Leitrim Association of People with Disabilities Website

The Leitrim Association of People with Disabilities is a community-based organisation supporting people with disabilities, older persons, families, carers, staff, and wider community stakeholders across County Leitrim. The organisation is dedicated to empowering and enabling people with disabilities to achieve independent living, equal participation, and full inclusion in society. LAPWD provides important community services, including personal assistant services, private care packages, and advocacy support around disability issues at local, national, and international levels. The project was developed through the STRIDE Programme following a Design Thinking Workshop and an agreed Project Summary Document. The organisation identified that its existing digital setup was limiting its ability to communicate effectively with the public and manage internal processes efficiently. The website was outdated, difficult to maintain, and did not provide a clear or simple online donation pathway. Internally, staff management, HR, payroll, and related processes were manual or managed through disconnected systems, creating additional workload, risk of error, and challenges around reporting and compliance. Due to limited budget, limited internal IT capacity, and the need for a realistic solution, the agreed project focused on a practical website redevelopment and a review of suitable HR and payroll tools rather than the development of a bespoke internal system.

8 participants attended the Design Think Workshop on 3rd February 2026 at the Leitrim Association of People with Disabilities Centre in Mohill, Co. Leitrim.
Participants were divided into 2 groups representing users. They were asked to remain open to the process, draw on lived experience, and share what they had heard, seen, thought, felt, said, and done in relation to the challenge.
Participants were provided with an overview of the STRIDE Programme and an introduction to the Design Thinking process.
The workshop used empathy mapping, journey mapping, challenge definition, ideation, prioritisation, prototyping, and testing. The group collectively agreed the following How Might We challenge statement:
“How Might We modernise our website and automate timesheets, payroll, and invoicing in a way that’s simple, efficient, and affordable for our charity?”
Following the workshop, the agreed project scope was refined into a realistic digital solution based on available time, budget, organisational capacity, and sustainability.
Deliverables
STRIDE deliverables included:
· Complete redesign of the existing website
· Modern, user-friendly public-facing website
· Mobile-friendly and accessible layout
· Migration of key content from the current site, with 30+ pages prioritised
· Core pages including Home, About, Services / Programmes, Contact, and Donate
· Clearer website structure and navigation
· Simple and secure online donation feature
· Easy-to-use content editing system for staff
· Improved communication of the organisation’s work
· Improved access to information for service users, families, carers, staff, funders, and community stakeholders
· Market research of suitable HR and payroll tools
· Cost comparison of HR and payroll options
· Feature comparison of HR and payroll options
· Suitability assessment based on the organisation’s size and needs
· Setup and onboarding guidance for recommended systems
· Digital handover guidance so staff can manage and update the website independently

The LAPWD project demonstrates how digital social innovation can support a disability-focused community organisation through practical, affordable, and sustainable technology improvements.
The redesigned website will improve public access to information about LAPWD’s services, programmes, activities, contact details, and donation options. This will benefit people with disabilities, older persons, families, carers, staff, funders, partners, and the wider Leitrim community.
The donation feature will create a clearer pathway for public support and fundraising, helping the organisation communicate its value and encourage community contribution.
The staff-editable website will reduce dependency on external technical support and give LAPWD greater control over its own digital communication. This is particularly important for small community organisations where staff time, budget, and technical confidence may be limited.
The HR and payroll recommendation element will help LAPWD make an informed decision about future systems. By comparing cost, features, suitability, and implementation requirements, the project supports more efficient administration without creating unnecessary technical complexity.
The project prioritises proportional digital transformation. It does not attempt to solve every organisational challenge through custom software. Instead, it focuses on achievable improvements that are accessible, realistic, compliant, and manageable within the available timeframe and resources.