Case study # A national research network, mapped Updated October 10, 2026 Software Development Website Design Digital Infrastructure Pain Connect worked so well that the Chronic Pain Network came back for a second platform. We designed and built Pain Atlas, the most comprehensive directory of pain researchers in Canada: self-managed profiles, a searchable map of who's working where, moderated messaging, and a full admin console behind it. [See the Site ](https://www.painatlas.ca) ![Pain Atlas: a national research network, mapped](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0838mkru/production/48f7ea4b4068a4b0dcf31f1f609bd03c58a189a2-3840x2160.png) Detail ## How it started We built [Pain Connect](https://www.papercrane.ca/case-studies/pain-connect) for the Chronic Pain Network, a platform that connects people living with chronic pain to the researchers and studies looking for them. It took off, and it worked. So CPN, a national network based at McMaster University, came back to us with the next step. Pain Connect served patients. Pain Atlas would serve the researchers themselves: one national place to show their work, find each other, and build teams. ![Planning boards: the claim-your-profile flow, a two-site sitemap, and discovery questions](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0838mkru/production/1608c797e380a2fba8d9760640470218ba85ad2a-3200x2000.png) Field note ## Planning the platform We started on the board, not in code. User flows for claiming a profile, a sitemap split across two sites, and a wall of open questions we worked through with the CPN team. Those answers shaped the product. Search moved behind a login, every change goes through review, and the map shows institutions, never home addresses. ![342 free-text pain types mapped onto CPN's 15 official categories](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0838mkru/production/67a9cf24237af91bf398a22085fed9ffbd89144c-3200x1760.png) Field note ## Cleaning up the data CPN's starting point was a spreadsheet of about 700 researchers, built by hand over years. It described pain types 342 different ways. We mapped all of it onto CPN's official categories, so every profile arrived clean and searchable on day one. Detail ## What we built A full platform, built to last and to grow with the network: - Researcher profiles that people manage themselves, claimed through a secure one-time link - A searchable directory, filtered by pain type, discipline, research type, population and province - A live map of Canada's pain researchers, by institution - Saved searches and curated collections - Opt-in, moderated messaging between researchers - A full admin console for review, imports, categories and email ![The Pain Atlas directory: filters, researcher cards, and a clustered map of Canada](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0838mkru/production/5556439e9ed890b33f5c7ca658c9f7c8e9ae18fe-3200x2000.png) Field note ## The directory and map The directory and the map are two views of the same search. Pick a pain type or a discipline and the map narrows with you, right down to the institutions doing that work. A list of names becomes a picture of who is working on what, and where. ![The Pain Atlas map narrowing as filters switch on](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0838mkru/production/d5e1e4acad08861a14dc1421ba934844f073fd51-1920x1080.png) Detail ## Researcher and admin views Researchers and CPN staff use the same system, but they see very different things. Researchers get a calm, simple space to build their profile, choose who can reach them, and find collaborators. Moderators get the tools to keep a national directory trustworthy: a review queue that shows exactly what changed, bulk claim invitations, imports and reporting. ![Researcher view: the Pain Atlas dashboard](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0838mkru/production/8743f2c3732840e918c66654874eb46d8ff67a80-3200x2000.png) ![Researcher view: editing a research profile and contact settings](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0838mkru/production/aae05aa53b53817a2bb18732ef3c1778dbc69704-3200x2000.png) ![Admin view: the review queue with a side-by-side change diff](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0838mkru/production/721a6e36f65916bfed70fb199ec9fafc78a07f24-3200x2000.png) ![Admin view: managing researchers and sending claim invitations](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0838mkru/production/e0027f9b89a2a0a91f30765838663a33a63b3bd1-3200x2000.png) Detail ## The design system CPN brought the Pain Atlas identity. We turned it into a full design system, with colour ramps, type, components and states, so every screen feels like one product. The public site at painatlas.ca runs on the same system. It's where researchers first sign up, and the CPN team edits it themselves. ![The Pain Atlas design system: teal and red colour ramps, Poppins, and components](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0838mkru/production/fddfc608d5c2144e70c9f8425bc257a4bde36a78-3200x1720.png) ![The painatlas.ca home page](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0838mkru/production/86c5223d5fc9f97bccefa01cc53637ea142acbaf-3200x2000.png) Measured outcomes ## The numbers It's early days, and the community is already busy. Hundreds of researchers have claimed and updated their profiles and started reaching out to each other. Next, we're planning ways to bring Pain Atlas and Pain Connect closer together. researcher profiles in the directory 01915 institutions on the map 02153 provinces and territories represented 0310 messy pain-type labels mapped to official categories 04342 → 15 In closing ## Need a platform like this? We design and build custom software that people log into because it helps them, with the admin tools to keep it running well. If you have a network or a dataset that deserves better, let's talk. [Book a conversation ](https://papercrane.ca/contact) ![Pain researchers across Canada, connected](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0838mkru/production/d1efa736235c4aa97895e9e83e0f22410f2f685e-3200x2000.png) Related: [Nonprofit website design](https://www.papercrane.ca/nonprofit-website-design) ## MORE PROJECTS [ ![CCASA's mark on warm cream with its audience colours](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/0838mkru/production/c33442161b1d7b22eb56cdea1db2a5c8367946e2-3200x2000.png) BrandStrategyCreative ### CCASA For more than 25 years, Calgary Communities Against Sexual Abuse has been a steady presence for people affected by sexual violence. When they were ready to carry that work into a new decade, they came to us for a brand that felt less like a help line and more like a friend. We rebuilt their identity from the ground up. 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Our project work was scoped around simplifying the CMS experience to allow the marketing and resource teams to easily build and modify their site without the restrictions of their old, regulated infrastructure. Explore ](https://www.papercrane.ca/case-studies/co-op-learning-for-chf-bc) [See all projects](https://www.papercrane.ca/case-studies) --- Source: https://www.papercrane.ca/case-studies/pain-atlas