Free Tools  ·  Vedomia

Three free tools — and how to choose between them.

Practical self-assessment tools for any organisation that has to show how its work happens — NGOs, charities and EU-funded programmes, and equally registered services, care and education providers, and businesses bidding for public contracts. This page is the guide: what each tool is for, what comes out of it, and how long it takes — so you do not start with the wrong one.

No sign-up required No data stored EU context & regulation aligned Free — always
Choosing between them

Which one do you need?

Three tools, one picture. The process map is the heart of it — the other two are different views of the same map. If you only ever use one thing on this site, use the map. Below: what each tool is for, what comes out of it, how long it takes, and what it deliberately does not do.

  • Someone has asked you to show how your work actually happens — a funder, a regulator, an inspector, a client, a tender panel, or a new colleague. Start with the Process Map Builder
  • You want an honest read on how visible your organisation is overall, before you decide where to start. Take the Transparency Self-Audit
  • AI has quietly entered your work — a chatbot, a drafting assistant, an automated sift — and you need to know what to say about it. Run the AI Transparency Relevance Check
  • You don't run the organisation — you fund it, sit on its board, audit it, or simply give to it — and you'd like to see how its work actually happens. Build your one-sentence ask
Start here

Audit-Ready Process Map Builder

Map how one process actually works — steps, responsibilities, decisions, outputs and evidence. Works for any organisation, publicly or privately funded.

Use it when You have to show a real process to someone outside your head — an inspection, a tender, a funder visit, a handover, or a team that keeps doing it differently.
What comes out A phase-by-phase map on screen, plus a Word preview: process flow, roles, decision points, outputs and the evidence each step leaves behind. Informed by ISO 9001 process concepts. The complete signed-off Transparent Processes pack (13 sections, no draft marking) is €99 if you want it.
How long About 10 minutes if you know the process. Start blank, or open a worked example and edit it.
What it is not Not certification and not a compliance guarantee. It is a record of how your process works — accurate only if you describe it honestly.
Free Any organisation Supports audit preparation No sign-up
Build your Process Map →
~10
Minutes to a map
Any
Organisation type
Free
Always
Tool 01

Transparency Self-Audit

24 questions across the four pillars of transparency — Visibility, Sequence, Justification, Auditability. An instant score with band analysis, and a plain reading of where the gaps are.

Use it when You do not yet know where to start. It looks across the whole organisation rather than one process, so it tells you which process to map first.
What comes out A score per pillar with a band explanation, and specific recommendations you can bring to a board or management meeting. Nothing is stored — the result lives in your browser.
How long About 10 minutes. You answer from what you know; no documents needed in front of you.
What it is not Not a document you can hand to an auditor. It is a diagnosis, not evidence — for evidence you need the map.
Free 10 minutes Any organisation Instant results
Start the Audit →
4
Pillars scored
24
Questions
Free
Always
Tool 02

AI Transparency Relevance Check

Twelve plain-language questions that walk through how you communicate, publish and make decisions about people — and find where AI has entered each one.

Use it when Your team has started using AI — a chatbot, a drafting assistant, an automated sift or scoring step — and someone will eventually ask what you tell people about it.
What comes out A screening of which EU AI Act Article 50 transparency situations may be relevant to you, plus draft wording in plain language for internal review — for your website, reports and stakeholder communication.
How long About 5 minutes. No black box: you review, adjust and approve every word before anything is published.
What it is not Not legal advice, not certification, not a conformity assessment. Where a legal interpretation is needed, ask a qualified professional.
Free 5 minutes EU AI Act aligned Draft wording for review
Check relevance →
12
Questions
1
Draft ready
Free
Always
One example — the nonprofit sector
The European Court of Auditors found there was no reliable overview of EU funding granted to NGOs — and that available information was not sufficiently transparent.
European Court of Auditors  ·  Special Report No. 11/2025 (PDF)

In April 2025, the ECA confirmed what many practitioners already knew: over €7.4 billion was awarded to NGOs between 2021 and 2023 with no reliable tracking system. Funders are under pressure to act.

This is the clearest documented example, which is why we use it. But the demand is not unique to grant funding: a regulator's inspection, a tender evaluation, a client audit or an insurer's question all ask the same thing in different words — show us how this actually works.

Organisations that can demonstrate clear, structured transparency — not just paperwork — are better positioned when someone asks. That is what these tools are for.

€7.4bn
EU–NGO funds under scrutiny
500+
Irish charity concerns 2024
2025
New Irish Charities Act active
Why it matters

Transparency is no longer optional

Across the EU, governance failures are now documented, named, and resulting in enforcement — in publicly funded organisations first, and increasingly wherever a regulator, an inspector or a client can ask to see how the work is done. Organisations that build transparency into their operations — not as a report, but as a system — survive and thrive.

01

EU Compliance & Funder Requirements

The ECA's 2025 findings, the Charities (Amendment) Act 2024, and ESF+ rule amendments have all sharpened the transparency expectations placed on recipients of public funds. Funders and regulators are increasingly asking organisations to show — not just assert — how their processes work.

ECA Special Report 11/2025  ·  Charities (Amendment) Act 2024  ·  ESF+ Regulation
02

Funder Trust & Institutional Credibility

Only 60% of registered Irish charities filed annual reports on time in 2024. Governance failures accounted for 42% of concerns raised with the Charities Regulator. Transparent organisations maintain credibility when others face scrutiny.

Charities Regulator Annual Report 2024  ·  RTÉ, July 2025
03

Staff Clarity & Internal Coherence

Transparency is not only about external funders. When decision-making, spending, and priorities are visible to staff and partners, organisations move faster, retain talent, and reduce conflict. Opaque systems create friction and attrition.

Vedomia Transparency Systems Framework
Made by Vedomia

Tools built by practitioners, not software companies

Vedomia designs transparency systems for organisations that have to show how their work happens — NGOs and EU-funded programmes most often, and equally registered services, care and education providers, and businesses bidding for public contracts. These tools distil the same diagnostic frameworks used in client engagements — made free so any organisation can start without a consulting budget.

The tools are not tick-box compliance checklists. They assess lived, stakeholder-facing transparency — the kind funders and regulators are increasingly asking about, and the kind that builds genuine institutional trust.

Sandra Ahmidat Fedakova PhD.  ·  Founder, Vedomia Limited

Book a Free Consultation Learn about Vedomia
What these tools are not

Not a compliance checklist

Existing tools from TI, UNDP, and 501 Commons return scores and traffic lights. None assess whether stakeholders actually perceive your organisation as transparent — or explain what your score means in your specific context.

Read our thinking on transparency
What they are instead

Narrative, contextualised, shareable

These tools produce human-readable output you can share as a trust signal — not just an internal diagnostic. Results are framed in EU regulatory context and designed to be usable in funder conversations.

See our full services
Who they are built for

Any organisation. Any sector. Any size.

NGOs and charities in Ireland and across Europe. SICAP, LEADER and ESF+ delivery organisations, and the managing authorities above them. Registered services and care providers. Education and training providers. Any employer with written procedures. Small businesses bidding for public contracts. If someone can ask you to show how your work happens, these tools are for you.

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