International Alert streamlines global project and funding management with Microsoft Dynamics 365
Pragmatiq partnered with International Alert, a global peacebuilding charity, to replace a SharePoint-based tracking system with a centralised Microsoft Dynamics 365 solution. The new platform provides improved visibility of projects, funding, and reporting activity across regions, enabling teams to manage complex international work more effectively from a single system.
Background & Challenges
Background
International Alert is an international charitable organisation delivering projects worldwide to prevent conflict and build peace. Its work spans multiple countries, departments, partners, and funding streams, requiring careful tracking of projects, budgets, and reporting obligations across regions.
Historically, International Alert relied on a SharePoint-based system to manage this information. While functional, the approach lacked the structure, usability, and flexibility required to support growing operational complexity.
Challenges
- Fragmented project tracking: Project, funding, and reporting data was managed through SharePoint lists, making it difficult to gain a clear, consolidated view.
- Limited process structure: The existing setup did not provide CRM-style workflows to manage opportunities, agreements, and project stages consistently.
- Manual coordination across regions: Tracking activity across countries, departments, and delivery teams required significant manual effort.
- Poor visibility of reporting obligations: Reporting schedules were not tracked centrally, increasing the risk of missed or delayed reporting.
- Disconnected communications and documents: Emails and project documentation were not consistently linked back to project records.
The Solution & Implementation
Pragmatiq implemented a centralised solution built on Microsoft Dynamics 365, providing International Alert with a structured CRM platform while retaining the document management benefits of SharePoint.
The solution was designed to streamline project and funding management while remaining lightweight and easy to adopt across global teams.
Key elements of the solution included:
- Project, opportunity, and agreement management: Dynamics 365 was configured to manage funding opportunities, agreements, and project stages in a structured and consistent way.
- Global team and regional tracking: The system enables International Alert to track projects by region, lead teams, and departments, with the ability to link multiple teams and partners to a single project.
- Reporting schedule management: Custom functionality allows teams to track upcoming reporting deadlines for each project, improving visibility and governance.
- Donor and partner management: Donors and partner organisations can be linked directly to projects, providing a clear view of collaboration and funding relationships.
- Integrated communications and document management: Outlook integration enables emails to be tracked against records, while SharePoint integration supports secure, centralised document storage.
- In-system dashboards and reporting: Native Dynamics 365 dashboards provide visibility of projects, funding, and activity without reliance on external reporting tools.
The Outcomes
- Single source of truth: Projects, funding, partners, and reporting activity are now managed in one central system.
- Improved operational visibility: Teams can easily see project status, budgets, reporting schedules, and ownership across regions.
- Reduced manual effort: Structured processes and integrated communications have replaced manual tracking and disconnected tools.
- Stronger governance and control: Centralised reporting schedules reduce risk and support timely delivery of funder reporting.
- A scalable platform for future growth: Dynamics 365 provides a flexible foundation that can evolve alongside International Alert’s global operations.
