Smart technology firms take long-term role in fight against poverty

HP features prominently in a recent article on the UK’s Guardian news web site looking at how technology is being used to engage and educate audiences and deliver social innovation:

For big corporations with huge resources and skills, the ability to use technology in the world's poorer regions is exciting and full of potential. But the answer to solving health issues and improving education, for example, is not simply about throwing technology at the problem. Global printing and technology giant HP changed its approach to addressing pro-social issues in December, moving from what it calls the "old-style corporate philanthropy" of donating money and technology such as printers, to creating a new office of social innovation with the goal of offering both engineering skills on the ground in affected regions and managerial help to NGOs. "We are looking at what we can contribute not just for emergency response but for the longer term," says Paul Ellingstad, director of health initiatives for HP's office of social innovation. "For example, we don't want to parachute engineers into Haiti for just a few weeks after a natural disaster. We want to help create new jobs and train Haitian engineers, and we are partnering with the Clinton Foundation and Nethope.org to do that."