Public and third sectorLive
ALONE now matches older people with volunteers nationally.
We built ALONE a daily national service that matches isolated older people with volunteers. It was in production 13 weeks after the work began.
ALONE
- 2,700older people waiting for a match, with 850 volunteers, before the service
- 1 a week to 5 an hourbest-possible matches each coordinator makes
- 13 weeksfrom first scoping to production
- 90:1imbalances between older people and volunteers, revealed by heatmapping
The situation
ALONE, the Irish charity, matches isolated older people with volunteers. It had a backlog of 2,700 older people and 850 volunteers, and coordinators worked to a target of one match a week.
What we built
We built a daily national matching service that combines geospatial travel-time analysis with matching on interests and preferences.
It was in production 13 weeks after first scoping.
The decision that mattered
Matching runs on one national view, so good matches across regional boundaries surfaced for the first time.
Where it stands
Coordinators now make five best-possible matches an hour, where the target used to be one a week.
Heatmapping showed 90:1 imbalances between older people and volunteers, and for the first time in its history the charity can allocate its resources on the data.
ALONE won the Digital Impact of the Year Award at the National Digital Awards 2026 for this work.