A website was only the starting point

The Dutch Foundation for Local Public Broadcasting, NLPO, supports local public broadcasters across the Netherlands. Its role is to strengthen the sector, improve professional standards and help local media remain relevant to the communities they serve.

That creates a complex digital challenge. NLPO needs to inform sector leaders and public stakeholders, share knowledge, support learning and connect people working across local broadcasting.

The existing website no longer supported that ambition. The challenge was not simply to replace it. Together, we needed to create a clearer digital foundation for a sector built on knowledge and connection.

What started with a public website has since expanded into learning, storytelling and community platforms. Each serves a different need. Together, they help NLPO connect and strengthen the local public broadcasting sector.

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From fragmented information to clear direction

We started with what the platform needed to achieve.

Together with NLPO, we defined its purpose, audiences, positioning and technical requirements. The primary audiences included directors of local broadcasters and stakeholders around the sector. Employees and volunteers formed a wider audience that could be reached through a dedicated community.

The ambition was clear. The platform needed to present NLPO as a professional and trusted organisation within the public broadcasting system. At the same time, it needed to make a large amount of information and knowledge easier to find and use.

The desired balance was 70% informing and 30% inspiring. The experience needed to be interactive, dynamic and accessible. The technology also needed to connect with the systems NLPO already used.

This gave us a clear direction: build around NLPO’s role in the sector, not around a list of website features.

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Building the public foundation

We translated that direction into a new digital platform.

The information structure and user flows were redesigned to help different audiences find relevant information more directly. Search, filtering and clearer content structures made it easier to navigate a broad knowledge base. The visual design translated NLPO’s renewed identity into a consistent digital experience.

Behind the interface, we built a custom WordPress platform that NLPO can manage and develop over time. Integrations connect the website with systems used for training and events. Analytics and tracking provide a basis for measuring and improving the experience.

The result is more than a new website. It is the public foundation for NLPO’s growing digital role.

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Extending the platform around learning and connection

Once the public foundation was in place, the next question was how digital could support people working within local broadcasting more directly.

That led to a dedicated e-learning environment. The platform was designed around structured learning and different user roles, giving NLPO a clearer way to organise and manage digital education. Instead of adding learning as another section of the main website, we created an environment around the specific needs of learners and administrators.

The same approach shaped the development of a community platform.

NLPO operates across a broad and distributed sector. The community creates a dedicated space for employees of local broadcasters to connect, share knowledge and work together.

Again, we started with the purpose and audience before defining functionality. The result is a protected environment for logged-in users. The technical foundation also connects broadcaster data, the platform and HubSpot, reducing the need to manage the same information in separate places.

The digital landscape now consists of several connected parts: a public platform for information, an e-learning environment for professional development and a community platform for exchange within the sector.

Each serves a different need. Together, they support the same goal: helping NLPO strengthen and connect local public broadcasting.

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50 years of local public broadcasting

The collaboration also created room for projects with a different purpose.

For the 50th anniversary of local public broadcasting, we created an interactive digital timeline. The experience brings together important moments from five decades of local broadcasting in a visual, scroll-based story.

Clear navigation helps visitors move through different decades, while photography and video add context to the milestones.

The anniversary experience built on the digital and visual foundation already developed with NLPO. This made it possible to create something distinct while keeping it connected to the wider organisation.

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The impact of building beyond launch

The clearest result of the collaboration is the development from one website into a broader digital foundation.

Together, we created a clearer public platform for information and knowledge. We connected training and event processes with the website. We built a dedicated environment for digital learning, an interactive experience around 50 years of local broadcasting and a protected community focused on connection and knowledge sharing.

The value lies in how these developments connect.

NLPO’s role continues to evolve. Its digital needs evolve with it. Because the collaboration continues beyond the first launch, we can build on earlier decisions instead of starting again with every new initiative.

By continuing to build, connect and improve, NLPO has developed a digital foundation that can evolve with the organisation and the sector it serves.