This February, Team4Tech engaged 25 passionate employee volunteers from Guidewire and their Technology Partner, EY, in a 2-day, in-person Design for Impact Workshop supporting our India-based NGO partner Reap Benefit. Volunteers focused on delivering recommendations to improve digital engagement within Reap Benefit’s learner community.
Guidewire believes technology education is the key to unlocking global potential. Guidewire, through their Guidewire Gives Back program, is not just funding programs—they’re forging powerful partnerships with their customers and Technology Partners to ignite a future where everyone has access to the skills they need to thrive.
Reaching Young Changemakers
Reap Benefit is a nonprofit organization based in Bengaluru, India equipping youth with 21st-century skills to drive change in their local communities. Their mission is to build a nationwide movement of 10 million changemakers (young people that they call Solve Ninjas) by 2030 to redefine climate and civic leadership through impactful hyper-local actions.
Youth are encouraged to solve everyday issues using local data, solutions, and campaigns. The experiential learning is amplified through hands-on activities, DIY solution kits, civic games, and Reap Benefit’s technology platforms, which include the Changemaker Portfolio, the Solve Ninja WhatsApp chatbot, and the Solve Ninja civic forum.
Employee Volunteers Generate Solutions Through Design Thinking
In Team4Tech’s third project supporting Reap Benefit, a mix of 25 employee volunteers from Guidewire and EY collaborated with NGO staff in a Design for Impact workshop. Over the course of two days, Team4Tech guided employee volunteers through dynamic, fast-paced sessions where participants leveraged the design-thinking process to solve two design challenge questions posed by the NGO.
During this 6-hour, 2-day event, employees utilized a design thinking process to ideate and prototype potential solutions to two design questions focused on streamlining Reap Benefit’s Changemaker Portfolio (CMP) and improving their digital community engagement. Employee volunteers worked in subteams to address the following design challenges:
- “We have seen early successes, but how might we make the Changemaker Portfolio (CMP) more intuitive, valuable, and rewarding?”
- “How might we deepen engagement in WhatsApp groups and digital platforms?“
For the Changemaker Portfolio, the subteams proposed changes including:
- Creating an improved version of the skill rubric to motivate learners
- UX/UI improvements
- Incorporating “streaks” to help Solve Ninjas maintain their progress
For the Solve Ninja WhatsApp group, volunteer solutions for driving engagement included:
- Implementing awards and recognition
- Developing content like weekly polls and success stories
- Creating engaging avatars
Employee Volunteers Will Build on This Work
The design challenges addressed in this design workshop will form the foundation for a hybrid strategic pro bono project kicking off in March. Team4Tech’s upcoming program will create an opportunity for selected employee volunteers to participate in a longer engagement exploring each of the design questions more deeply, developing working prototypes, and implementing solutions on the ground with the Reap Benefit team in Bengaluru.
I liked the overall concept of how Team4Tech collaborates with these nonprofit partners along with the corporate partners to bring a difference to an individual through technical aspects. Also, only during these sessions could we actually experience what sort of technical challenges could be there for specific individuals, which this process would help.”
—Employee Volunteer from EY
Team4Tech is proud to facilitate connections between volunteers and education-focused NGOs like Reap Benefit, improving education that ultimately prepares learners for better jobs. This is just one example of Team4Tech’s global contributions to education. Our organization continues to accelerate the impact of nonprofit organizations globally.