Elevator is the beating heart of Scotland’s vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Our partnership aims to enhance and extend the reach of their business support initiatives — providing the digital connectivity they need to engage with a diverse network of satellite communities, big and small.

Community Lab provides Elevator with a digital space to accelerate the delivery of on-the-ground projects across top-priority business support initiatives. Our joint work covers everything from empowering female entrepreneurship, running leadership programmes in remote island communities, and encouraging digital skills development.

Why was Community Lab used?

Elevator needed a solution that could effectively connect, engage and support individuals across a diverse roster of programmes.

They were looking for something that could streamline administrative tasks for programme managers and provide detailed reporting for monitoring/evidencing impact. They wanted a platform that championed accessible design standards and would enable Elevator’s alumni members to enjoy continued engagements in the days/weeks/months/years following a programme.

Community Lab satisfied and exceeded all of these requirements — enabling Elevator to build a vibrant, connected community that continues to enhance both participant experiences and internal operational efficiency.

How is Community Lab used?

Community Lab's group, events, and chat functions serve as the backbone of Elevator's digital ecosystem — allowing participants to connect and collaborate seamlessly.

The resources section serves as an online learning bank for consolidating relevant materials and ensuring all programme participants have access to the tools/information they need.

Elevator has used a clustering instance to organise their growing portfolio of groups into a shared space —  reducing the administrative burden for the content they want to broadcast to all groups (or a subset of related groups). Clustering helps to unite their wider community and fosters a sense of belonging and shared purpose across a diverse ecosystem of previously disconnected communities.

What was the impact of this collaboration?

Since adopting Community Lab, Elevator has connected with more entrepreneurs, deepened the impact of their programmes, and harnessed impact reporting to reinforce bids for future work.

Our platform has also significantly reduced staff costs, thanks to the use of clustering to reduce administrative burden, a smooth onboarding process, and Community Lab’s user-friendly interface.

Community Lab has transformed Elevator's ability to support Scotland’s entrepreneurs, particularly in remote and underserved areas.