Knowledge Finder was born from ULI’s commitment to provide members with access to ULI content, to deliver a better member experience, and to further knowledge sharing across the global network of members that is core to ULI’s mission. ULI completed foundational work throughout fiscal year 2019 and the first quarter of FY2020, including launching a prototype, then executing discovery, envisioning, design, and development for the new platform.
In the second quarter, ULI launched its all-new knowledge sharing platform, Knowledge Finder, a product years in the making. The all-new platform is powered by a predictive search engine with artificial intelligences and machine learning. This enables members to more easily find the most relevant results while providing a truly engaging experience allowing them to explore and discover related content.
Videos and Webinars were among the added content types enabled by the new platform, allowing members to search for and view videos and on-demand webinars on one centralized ULI platform for the first time. More than 46,000 video views took place this past fiscal year after the new platform was launched. This capability proved particularly valuable with the shift to online-only programming in response to the pandemic, allowing ULI members to unlock the valuable content being delivered across the Institute’s global member networks.
Reading Lists was also launched as a content type, delivering the latest Urban Land articles, curated according to topics such as equitable development, public/private partnerships, housing, and more. And, beginning with the Spring 2020 edition of Urban Land, members could also download full issues of the magazine as well as search within the magazine for key words and phrases.
Additional features were rolled out as the year progressed. Content personalization was launched within Knowledge Finder in mid-April, delivering content recommendations in “For You” sections throughout the platform according to each member’s interests as specified in that person’s Member Directory profile. Trending Topics was launched in June, providing an at-a-glance feature allowing members to see what is trending among their peers.
In seven short months after launch, Knowledge Finder has proved invaluable to ULI members. More than 40,000 individuals leveraged the power of the platform, leading nearly 70 percent of them to return for more ULI content. In May 2020, the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts bestowed three awards on Knowledge Finder, recognizing its design and ease of use as a leader in the industry.
ULI continues to expand Knowledge Finder, with hundreds of pieces of new content and features to come in fiscal year 2021. To learn more and to see what’s coming next, visit Knowledge Finder’s About page.
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