Launching a scalable platform for democracy in six
Cursive collaborates with values-driven organizations to transform critical deadlines into realistic digital results. When Power for Democracies approached us for a robust web platform that showcased global, impact-focused insights while steering clear of major Big Tech infrastructure, we successfully met their deadline without sacrificing security or autonomy. By avoiding reliance on major tech providers, we ensured complete control over data sovereignty, security, and independence, in line with their brand values. Power for Democracies is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to utilizing research to safeguard and enhance liberal democracy worldwide. In early April 2025, their team came to us with a clear mission and a tight deadline: to create a new website in time for an important conference, ensuring that no data passed through Amazon, Google, or Cloudflare. Spoiler alert: we accomplished this.
The challenge was set: a high-stakes website with a short turnaround time. Power for Democracies had a comprehensive wishlist and an unyielding timeline; the new site needed to be operational for a significant conference just two months away. Additionally, they were firm on their position against Big Tech hosts, insisting on the exclusion of Amazon and Google. This was critical for maintaining their independence, as they aimed for all their data and traffic to remain fully European, right down to the server level.
The solution involved a phased delivery approach with principled hosting. To keep the project manageable, we identified priorities and divided the work into clear phases. Phase 1 focused on delivering a Minimum Viable Product (MVP): the essential features needed for the team to launch with clear messaging and core pages ready for the conference. Immediately following the launch, Phase 1.5 began, focusing on adding additional short-form content pages and enhancing existing features.