Being a private company in the social sector isn't easy.
For a start, we're not eligible for most grants or donations; meaning we depend on revenues. To the uninitiated, there can also be an assumption that a private company has money "swishing about" (if only).
That said, I’ve acknowledged over the years that constraints and perceptions like these are a blessing in disguise. They motivate us to keep pushing - carefully, responsibly and within our means - to build something of real value. In 2026, we're preparing to push harder than ever.
What we’re building next
In the new year, we’ll launch a powerful new search experience for our Enterprise platforms. All of our platforms have seen recent upgrades where users typing in everyday language are now guided to supportive resources.
In the coming weeks we’ll add semantic search, which understands meaning and intent. This superb feature will help people find activities, community members and content, even if they’re not sure how to describe what they want. It also learns over time, so each search gets better (like Google).
We’ll also develop a guided conversations tool, creating personalised pathways based on needs and severity. We’ll co-design it with our clients in Warrington and Carmarthenshire, alongside the Department of Health and Social Care, to ensure it works in practice. The aim is to create an easy-to-use self-help portal that reduces unnecessary contact with adult social care.
Measuring what matters
The rapid development of AI in 2025 certainly opened my eyes to what might now be possible. In 2026, we'll use AI to become more sophisticated at reporting. It's complicated though...
Our platforms are designed to connect people, neighbours, groups, professionals, businesses and charities. Every stakeholder, whether affected or affecting, has different reporting needs, e.g:
- People → personal goals.
- Charities and businesses → social value.
- GP practices → preventable appointments or hospital admissions.
- Adult Social Care professionals → referral rates.
A true whole-system view needs to measure all of these outcomes. Once upon a time, this would have been both difficult and costly. Over Christmas, however, I used AI to build the bare bones of a reporting tool that can help measure these outcomes. It will need careful co-design with our Enterprise clients, but we already have plenty of data to generate new insights.
Why Enterprise matters in 2026
I’ve mentioned our Enterprise model a few times and I want to clarify what that means in practice. It’s our most advanced plan, basically, focused on supporting collaboration and partnerships.
This model is a win-win for everyone: 1) it helps organisations collaborate (and share licence costs), 2) communities can access a single front door for information and support, and 3) it generates the income we need to keep investing.
What started as a theory back in 2018 is now a proven strategy with platforms like Devon Connect, Connect Torfaen, Connect RCT and Living Well Warrington leading the way. But if collaboration is to thrive, it has to be incentivised. That's why we're committed to delivering clearer and more tangible benefits for clients on the Enterprise plan.
Supporting grassroots communities
Of course, many small volunteer groups want to use technology like ours but operate on tiny budgets. Free tools like Facebook or WhatsApp rarely meet their needs because they're not designed for volunteer coordination.
In the next few months, we’ll launch a shared timebanking platform for community timebanks. This will allow communities and networks to create their own private timebanks, without the cost of a fully bespoke platform. Pricing will start at around £500 per year, with optional upgrades available.
If micro-volunteering is your thing, we’ve been quietly supporting Time4Good, which runs on Made Open software, with pilots in Plymouth and Cornwall (where we're based) to test different models around neighbourhood health and micro-volunteering.
Ironically, Time4Good’s first real contract is with a charity in Maine, USA. Facing major challenges in the US - including steep cuts to Medicaid that are leaving people without access to basics like food, transport and healthcare - this organisation needed to take immediate action and approached us after being inspired by our work in the UK.
We’re now planning further developments for Time4Good (T4G is a separate entity to Made Open but I own shares in both which helps buffer T4G in these early stages).
I’d love to do more locally of course, and we will, but over the years I’ve learned to go where the energy is. In 2026, we'll do our very best to bring timebanking (via Made Open) and micro-volunteering (via Time4Good) to market for grassroots communities all over the world.
And finally, a personal note
As the founder and CEO of Made Open, I absolutely love what I do. Yes, there are moments when I feel deflated - when I wonder why the world isn't kinder and society isn't fairer. But those thoughts also motivate me, day in day out.
As we say in our vision statement, "In between work and home, there's community". You don’t have to need something from your community to appreciate that sentiment. All that matters is knowing that when you do, it will be there.
HNY!