Accenture and NetHope Launch First IT Help Desk for International Non-Government Organizations
NEW YORK; Jan. 8, 2010 – Accenture (NYSE: ACN) and NetHope, with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, have launched the first global information technology (IT) help desk for international non-government organizations (NGOs). The help desk, currently staffed by NGO employees and Accenture employees working with Accenture Development Partnerships, is available to NetHope members and represents the first time such a cross-agency service has been attempted for the development sector.
The help desk is the first step in a planned expansion of services for NetHope members and other NGOs. Next year, NetHope and Accenture will train a team in Kenya to manage the operation and, ultimately, provide IT support for additional services, including human resources management, sales and procurement.
“This is a tremendous step toward enhancing the IT support we provide our NGO members,” said Bill Brindley, CEO of NetHope. “Now they can focus less on help desk issues and more on their core missions and strategies for the future.”
Grants and donations from the Rockefeller Foundation, NetHope members and Accenture funded the pilot help desk project. The effort supports Accenture’s corporate citizenship focus -- Skills to Succeed -- which concentrates on building skills that enable people to develop themselves to participate in and contribute to the economy. As part of its mission, NetHope and its member organizations work to empower individuals to build skills and contribute economically to their communities.
“This demonstrates Accenture’s commitment to building skills that benefit both individuals and their families, as well as the communities in which they live and work,” said Gib Bulloch, Executive Director of Accenture Development Partnerships. “As we replicate the private sector success of shared services in this sector, we will provide continued support to NetHope and its members.”
“The Rockefeller Foundation is proud to support NetHope’s efforts to strengthen development work from within the developing world,” said Dr. Judith Rodin, the Foundation’s president. “NGOs can drive down costs by outsourcing their information technology needs to specialized service providers. This will enable organizations who want to ‘do good’ with tools and resources to do their jobs better – to help more people, with lower overhead and at maximum efficiency. Further, the plan to deliver the service from Kenya will add a second layer of development impact by fostering the growth of the nascent business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, a sector that has the potential for substantial job creation and economic growth in Kenya.”
“Shared services will allow NGOs to leverage substantial cost savings and greatly improve their access to world class services,” said Roger Ford, senior executive at Accenture Development Partnerships. “Moreover, it will help shorten the technology gap between the developed and developing sectors.”
About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with more than 176,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$21.58 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2009. Its home page is www.accenture.com.
Accenture Development Partnerships is a group within Accenture that provides strategic advice and technical and project management support to non-profit organizations, NGOs, foundations and donor organizations operating in the development sector, helping these organizations achieve their social and economic development goals
About NetHope
NetHope is a new-generation information and communications technology collaboration representing 28 leading international non-government organizations that work to solve humanitarian and conservation issues in the developing world. NetHope, which is headquartered in Washington, D.C., is made up of member agencies that work around the world in more than 180 countries. A complete listing of the member agencies is available at http://www.nethope.org/members.html and a complete listing of corporate supporters is available at www.nethope.org/support.html. For more information about NetHope, please visit its Web site at http://nethope.org/. For other questions or to arrange an interview with NetHope CEO Bill Brindley, please contact press@nethope.org.
About Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation fosters innovative solutions to many of the world’s most pressing challenges, affirming its mission, since 1913, to “promote the well-being” of humanity. Today, the Foundation works to ensure that more people can tap into the benefits of globalization while strengthening resilience to its risks. Foundation initiatives include efforts to mobilize an agricultural revolution in Sub-Saharan Africa, bolster economic security for American workers, inform equitable, sustainable transportation policies in the United States, ensure access to affordable and high-quality health systems in developing countries, accelerate the impact investing industry’s evolution, and develop strategies and services that help vulnerable communities cope with the impacts of climate change. For more information, please visit www.rockfound.org.
# # #
Contact:
Stacey Jones
Accenture
+1-917-452-6561