We’re fast-tracking social innovation
October 6, 2020
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After college, I was debating whether to join the Peace Corps or start a corporate job. I know, I know—those seem like extremely different options!
But I was ultimately drawn to Accenture because of its work with clients delivering social impact.
Making a difference starts with listening: We on the Corporate Citizenship Innovation team kept hearing from our colleagues and clients that they were looking to use their skills to help their communities.
Speeding up ingenuity
That’s why we developed the Social Innovators Accelerator program. Akin to Accelerators designed for startups in the venture capital (VC) world, this initiative turbocharges teams as they design, create and launch solutions.
The Accelerator upskills our people with key social innovation skills, links them around the world to share best practices and gives them the funding they might need to co-create with clients and partners.
Creativity in a crisis
I once heard someone say that in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges, there is only one thing to do: innovate.
It wasn’t until the pandemic took hold that I realized the true power of our network of burgeoning Social Innovators. In the past six months alone, we’ve had more than 90 teams participate in the Accelerator.
Here are a few standout projects:
- A team in Brazil created a platform, Pertinho de Casa, that connects small and medium-sized businesses with local customers that need to receive products at home.
- A team in North America helped organize a grant from Accenture to Nation of Makers to create and distribute personal protective equipment to frontline essential workers.
- A team in Spain created a new voice assistance channel utilizing Amazon’s smart speaker and Alexa app to provide information on how to avoid coronavirus contagion, help neighbors, better manage stress or contact the Red Cross.
All minds—and hearts—welcome
Social innovation sits at that magic sweet spot between social impact and business value—and the amazing people who bring it to life are who we call Social Innovators.
The beauty of Accenture is that here, anyone can tap into resources to become one of these Innovators, quickly.
Learn more about our Corporate Citizenship.
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