an update which is a more engaged action than simply logging in. You can see this on the People page in List view: https://makerble.atlassian.net/wiki/pages/createpage.action?spaceKey=MCPD&title=People&linkCreation=true&fromPageId=1078624257 Using the Manage Colleagues page you can revoke users’ access. (Your volunteers will be users) - Legacy method: Add and remove colleagues across multiple projects at once With regards to being notified when someone has not logged an update within a particular timeframe, e.g. within a week, we could extend the functionality in the Alert Triggers. This would be a simple customisation. Automations |
Can surveys be translated into different languages but still feel into the same outcomes? Most common languages are Arabic, Kurdish. They would like to have person translators rather than automated. | Yes you could do this using Surveys with Adjustable Wording. You can create a ‘Wave’ for each translation of the survey. Then when sending the survey to recipients, you can select which Wave (Translation) of the survey is appropriate for that set of respondents. When those respondents see the Complete A Survey page, they will see that translation of the Survey Questions and Answer Choices. |
Any used cases for analysing quantative data en masse? | Please elaborate on this |
Can the names of the Apps be customised (e.g. Events renamed to Sessions)? | |
Can certain users be notified when a new Tip is added to a collection? E.g. volunteer tutors sharing tips and resources? | |
Can age be calculated automatically based on Date or Birth? Can this then feed into Splits? | |
Is it possible to add | |
Does each contact have their own ID number and can these be searched upon? | |