New ‘tech for good’ alliance to tackle Scotland’s greatest challenges 

An Edinburgh-based not-for-profit organisation focused on “harnessing the power of technology for good” is initiating an alliance to foster collaboration within the tech community to tackle challenges faced by society.

The Scottish Tech Army will formally launch the new initiative at its annual Tech for Good Summit, which will take place virtually tomorrow (Thursday 28 April).

The new Tech for Good Alliance will focus on three areas of activity: social justice, inclusion and equality; skills and talent development, as well as environment and climate change.

It will also create a platform to help technology firms “at the beginning of their journey” to develop initiatives to benefit the nation.

Now in its second year, the Tech for Good Summit will focus on collaboration and the role that technology and the tech sector have to play in supporting the third sector as it comes under ever-increasing pressure.

It will be co-presented by digital skills academy CodeClan, charity Inspiring Scotland, and not-for-profit open technologies company OpenUK.

The line-up of speakers and panellists includes Celia Tennant, chief executive of Inspiring Scotland, Ali Marano, global head of tech for social good at investment banking company JPMorgan Chase, and Theresa Shearer, chief executive of charity ENABLE Scotland.

Alistair Forbes, co-founder and chief executive of the Scottish Tech Army, said: “Collaboration and the development and promotion of the tech for good ecosystem are key themes for us in the Scottish Tech Army.

“We believe that, while there are many great programmes and projects being carried out under the banner of tech for good, the landscape remains fragmented and that as a result, the impact is less than it could be.”

He added: “This is what the Tech for Good Alliance aims to address by bringing together members of the tech and tech-related industries to tackle the problems facing society today and aggregate and amplify the impact that can be delivered across the ecosystem. In launching the Tech for Good Alliance, we are inviting organisations with a desire to deliver that impact to join forces and create positive change”.

The Tech for Good Summit will showcase a number of leading companies who have already made commitments to tech for good, including IBM, JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft and Salesforce.

Forbes continued: “The tech and tech-related sectors have enormous resources at their disposal that, directed effectively, can create very significant positive change in the world, but it is not easy to know what to do or how to begin.

“The Tech for Good Summit will explore meaningful and impactful corporate social responsibility programmes and the Tech for Good Alliance creates a platform to help organisations at the beginning of their journey to start and develop their own tech for good initiatives to benefit not only society but their company and their people”.

The Scottish Tech Army was founded in 2020 by Edinburgh-based tech entrepreneurs, Alistair Forbes and Peter Jaco, to help charities and other organisations dealing with the impacts of Covid-19 on the economy and society.