Social innovation

At HP, our approach to social innovation is integrated into our overall business strategy. We apply our global reach, broad portfolio, and the expertise of our employees to help improve social and economic conditions worldwide in ways that only enterprises with HP's reach can. At the same time, our initiatives have successfully opened up new markets and developed existing ones.

In 2010, we expanded our priorities to include a commitment to health, while continuing to focus on education, entrepreneurship, and employee volunteerism and giving. This report details the progress we made during 2010 in each of these areas.

We help address critical social needs through a powerful union of innovation and collaboration. And we measure performance, not only by the extent of the resources we dedicate to projects, but more importantly by the impact our programs have on the people they benefit.

Our strategic approach involves treating our social innovation projects like other business engagements. We work with our partners to understand a targeted need, and then identify the capabilities and expertise we have to offer, harnessing all of HP's assets—human, technical, intellectual, and financial—to develop a solution.

Collaborations and partnerships

Many of society's challenges are complex and multifaceted. To develop solutions, we collaborate with a wide variety of organizations that bring different strengths and expertise to the table, including leading businesses, governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), thought leaders, and academics, among others. Taking a holistic approach is essential to delivering successful, scalable solutions that benefit communities over the long term.

During 2010, we embarked on new partnerships and solidified our commitments to existing ones. Many of those collaborations support our efforts in education, entrepreneurship training, and health. However, our social innovation work is not confined to these three areas and neither are our partnerships. The complexity and interdependency of social challenges requires a comprehensive approach, and we work with a wide range of organizations to help them strengthen their capabilities and provide them with technology solutions that have a positive impact on communities around the world.

Following are a few examples of organizations that HP helps support whose efforts are not confined to education, entrepreneurship, or health:

Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship

The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship  is a dynamic community of social entrepreneurs, driving measurable social improvement around the globe. In 2010, HP began partnering with Schwab Foundation to connect social entrepreneurs with HP researchers and information technology experts, and to share the methodology, processes, and tools HP uses to innovate and problem solve.

NetHope

NetHope  is a unique collaboration of 32 of the world's leading international humanitarian organizations. The organization is a catalyst for collaboration, helping humanitarian organizations work together to help solve problems in the developing world, share knowledge, foster strong relationships with private industry, and educate members and the wider community of humanitarian organizations worldwide.

In 2010, HP provided financial and technology support to NetHope as part of the Haiti disaster relief response. HP also began broader collaborative efforts with NetHope around the use of cloud-based computing and mobile solutions. In 2011, we intend to expand our efforts, working with NetHope to make new technology solutions available to the organization's members and to the broader community of NGOs.

Community Renewal International

Community Renewal International (CRI)  operates in Cameroon and the United States, working to restore the foundation of safe and caring communities by rebuilding a system of strong relationships. Neighborhoods in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States, where CRI has a presence, have seen crime drop by an average of nearly 40%.¹

In 2010, we provided CRI with $300,000 USD in financial contributions. HP's support allowed CRI to design and develop its first comprehensive evaluation plan—giving the organization critical insight into the impact it has in the communities it serves. CRI was also able to expand its presence in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States, increasing its volunteer base and the number of its neighborhood leaders, and extending the reach of programs that provide mentoring and life skills training. HP's support also enabled CRI to begin laying the groundwork for expansion into the Washington, D.C. area.

Other partnerships

In addition to all the partnerships described in greater detail throughout this report, HP works with other socially minded organizations, such as Business in the Community , Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) , Entrepreneurs Foundation , HandsOn Network , Points of Light Institute , and Taproot Foundation .

Global impact

The following map summarizes the geographical reach of our activities in 2010. (For more data, see Performance.)

Partial view of locations served by social innovation programs during fiscal year 2010*

• * Dots represent programs in that country; could be multiple locations.

1. ¹ Crime rate data provided by Shreveport, Louisiana police department.