The client
The Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment (IEMA) is an international membership organisation committed to global sustainability. With 15,500 individual members and 200 corporate members across multiple countries, it is the largest professional body for environmental practitioners in the United Kingdom and worldwide.
The opportunity
Following poor service and response times provided by their existing web development team, IEMA approached Cursor in August 2019 looking for a new technical partner to facilitate growth and transform services online.
We were asked to build a new IEMA website including approximately one thousand pages, as well as payment systems, application systems, a members area, and a private staff membership management hub, and integrate this with Microsoft Dynamics and Sage.
We would have to do this in a year without the assistance of the current web developers, and then launch all the systems on the same day. This would be a business-critical launch, and it was imperative that everything should be working correctly so that IEMA could continue to service the needs of over 15,000 members worldwide.
Building business critical memberships infrastructure
Responsive, content-driven website
We built a new responsive IEMA website using Craft 3. The website includes a wide range of content for sustainability professionals, from high-level topics such as pollution and climate change to detailed information for members on subjects including career development, professional conduct, training and partnerships.
There is a section devoted to training courses, a comprehensive events system, online webinars, corporate programmes and a wealth of other content.
Integrated application forms
IEMA operates a tiered membership system with levels that track stages in professional career development. We built application forms for eight primary levels from Student up to Fellow. These main application forms then branch into twenty-six variations, allowing for submission of coursework, exam results and other career information.
Flexible payment systems
At the end of the application system, we built payments systems for debit/credit card and bank debits, including an advanced discount and promotional code system. In addition to new membership applications, there are twelve different upgrade paths for existing members, each with their own application forms.
We then built a Node.js API which processes all membership applications, upgrades, payments and renewals and then syncs application data into IEMA's Microsoft Dynamics ERP System.
Self-serve members platform
IEMA members can access unique content, change account details, download invoices, and manage and make payments through a member-only self-service system called MyIEMA. We built the MyIEMA login using an OAuth2 Single Sign-on, so that members can use their IEMA login credentials to sign in to external websites of partner organisations that provide CPD and training resources to IEMA members.
Private back-office system
In addition to the public website, application system and member-only areas, we built a private management system for IEMA staff: the IEMA Hub. The Hub provides the IEMA team with an easy-to-use interface to manage all aspects of membership.
We created a single-member view including application information, membership details, invoices, payments, direct debit and email communications. Built using React, the IEMA hub gives the membership team an efficient way to deal with day-to-day enquiries from members worldwide.
Our impact
Our web development partnership with IEMA started in September 2019. After over 2,500 hours of work and completing 3,580 tests, we launched the new IEMA website, Hub and associated digital systems in August 2020, successfully delivering a complex business-critical project on time and in the middle of a global pandemic.
