DXC Technology Launches Social Impact Practice to Help Customers and Communities Advance Social Programmes That Benefit People and Society
News Release -- October 29, 2018
SYDNEY, Australia, 29 October 2018 – DXC Technology (NYSE: DXC), the world’s leading independent, end-to-end IT services company, today announced the launch of a new Social Impact Practice to help its customers and the community develop and run programmes that benefit individuals and society, with initial areas of focus to include neurodiversity, veterans, disability, indigenous employment and climate change.
DXC’s Social Impact Practice is built on the success of the DXC Dandelion Programme, which has been successfully helping people on the autism spectrum build careers in technology by harnessing their skills while providing a holistic employment experience.
The DXC Social Impact Practice will assist customers in developing social impact programmes by making use of the experience and knowledge that have been developed through DXC’s existing social initiatives and global corporate responsibility platform. The practice also enables scaling of existing successful programmes such as the DXC Dandelion Programme to other customers and regions.
“Since the first pilot programme in Adelaide in 2015, DXC Dandelion Programme teams have been working with customers across Australia in areas such as software testing, analytics, IT operations and cyber security. Organisations are recognising the importance of integrating people with autism into the workforce and the competitive advantages that a neurodiverse workforce brings. Now is the right time to expand the programme for broader social responsibility, support those with other neurological challenges and make a real difference to our community,” said Seelan Nayagam, managing director, DXC Technology Australia and New Zealand.
DXC’s Social Impact Practice will see the creation of relationships with community groups and representative academic organisations locally and internationally with the aim of better understanding regional social issues and co-designing solutions similar to our achievements with the DXC Dandelion Programme.
The Social Impact Practice will also leverage DXC’s Digital Transformation Centres and strategic incubator relationship with Stone & Chalk, Australia’s leading fintech and corporate innovation marketplace, to enable customers to address business challenges and make an impact on social issues.
The DXC Social Impact Practice will facilitate a social challenge each year where DXC employees will have the opportunity to engage with community providers to look at ways technology can be used to help address social issues. The issues will be judged and the top proposals will be given the opportunity to work with the DXC Social Impact Practice to help develop a scalable, sustainable model.
“As corporates, we have a responsibility to address social issues and challenges using our business knowledge and scale. We are excited about DXC’s Social Impact Practice, which reflects our broader commitment to communities in Australia and New Zealand who are affected by a range of social issues and challenges,” added Nayagam.
The DXC Dandelion Programme today employs over 80 people across Australia and provides leading research on autism in the workplace. Over 220 organisations across 67 countries have now shown an interest in the DXC Dandelion Programme.
The new Social Impact Practice is an extension of DXC’s corporate responsibility programme. DXC Technology is recognised as one of the top 20 companies on CR Magazine’s100 Best Corporate Citizens List 2018 and ranked in the 2018 Dow Jones Sustainability Index North America. Read DXC’s latest Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Report to learn about the many ways we are making a positive difference for people and communities worldwide.
Additional Perspectives on DXC’s Social Impact Practice
“DXC’s Social Impact Practice is a great progression from DXC’s Dandelion program, which has had a global impact to people on the spectrum in regards to employment. DXC, being one of the pioneers in this area, has advised many organisations including our start up program.”
- James Mahoney, Executive Director, Autism at Work, JP Morgan Chase
“The Social Impact Practice being launched by DXC Technology is a bold and ambitious initiative. DXC Technology have proved their ability to rise to such challenges by the success of the Dandelion Program in Australia, which is leading the world in both research and practise.”
- Professor Cheryl Dissanayake, La Trobe University – Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre
“The Yang-Tan Institute at Cornell University has been pleased to collaborate with DXC on the creation of an online portal to offer The Dandelion Program’s methodology and materials to other organisations. It is our hope that by so doing, we will enable other interested organisations and individuals to develop programs to provide skilled employment for people on the Autism Spectrum. We look forward to extending this work globally through the innovations in technology applications that are the hoped for outcomes of DXC Technology’s new Social Impact Practice initiative.”
- Professor Susanne Bruyere, Cornell University
“Swinburne University is incredibly proud to partner with DXC and the Dandelion Program. This program recognises the true potential of our neurodiverse students and will assist in our students gaining not just employment but meaningful and rewarding careers.”
- Dr Andrew Smith, Vice President, Students, Swinburne University of Technology
About DXC Technology
DXC Technology is the world’s leading independent, end-to-end IT services company, serving nearly 6,000 private and public-sector customers from a diverse array of industries across 70 countries. The company’s technology independence, global talent and extensive partner network deliver transformative digital offerings and solutions that help customers harness the power of innovation to thrive on change. DXC Technology is recognised among the best corporate citizens globally. For more information, visit www.dxc.technology.
Contacts
- Sheila Dhillon, Corporate Communications, DXC Technology, +61 423 884 848, sdhillon@dxc.com
- Paula Sullivan, Corporate Responsibility, DXC Technology, +44 7860 112 486, psullivan5@dxc.com