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About company

Forum One is a digital communications firm focused on accelerating progress on issues of importance – health, education, environment, international development, and others.

We provide communications strategy, design, and internet technology services to the World Bank, Gates Foundation, United Nations, International Monetary Fund, National Institutes of Health, Center for Global Development, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and other influential groups.

Founded in 1996 by graduates of the Harvard Kennedy School, Forum One has a staff of approximately 42, including senior strategists, project managers, information architects, usability experts, web developers, technical specialists, and policy analysts. Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia (near Washington DC), Forum One also has full-time staff in San Francisco and Seattle. Forum One is a Delaware-registered corporation that since its inception has been completely self-financed, employee-owned, and profitable.

Forum One has extensive experience in applying new technologies to public policy issues of importance. In our twelve years since founding, we have completed over 1,000 projects for 300 organizations. Nearly all of our efforts involve policy and social issues: environment, international development, education, health, and other important topics.

Most of our projects involve web site development (including information architecture, usability testing, design, requirements, development, functionality testing, hosting, and launch). We also have extensive experience in related technologies (such as collaborative databases, email systems, APIs) as well as related services (such as online metrics and marketing) and social media platforms.

Because of our experience as well as our policy backgrounds, we also provide senior-level communications strategy, a service which we believe sharply distinguishes us from many traditional web development groups. As one recent example, for the Gates Foundation we drafted overall web policy guidelines, interactive strategy, social media strategy, and online metrics systems. We have played a similar role with many other organizations.

We have worked with many donor organizations and foundations, both in support of internal communications needs as well as providing services across grantee networks. At this moment, for example, we are working with the World Bank, California HealthCare Foundation (intranet strategy), Gates Foundation (multiple projects), Pew Charitable Trusts (web development), Skoll Foundation (organization-wide communications strategy), Blue Shield of California Foundation (web site management), New York State Health Foundation (web site development) and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (grantee support).

Forum One possesses deep expertise in online community building. We publish the Online Community Report (www.onlinecommunityreport.com), a leading trade publication, manage the Online Community Research Network professional association, host the Online Community Summit and other events, and provide consulting services around community building (including to commercial groups, such as Cisco Systems and Autodesk currently).

We have worked on many initiatives seeking to promote diversity. We, for example, have advised on web initiatives for the United Negro College Fund for the Gates Foundation, and have worked directly for many years with the National Council of La Raza. Related to this, we have worked on many multilingual web sites. Our staff members speak seven languages, including native-level Spanish and French.

We pride ourselves on our responsiveness and quality. Some organizations have worked with us for more than a decade – a record in our new industry! The following have all worked with us for more than six years: Center for Global Development, National Council of La Raza, African Wildlife Foundation, and the World Bank. Our responsiveness is effective because of our deliberate project approach.

Our tagline captures our passion: Communicate. Collaborate. Change the World.

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