Cursive works with values-led organisations to turn high-stakes deadlines into achievable digital outcomes. When Power for Democracies came to us needing a powerful web platform that homed global, impact-driven insights and avoided all Big Tech infrastructure, we ensured we hit the deadline without compromising security or independence.
TL;DR The Top Takeaways
In just six weeks
we launched a secure, scalable digital platform capable of containing and presenting global, impact-driven research insights.
Zero reliance
on major Big Tech infrastructure providers to maintain full control over data sovereignty, security, and independence aligned with brand values.
A platform to power global democratic progress
Power for Democracies is an independent, non-profit registered organisation that uses research to protect and strengthen liberal democracy around the world. In early April 2025, its team came to Cursive with a mission and a deadline: a brand-new site, in time for a major conference, without a single byte passing through Amazon, Google, or Cloudflare. Spoiler alert: we did it.
Thanks so much for the hustle on getting this live. It looks and feels great, and it’s set us up with a strong foundation for continued development – we’re all very pleased. Please let your team know how much we appreciate the effort and skills you all contribute to our work. Looking forward to Phase 1.5!
A little background…
Berlin, 2023. Former Secretary General of Amnesty International Germany Markus N. Beeko co-founds a new non-profit research initiative, applying a novel approach to researching current and emerging threats to democracy. With a global team bringing together political science, human rights, mathematics, journalism and sociology, Power for Democracies produces research to advance liberal democracy.
The challenge:
High-stakes site, time-short turnaround
In early April 2025, Power for Democracies came to us with a broad wishlist and a deadline that was not messing around – its new site had to be live for a big conference… in June. Plus, the team made their stance on Big Tech hosts clear: no Amazon, no Google, no Cloudflare. This was a non-negotiable to align with their values around independence: they wanted all their data and traffic to stay 100% European – all the way down to the server.
The solution:
Phased delivery, principled hosting
Firstly, a cuppa. To make this manageable and realistic, we got aligned on priorities and broke the project into three clear phases. Phase 1 was all about delivering a Minimum Viable Product (MVP): the bare essentials needed to get the team up and running with clear messaging and core pages in time for the conference.
The hosting challenge was the added challenge. Power for Democracies’ team insisted on a fully EU-based, European-owned hosting provider. This ruled out the Big Tech players, so we needed to find a reliable alternative that met their strict ethical standards. We dug deep, found the perfect fit, and built the whole platform around it.
Phase 1.5 followed immediately after launch, focusing on adding new short-form content pages and refining existing features. Finally, Phase 2 is planned as a longer-term growth phase, expanding site functionality in line with the organisation’s scaling research, data, and internal processes.
How we did it...
Moving swiftly with a values-led MVP
We kicked off the project with a deep discovery session designed to get under the skin of Power for Democracies. We spent a few hours understanding the team’s goals, target audiences, what they wanted to achieve, and how they planned to do it. This groundwork was essential to make sure everything we built would truly support its research-driven mission to fuel worldwide impact.
Thankfully, we have a wonderfully calm team and plenty of coffee, because it was full steam ahead from here. We started by creating wireframes, allowing for one round of amendments before presenting them to keep momentum high and guesswork low. The design phase built on the brand’s new visual identity, deliberately prioritising a content-led approach rather than heavy image use, which made the site both faster and more accessible.
Building securely without Big Tech
To meet the team’s values-led hosting requirements, we worked exclusively with European software, integrating carefully and testing thoroughly. Importantly, we ran training sessions with the Power for Democracies team ahead of launch, so editors and digital teams felt confident using the new platform from day one.
Thanks to this focused approach, the MVP went live ahead of schedule, perfectly timed for the major conference. Wagtail CMS was the perfect platform for Power for Democracies, making publishing polished content joyfully straightforward for editors and users alike. For comms teams used to wrestling with plugins and templates and cockpit-like dashboards, Wagtail really is a breath of fresh air.
Future-focused support that empowers editors
Following the all-important go-live, we delivered Phase 1.5 of the project. To make life easier for devs and editors, we designed and made fresh features such as short-form content templates, giving teams more flexibility and control over content.
The new Power for Democracies platform delivers on everything that mattered most to its mission: it’s fast, ethical, scalable, secure, and user-focused. Optimised to make vital research and insights instantly accessible around the world, the org now has a digital base that’s ready to grow alongside its expanding research library and increasing operational needs. And, as always, our team will be on hand to look after its platform for the long run.
What we learned
When Power for Democracies came to us with a tight timeframe, our first focus was prioritising what was needed to build traction straight away. To get things moving as soon as possible and de-risk the project, we found splitting the delivery into three parts was the smartest move – letting us launch fast without losing sight of the bigger picture. That phased approach gave everyone clarity, kept stress low, and laid a solid foundation for future growth. Plus, it showed how sticking to values – like strict hosting rules – doesn’t have to slow you down, it can actually sharpen your focus.
