Case Study: The Gorilla Foundation achieves streamlined gorilla communication research with Claris (FileMaker Platform)

Gorilla Foundation uses FileMaker Platform to store and access multimedia data

The Gorilla Foundation, a global nonprofit best known for studying and communicating with Koko the signing gorilla (and her companion Ndume), faced inefficient, scattered data collection—handwritten notes and laptop entries—across donor records, volunteer tracking and decades of observational research. The organization needed a streamlined way to catalog gorilla communications, behaviors and multimedia so caregivers and researchers could reliably capture and analyze interactions in the field.

Using the FileMaker Platform the foundation built a suite of custom apps, including Gorilla Diary, which provides a touchscreen code keypad on iPad and iPhone for fast, coded entry of signs, vocalizations and behaviors and automated tabulation and reporting. The apps created a centralized multimedia repository accessible to staff and external collaborators, significantly improving collaboration and workflow while allowing a small team to develop and maintain powerful tools and stay focused on their mission.

The Gorilla Foundation

Gary Stanley

Executive Director