In response to the 'postcode lottery' of support on offer for people with dementia, we worked with the Greater London Authority and the Mayor of London to design and build the digital platform that powers the Dementia Friendly Venues Charter — enabling hundreds of venues across the capital to apply for, achieve, and maintain accreditation as dementia-friendly spaces.
Dementia is one of the biggest health and social care challenges facing our society today. In London alone there are over 72,000 people living with dementia, and this number is set to more than triple within the coming decades. The Dementia Friendly Venues Charter was created to meet this challenge head on — transforming cultural venues for people living with dementia and their carers through dementia-friendly resources, dedicated relaxed sessions, clear signage, designated chill-out zones, and comprehensive staff training.
Running the Charter at scale across a city as large and diverse as London requires a robust, flexible accreditation system — one that can handle applications from a wide range of venue types, support assessors in reviewing submissions, and give the GLA oversight of the programme as it grows.
Modules
| Module | Description |
|---|---|
| Venue application portal | A guided online application journey for venues seeking accreditation, collecting evidence of dementia-friendly practices across key assessment criteria |
| Training and accreditation | A structured environment for venues to navigate multi-stage training resources and complete assessments across the Charter's five accreditation categories |
| Assessor review tools | Structured interfaces for Charter assessors to review submissions, record decisions, and manage the assessment workflow |
| Accreditation management | Tracks accreditation status, renewal timelines, and supporting documentation for every venue in the programme |
| Programme dashboard | GLA programme managers have a real-time view of applications in progress, accreditations awarded, and Charter reach across the capital |
| Public venue finder | A searchable, public-facing map and directory of accredited venues, helping people living with dementia and their carers find welcoming spaces across London |
Developing inclusive programmes and venues
Working alongside the Alzheimer's Society and the Museum of London, the Charter gives venues the tools to present dementia more effectively to their staff and volunteers — training them in how their venue can offer support to those with dementia, and improving awareness of how to welcome visitors with specific access and support needs.
The heart of the platform is the venue application portal and training environment — a structured, guided process that takes venues through the Charter's assessment criteria and helps them evidence the steps they have taken to become more dementia-friendly. The application journey was designed to be accessible and straightforward for venues of all types and sizes, from large cultural institutions to small neighbourhood businesses.
Giving the GLA visibility of the programme
Behind the scenes, the platform gives Charter assessors the tools to review applications efficiently, record their assessments, and manage the flow of work across the programme. Decisions and supporting evidence are held within the system, creating a clear and auditable record of each venue's accreditation history.
The GLA team needed to be able to see the Charter programme as a whole — to understand where applications were in the pipeline, which venues had achieved accreditation, and how the programme was growing across different parts of the city. The programme dashboard gives programme managers a live view of all of this, as well as a dataset on audience numbers and the reach and capacity to serve the local dementia community. This supports the business case for further investment into dementia-related activities and helps highlight areas where a more diverse range of engagement opportunities is needed.
Making accredited venues easy to find
Accreditation only delivers its full value when people who need it can find it. The platform includes a public venue finder — a searchable map and directory of all accredited venues, designed to help people living with dementia, their families, and carers identify welcoming spaces across London with confidence.
If you are running an accreditation, membership, or standards programme and need a platform built around the real complexity of managing it at scale, we would love to hear from you.