Since October 2021, DEMICON has been offering its services to non-governmental-organisations, or NGOs, free of charge. Katharina Brasch, project leader of the Pro Bono Program, talks about the reasons behind DEMICON's initiative and its potential participants.
Katharina, NGOs can now reach out to DEMICON for support in making their organisation ready for the future. How did this initiative come about?
The idea was born during my time as a trainee at DEMICON. I really enjoyed the working atmosphere, the support among colleagues and the mutual respect, and yet I had wished for a stronger focus on social and sustainability issues. Although trainees were able to take on their own, smaller projects at the time, there was still room for development.
And so I came up with the idea of combining the two - which turned out to be a win-win situation for everyone involved: The NGOs receive free, first-class consulting services, and the DEMICON trainees get to be in charge of their own projects - with the support of our experienced DEMICON consultants, of course. Fortunately, DEMICON's management liked the idea, and I got the opportunity to implement it.
Why NGOs?
We wanted to take the topic of sustainability a little further: First and foremost, our aim is to support organisations that tackle social, ecological or societal problems by offering them our services. NGOs are the perfect fit for this aim.
In which areas do NGOs need support and where does DEMICON come in?
Just like traditional companies, NGOs, especially the larger ones, have a lot of data to manage, requests to handle, processes to comply with, and need to find a smart way to organise their day-to-day work. For example, this includes handling resources, mailings, collecting data, ensuring smooth internal processes when handling tasks, and intranet management.
We support NGOs in automating their processes, simplifying workflows and improving transparency, documenting internal expertise and making it more accessible - in short: we drive their digitalisation forward. In a joint approach, we develop digital solutions for different fields of application, ranging from knowledge management, project and process optimisation through to digital workplace set-up.
What made DEMICON offer their services free of charge?
As non-profit organisations, NGOs must prioritise strongly when it comes to how they use donations. Unfortunately, but understandably, improvements in administrative IT are not a top priority for them.
By offering our know-how in IT and digitalisation free of charge, the organisations can use their financial and, above all, human resources more efficiently and in a way that best serves the environment and society. At the end of the day, the notion of "sharing is caring" is part of our corporate culture at DEMICON. :-)
What are the pre-requirements and how does the application process work?
Organisations have to meet the basic requirements of an NGO, which means, being engaged in the social or environmental field without profit orientation. Furthermore, they must present a proposal for a specific, own, time-limited project in the area of project management, intranet, wiki/knowledge management or IT service management. Organisations that are interested in working with us can apply here. On the basis of their project proposal, we estimate the effort and get back to them with more information on implementation as quickly as possible.
Can the concept potentially be extended to other areas, as well?
Yes, it could. However, we still need to make sure there is a social or environmental cause at hand, of course. This being said, if there are any organisations, start-ups or associations that believe they could be a good fit for our program, we would love to hear from them!
Thank you, Katharina! Is there anything you would like to add?
I am very happy that the DEMICON management and team are open to the ideas of their employees and even support them in the realisation. This is not a given, and it makes me very proud to be working at DEMICON.
Thank you, Katharina!
Click here for the application form and more details about the initiative.
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