ADelphi
ADelphi is the computer program that runs the membership system for all English Freemasonry at Freemasons’ Hall. It is a very significant program developed upon Oracle, the world’s leading database software. The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) system was called ADelphi after the Greek word for Brother and also, because it is a process to obtain information, it is a play on words of the Greek consultation of the Oracle at Delphi.
A programme of development funded by UGLE is now currently underway in conjunction with the Provinces, to extend the basic ADelphi program, which started primarily as a project just for the needs of Freemasons’ Hall, into a system for the benefit of all the Provinces and the membership as a whole. This exciting new system is to be called Provincial ADelphi.
Provincial ADelphi will be of major benefit, as it is likely in time to become the main system by which most Provinces communicate with Masons in their Provincial area, and by which these Provincial offices connect with the Freemasons’ Hall database.
As Masons become increasingly contactable through their use of the internet, their Provincial offices will be able to arrange membership renewal, subscriptions, meetings, Visiting officers and even seating plans through Provincial ADelphi.
The Annual and Installation Returns will be processed through this route, as will letters to Masons about Provincial matters. Soon the Masonic Year Book for each Province will be produced electronically, and then it may be possible for any Mason to quickly access the up-to-date information directly on the internet.
The potential for saving a great amount of time, especially in Provincial offices, and the consequent likely cost-saving is a significant benefit of introducing the system countrywide.
This whole process has been designed to be a collaborative programme in conjunction with the Provinces. Before any development work took place, the Director of Operations at UGLE and key members of the IT Team visited Provinces across the country to explain what was happening and ask them what features they wanted.
A series of workshops with many more Provinces then took place at Freemasons’ Hall to identify precisely the type of specification that was required for the system.
A Project Plan was created and approved by the Board of General Purposes. A set of three specially selected Provinces: Hertfordshire, Surrey and Somerset, were contacted and agreed to be ‘Pilot Provinces’ to test out the developments as they were created, and agree a standard approach on behalf of every Province.