At CAST, we help people use
digital for social good.
We're on a mission to...

Create a more responsive, resilient and digitally-enabled social sector by...
...supporting nonprofits to embed digital and design across their services, strategy and governance...
...and working with sector leaders, funders and government to make this happen.

We're here to help nonprofits and funders

How we help nonprofits

We help nonprofits realise the opportunities and implications of technology, so they can continue to champion and support the most vulnerable. We’ve helped hundreds of nonprofit leaders, frontline staff and trustees put digital at the heart of their service delivery, strategy and culture.

I am a nonprofit

We work with funders

Trusts and foundations play a vital role in realising the potential of digital technology to improve lives. We work with them to build stronger tech for good programmes and support grantees with practical training in user-centred, digital service design.

I am a funder

“Working with CAST triggered a real process of transformation at SafeLives. SafeLives now has the capability – added to the motivation we always had - to put our end users front and centre in service design. We also know how to map out sustainable income models for new digital products. We face the future knowing that we are more resilient to funding volatility and much better equipped to hear, learn from and respond to our end users and the way they live their lives.”

Responding to the changing needs of communities

Digital technology can help revolutionise how we address complex social challenges. But to achieve this, the social sector must respond to the changing digital context, behaviours and expectations of those it seeks to support.

We are a trusted partner and adviser to the sector. Using a blend of research, systems and design-led approaches, we help build organisations, products, and services that are responsive and resilient to ongoing social, economic and technological change.

How we work

We are a networked organisation

CAST is a small core team with a big network across the UK. We draw in expertise as and when it’s needed, and work with amazing partners to achieve a greater impact.

We are a learning organisation

We practise what we preach. We continually assess and refine our own approaches, sharing our learnings and also building on the work of others.

We work with social sector organisations

We’re a charity ourselves, and we want to empower others with the skills and confidence to lead effective change in a digital world. So we design with, not for them.

What we believe

We’ve outlined six underlying conditions that can allow us to harness the transformative power of technology to drive positive social change. Six tenets for tech for good.

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Read the blog post 'Six Tenets of Tech for Good'

Our network of Supporters and Funders

We work with incredible, dedicated people in other support organisations. Here are just a few.

Vicki Hearn, Director, Nominet Trust

"We’re proud to have invested in CAST’s foundation. We believe that when social transformation is the driving force behind tech, it has the greatest potential to improve lives. CAST is filling a pressing sector gap around digital service development and the team’s innovative approaches are enabling charities and social enterprises to become demonstrably more responsive and resilient in an ever-demanding market."

Vicki Hearn, Director, Nominet Trust

Billy Dann, Head of Influence, Impact & Investment Directorate

"CAST is a key agency operating in the ‘Tech for Good’ sector and has worked with Comic Relief in supporting not-for-profit organisations that we fund, enabling them to explore how to transform their services using digital technology. The CAST team are friendly, efficient, and responsive. They bring rich experience of building the digital capacity of hundreds of social enterprises, supporting them to embed digital and user-centred design into their strategy, culture, and services."

Billy Dann, Head of Influence, Impact & Investment Directorate

Kieron Boyle, Chief Executive, Guy's & St. Thomas Charity

In my experience, you can approach CAST with high expectations, and have them comfortably exceeded. They are a team who deliver. I like working with CAST as they combine real digital expertise with an understanding of the dynamics of the social sector. I'd recommend them for anyone who wants to put technology and users at the heart of their work, and to see results quickly"

- Kieron Boyle, Chief Executive, Guy's & St. Thomas Charity

Megan Griffith Gray, Head of Planning, Digital and Communications, NCVO

"We worked with CAST in 2017 on a user-centred review of our digital products and services. It was a fantastic experience! Together we mapped out what we knew, and needed to know, about our users and their needs. We then conducted user interviews, analysed data, and developed, tested, iterated and re-tested prototypes. We emerged with a clear understanding of user behaviour and needs which has informed our future strategy. Along the way I felt supported, challenged and inspired. My team got to try out guerrilla testing for the first time at one of our conferences and CAST ran two user research playback sessions with me for colleagues, that were very well received. I love working with the amazing team at CAST and we already have some more projects underway, including training and support to embed user research, and a planned workshop for the entire NCVO team!"

Megan Griffith Gray, Head of Planning, Digital and Communications, NCVO

Derek Walker, Chief Executive, Wales Co-operative Centre

“If my organisation is going to be able to make a bigger impact at a time of fewer resources we need to look at how we do things differently. I did not know where to start. CAST has helped me to see digital technology in terms of its strategic potential to help us fulfil our organisation’s objectives, as well as to consider specific digital products.”

Derek Walker, Chief Executive, Wales Co-operative Centre

Esmee Fairbairn Foundation

"We worked with CAST to design a tool that would give applicants a more realistic understanding of what we would – and would not fund. We were encouraged to build and test it with our users – doing this alongside applicants wasn’t always comfortable, and forced us to put ourselves in their shoes. So far we’ve cut applications by a third, meaning almost 1,000 organisations have saved time that would otherwise have been wasted."

Gina Crane, Communications and Learning Manager, Esmee Fairbairn

Vicki Hearn, Director, Nominet Trust

"We’re proud to have invested in CAST’s foundation. We believe that when social transformation is the driving force behind tech, it has the greatest potential to improve lives. CAST is filling a pressing sector gap around digital service development and the team’s innovative approaches are enabling charities and social enterprises to become demonstrably more responsive and resilient in an ever-demanding market."

Vicki Hearn, Director, Nominet Trust