Think you can’t get big things done with a small team of volunteers? Think again
We hear it all the time. There’s a deep-seated belief that to build something big or create a “real” transformation, you need a big team, a load of budget, and a two-year roadmap. A handful of volunteers looks like a nice-to-have support crew in comparison—a group to help with basic tasks, maybe, but not capable of achieving anything big, surely?
We’re here to tell you that’s dead wrong.
Completing impactful projects isn’t about headcount. It’s about skills, agility, and knowing how to use the right tools. In our experience, a small team of sharp, well-matched volunteers is more than capable of getting big projects over the finish line—we’ve seen it time and again at the Scottish Tech Army, and we’ve got the receipts to prove it. Here’s the Soundscape story.
The Soundscape story: 3 months to save tech that people depend on
When Microsoft announced it was retiring Soundscape—a 3D spatial audio app that helps visually impaired people navigate urban environments—it caused concern amongst the visually impaired community. For many of them, the Soundscape app was crucial to how they navigate the world. Not having it could be the difference between walking to the shops with confidence or being stuck at home.
However, before the app was shut down, our Executive Director Kirsty McIntosh realised that Microsoft had made the code for the app available via open source. So when Dan Ridge from PwC UK got in touch asking what his team could do for the tech for good ecosystem with their volunteering time as part of the firm’s One Firm One Day programme, Kirsty asked him and his team of volunteers to spend the day getting a sense of what was in the Soundscape code repository and what it would take to get the app up and running again. Crucially, was this something we could do, and do it affordably?
Dan Ridge led a team of volunteers from PwC, including Neil Stewart ☁️ and Robert Leishman. Their work made us feel confident that we could reproduce the Soundscape app that users knew and loved. With 3 months to go before the Soundscape shutdown date, we got to work.
We assembled a team of skilled volunteers, including John Greig, Adam Ward, Anthony Eniola, Duncan K., Christopher McLellan , Colin Lyman and Jamie Ferguson. Together, they got the app built, tested, and launched 9 hours before Microsoft completed the shutdown of the original service. The Thomas Pocklington Trust provided the funding for the first year of running the app, which was crucial to enabling us to establish the service and optimise it for the long term.
Today, thanks to the work of our skilled volunteers, Soundscape now has tens of thousands of iOS users worldwide. But it has only ever existed for iOS— and here begins the next part of the story.
In February 2024 a new group of volunteers stepped forward to pick up the baton and develop an Android version of the app - this was a very substantial undertaking as, unlike taking over the open-source codebase developed by Microsoft, it involved starting development from a blank sheet of paper. The Android platform has a very wide user base globally and developing the Soundscape app for it opens up access to the app for a very large potential user base.
Our dedicated team of volunteers Tunde Ojelabi, David Craig, Fanny DEMEY, Khadijah D Mohammed, PhD, Luke Duncan, Tomasz Cnota, Peter White, Hugh Greene, Jamil Miyingo, Stephen Boyle, William Field, Adam Ward and Amira FAHEM has now succeeded in delivering a production-ready version of the app, a truly outstanding achievement. The app will soon officially launch for Android and be available to users around the world via the Play Store.
The Soundscape story is just one example of a small group of volunteers undertaking something you might assume could only be done with a big team. In 3 months we built a backend, connected the front end, replaced missing code, tested the app, developed a brand identity, and secured funding to cover the hosting costs of the app. As a result, we saved an app that plays a vital role in enabling visually impaired people to move around confidently and independently in their home towns and cities. And now, a different group of volunteers are working to make sure Soundscape can help even more people.
Small teams of volunteers can—in the right conditions—do big things
The Soundscape project worked because it didn't need a massive, sprawling structure to move the needle. It needed a few people who were deeply skilled, a clear deadline, a clear picture of what needed to be done (which they had thanks to PwC UK), and the right tools to bridge the gap.
When you have a senior developer or a specialist architect donating their time, they’re bringing years of professional expertise and intuition to the table. They see shortcuts where others see roadblocks. This is why skilled volunteering is so important. Whilst there’s no denying that there’s litter that needs picking, having a highly skilled technical volunteer on a project that needs their expertise is priceless.
With the tech we have at our fingertips now, the bar for what a small team can achieve has also risen. With the rapid advance of AI-assisted tools, a single developer can now handle tasks—like auditing thousands of lines of legacy code or debugging complex algorithms—that used to require an entire department. AI can help a handful of people to punch way above their weight class.
So, if you’re sitting on a project and waiting for a massive team or a giant budget to materialise before you start, you might be waiting for something you don't actually need. The Soundscape story has proved that if you have the right talent, the right tools, and the motivation to do something meaningful, you don’t need a crowd to make a global impact. You just need a mission and a few talented people who know how to bring it to life.
