HIAS reaches more refugees, more quickly with Dynamics 365 CMS

Nearly 80 million people have been forcibly displaced globally, according to the United Nations. That means one in 100 people across the world have had to flee their home because of armed conflict, hunger, poverty, environmental disasters, or violence. 

The scale of this problem is staggering, but it doesn’t deter humanitarian organizations like HIAS, the Maryland-based nonprofit that has served refugees and displaced people for nearly 140 years. HIAS is particularly known for supporting the most vulnerable among the vulnerable, such as LGBTQ individuals, unaccompanied minors, survivors of gender-based violence, and people with disability. 

Yet the organization’s drive to meet this monumental need was held back by its legacy technology systems. That’s why the nonprofit began developing a new case management system (CMS) at the beginning of 2020. 

HIAS and Microsoft partner MyProteus US aimed to address several challenges familiar to many humanitarian nonprofits: incomplete and inconsistent data on beneficiaries and programming; difficulty in securing sensitive data; and inefficient reporting processes. 

HIAS decided to use Dynamics 365 for its case management system (CMS). HIAS has also utilized other aspects of Microsoft 365, including Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, Planner, and Power BI, to roll out the CMS project, deliver training, and communicate with staff more efficiently during COVID-19. 

“By investing in this case management system, we can transform our technology systems,” says Rui Lopes, chief information officer at HIAS. “That ultimately improves the quality and efficiency of our services to reach more refugees and displaced communities around the world.” 

HIAS rolled out the system first in Kenya and is onboarding three additional country offices later in 2020, including Aruba, Costa Rica, and Peru. HIAS plans to expand to all key locations by the end of 2021. 

“I’m not here to fix computers, and I’m not here to put in systems,” Lopes says. “I’m here to help beneficiaries. Dynamics 365 allows us to do that with less complexity, more creativity, and better security. Dynamics 365 is a game-changer.” 

Eliminating complexity—and expense—through a standardized platform

Microsoft 365 met Lopes’ list of IT must-haves: “We landed on this ecosystem for its security, ease of use, ease of access, and usability in environments with challenging infrastructure and bandwidth.” HIAS aims to bring most of its 71 offices worldwide onto Microsoft 365 by the end of 2021. 

The one-stop-shop nature of the Microsoft 365 platform was equally important. The HIAS IT team found that they could do almost everything within Microsoft 365, from checking email offline to creating reports for donors, while eliminating licenses to other technology solutions. 

The straightforward design of Dynamics 365 also empowered HIAS IT staff to build out this CMS solution with as little customization as possible. The nonprofit used many of the built-in, out-of-the-box functions, which sped its development. An easy-to-configure system directly supports the HIAS mission, Lopes says, because the team didn’t have to hire a programmer. “If I’m not spending that money on a developer, that’s money I can cut out of the IT budget, which is money that can help beneficiaries.” 

Serving more refugees by saving time 

As of October 2020, HIAS has reached 1.12 million forcibly displaced people. With so much need—and no end in sight, given geopolitical conflict, a global pandemic, and a changing global economy—the nonprofit strives to do even more. 

The efficiency HIAS has gained through upgraded technology is allowing it to do just that. 

For example, during the trial phase of the new CMS in Kenya, staff noticed that it took 80 percent less time to process new client intakes and 40 percent less time to locate and review existing cases. By using a CMS in the cloud, staff in different locations can see information as it is entered—with no delay. They also have access to vital files with the click of a mouse, rather than crisscrossing the city or even a country to collect paperwork. 

Entering client data directly into the Dynamics 365 system, rather than transferring from a notepad to a spreadsheet, cuts errors dramatically. That means staff don’t spend time scrubbing and reconciling entries or sifting through spreadsheets to figure out which of several conflicting entries is correct. 

Given that HIAS Kenya serves between 1,000 and 1,400 clients a month, that efficiency translates to hundreds of saved hours. 

“It’s all about making our staff more efficient, with the ultimate goal of making sure beneficiaries get more impactful and more helpful services—more quickly,” says Lopes. 

Power Automate within the nonprofit’s CMS further reduces the time between application, approval, and delivery of services. Staff used to have to re-enter data as they created beneficiary entries. Now Power Automate populates identical information across fields, like the same address for clients in the same household. 

Field staff continue to emphasize how user-friendly the Dynamics 365–based CMS is. They can easily find information or enter data in the field or from home, as many have to do because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The IT team and Microsoft are now working on a way to work in the CMS offline and sync to the cloud once connected to the internet. 

Lopes says, “At the end of the day, our CMS is about making our staff more efficient so they can help more people.”

Improving programming through technology 

HIAS provides services across the globe, from housing assistance and mental health support to livelihood training and legal services. Quantifiable data collected, stored, and analyzed in the cloud-based Microsoft 365 platform will show which interventions are most effective, which need to be adjusted, and which need to be replaced. 

“The use of CMS technology strengthens our programming to be more evidence-based,” says Mulu Hunegnaw, vice president of strategy and measurement at HIAS. 

For the first time, offices are collecting data uniformly on the same system, virtually eliminating the gaps that inconsistent data collection created. This will empower country programs to compare services between offices. By identifying the best practices and areas in need of improvement, HIAS will be able to level-up the services provided to all refugees and displaced people. 

Given the diversity of people HIAS serves—from an LGBTQ individual seeking safety in Costa Rica to a mother escaping an abusive partner in Kenya—a powerful CMS is even more important. 

As Hunegnaw says, “We’re now able to more accurately assess our impact, track client progress, and adjust programming to meet the specific and evolving needs of our beneficiaries.” 

Protecting the vulnerable through enhanced security 

HIAS’s clients face additional layers of difficulty on top of being forced to flee their homes. Many of them have been persecuted because of their ethnicity, religion, or sexuality. The sensitivity of their personal data makes security even more of a critical concern. 

“We must deliver our services securely, as some highly sensitive information could be dangerous or even life-threatening if it got into the wrong hands,” explains Lucy Kiama, country director of HIAS Kenya. For example, Kenya has anti-homosexuality laws. If a client discloses their sexual orientation, protecting that data can be a matter of life or death. 

“Any system that touches personally identifiable information has to sit under a security blanket, which means it’s managed on the Microsoft platform,” Lopes says. Industry-leading security features are standard within the platform, from multifactor authentication to antitheft protection. What’s more, these safeguards are automated. “If there is a problem, we’ll get an alert within seconds,” Lopes adds. “That helps us get at the root of a problem very quickly.” 

Security settings also protect clients’ privacy within HIAS. Defining security roles limits access to personally identifiable information, depending on what different jobs need to do their work. Nuance within this capability allows HIAS to strike a balance between being overly restrictive or overly permissive. And by using data layer security, offices can’t access sensitive information from another country. Offices also apply security layers to ensure that only individuals with specific qualifications can access beneficiary information. 

The speed of working in the Microsoft 365 platform (such as processing a client intake more quickly) helps protect beneficiaries directly, too. “Efficiencies from working in Dynamics 365 reduce the security risks refugees face by ensuring they can be processed on the same day they come into a HIAS office,” explains Kiama. In places where it could be dangerous to travel and seek services, reducing back-and-forth trips can prevent further harm to already at-risk clients. 

And the sooner an unaccompanied child or adult who has endured gender-based violence completes the intake process, the sooner they can find safety and begin to heal, Kiama adds. “The efficiency gains in service delivery lead to better mental health outcomes for our clients.” 

Growing financial support by communicating with donors 

With the financial stress most of the nonprofit sector is feeling, HIAS finds it’s more important than ever to clearly communicate with donors, governmental bodies, and partner organizations. Transparency and data-rich reports build confidence in the work HIAS does and ultimately strengthen the nonprofit’s relationship with supporters. 

The fluidity of data sharing across Microsoft platforms—for example, between Dynamics 365 and Power BI—creates a single source of truth and makes it easier to demonstrate program impacts. Staff can filter databases by categories like geography and type of service, then generate reports with just a few clicks. This ease of use is especially important in a nonprofit setting, where not everyone is equally tech-savvy. 

“This technology helps us paint a picture of on-the-ground realities for donors, the executive team of HIAS, and our board,” Lopes says. “That helps us all get the resources we need to operate.” 

HIAS staff can now use Power BI, connected to Dynamics 365, to quickly share impact with donors. It used to take about a week to do something as straightforward as getting an accurate count of beneficiaries served by a given program. Lopes contrasts this to current operations. “Now, you push a button, run a Power BI analytics report across the spectrum of data, anonymize where you have to, and there’s your report in an hour.” 

This evidence makes a better case for ensuring governmental agencies provide much-needed support and services to refugees where that help is needed most. For example, HIAS can show that while the overall refugee population in Kenya is declining, it is in fact increasing in urban areas such as Nairobi, where HIAS provides services. 

Concrete numbers and the ability to visualize trends also empower HIAS to advocate for national and international policies that protect the rights of refugees and displaced people. It’s easier to advocate for safer refugee camp conditions, for example, when you can show the number of people served and the outcomes of those interventions. 

Technology is helping reach even more of those refugees, Lopes says. “Our partnership with Microsoft helps us ensure the most vulnerable have timely access to the critical support they need to find safety and rebuild their lives.”

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