Building Together: Columbus CIE Selects Visionlink as Technology Platform Partner
Introduction
Today marks a significant milestone in the Columbus Community Information Exchange (CIE) Initiative. After a comprehensive, community-driven selection process, we're proud to announce that Visionlink will serve as our technology platform partner to build the infrastructure that will transform how residents access health and human services across Franklin County.
A Community-Driven Decision
This selection represents our community's shared vision for coordinated care. Our process was intentionally designed to center community voices and expertise:
80 unique downloads of our RFP in January 2025
26 applications submitted from vendors nationwide
30 reviewers from 20 organizations participated in expert evaluation
12 community partners engaged in 5 semi-finalist demos and interviews
Three finalists participated in full-day on-site interviews, provided live product demos for testing with Franklin County residents and agencies, and submitted a documented ‘scope of work’ to inform the final selection recommendation.
The final recommendation was made by an Executive Procurement Committee and approved by a vote from the CIE Executive Council.
Every step involved diverse perspectives from healthcare, human services, government, philanthropy, and residents.
Why Visionlink?
Visionlink emerged as the clear choice to help us bring the CIE vision to life. Three key factors drove our decision:
1. Configurability for Columbus
The platform's high degree of customization allows us to tailor intake processes, data sharing protocols, directory management, and reporting to meet our community's specific needs. We're not adopting a one-size-fits-all solution. We're building something uniquely ours that will improve our adoption rate.
2. Proven Experience
Visionlink brings direct, hands-on experience supporting CIEs, 211 systems, and similar initiatives across the country, including:
PA 211 (United Way of Pennsylvania)
WI 211 and the Wisconsin Information and Referral Exchange (WIRE)
Ventura County, California
ConnectATX at the United Way or Greater Austin
Texas emergency management coordinating 25 call centers
Multiple systems processing 10,000 fields of data every second through ~10 API connections per customer
3. Long-term sustainability
Visionlink's total cost of ownership supports our long-term sustainability, ensuring we maintain, scale, and continuously improve the platform as community needs evolve. This partnership represents responsible stewardship of public and philanthropic investments and the best path toward durable, high-impact infrastructure.
What This Means for Our Community
For Community-Based Organizations
You helped shape this process, and your expertise remains central. The CIE will enable organizations to collaborate across silos, build efficiencies, and drive shared impact. Visionlink’s platform is designed to tailor workflows and integrations for your organization and connect the data on the backend to provide one holistic view of community care.
For Caseworkers
This platform will save time and simplify your day-to-day work, allowing you to spend more time helping residents and less time on manual data entry. As implementation moves forward, you’ll have opportunities to test features, share feedback, and shape improvements directly.
For Residents
This is about access made easy. The CIE will help you find the right care faster, with clear consent and privacy protections. It’s about a seamless experience across multiple needs.
Looking Ahead: Next Steps and Timeline
A Foundation for Transformation
The CIE Initiative is about more than technology. It's about systems change and putting residents first. Visionlink provides the technical foundation, but our community provides the vision, values, and operational commitment to make this work.
We're grateful to everyone who contributed to this milestone: reviewers who donated countless hours, partners who attended demos and asked tough questions, funders who supported this rigorous process, and county and city leaders who have championed this investment.
This is just the beginning. Together, we're building infrastructure that will serve Franklin County for decades to come, making it easier for residents to access the support they need and easier for providers to deliver whole-person care.
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