In the Summer of 2021, Briony Phillips (pictured right), Scaleup Lead at Rocketmakers, noticed a sudden flurry of people investigating the key players in Tech for Good in Bristol and Bath.

People were interested in the support ecosystem, and in the businesses working towards NetZero, Zero Carbon, Tech for Good, Green Tech. So, that prompted an action research project.

Briony reached out to local networks and undertook some of her own exploration to put together a list of the support organisations and actors in the local Tech for Good scene.

The outcome is a comprehensive data resource detailing the Tech for Good organisations working in Bristol & Bath today. We’ll be showcasing the top Tech for Good organisations from each categorisation on TechSPARK, in the run-up to the launch of a dedicated website and open dataset coming soon!

Up next is a selection of tech companies working on creating a positive social impact on people’s everyday lives.

Codebar Bristol

Codebar‘s goal is to enable minority group members to learn programming in a safe and collaborative environment and expand their career opportunities. To achieve this, they run free regular workshops, regular one-off events and try to create opportunities for our students making technology and coding more accessible.

Development Initiatives (DI)

Development Initiatives (DI) is a global organisation harnessing the power of data and evidence to end poverty, reduce inequality and increase resilience. They apply the power of data and evidence to build sustainable solutions that create an equitable and resilient world.

Gapsquare

Gapsquare is the software development and HR tech company revolutionising the problem of fair pay through tracking pay disparity, pay equality and pay gap data. Founded by Dr. Zara Nanu, Gapsqaure provides HR and Reward professionals and inclusive employers actionable insights on existing pay gaps within any given company – and the company was recently acquired by XpertHR.

HomeLINK

HomeLINK is a multi-award-winning high-tech business that leverages cutting-edge smart home integration and analytics technologies to address the needs of social landlords and their residents. Their mission is to accelerate the uptake of advanced digital technology in social housing to solve some of society’s most serious challenges, including health & social wellbeing, fuel poverty, climate change, and indoor air quality, and improve the lives of those who are often last to access it.

iO Academy

iO Academy teaches people to code. Born out of the tech sectors struggle to find enough skilled developers to match demand, iO Academy trains up students in just 16 weeks. After completing the Full Stack Track course, the iO team then connects students with tech companies looking to hire fresh talent. Check out how their redesign was curated with inclusivity at its heart here.

Learning with Parents

Learning with Parents is an award-winning charity supporting parental engagement in disadvantaged communities to ensure every child is supported at home to fulfil their potential. They do this through their Maths with Parents and English with Parents programmes and policy work. 

Limber Jobs

Limber, an app that connects staff wanting to pick up flexible shifts in the hospitality industry with venues looking to fill them, aims to be the foundation on which a new breed of workers can build a flexible, more empowering and happier worklife. They also recently introduced a new feature allowing workers to increase the hourly rate they’re willing to work for.

Neighbourly

Neighbourly was founded in 2014 to help businesses deliver meaningful and sustainable community investment, into thousands of locations across the UK and Ireland. They believe that by putting local impact at the heart of responsible business we can create a system that works for everyone. The team also recently raised £3m in Series A investment to expand their impact.

OneSub

OneSub is an independent platform on a mission to fix the news. The startup’s ambition is to cut through the fake news & click-bait, to help you really know what matters. Find out more about their journey here.

Service Robotics

Service Robotics Ltd is launching the UK’s first companion robot solution called GenieConnect®, to enable older adults to live independently in their own homes for longer. GenieConnect® enables the delivery of more flexible and better-quality care to combat loneliness and isolation of older adults, enabling independent living and reducing demand on our health and social care providers.

What is Tech for Good? For this project, we identify ‘Tech for Good’ as a community of people, projects, and organisations utilising technology to improve social, environmental and economic outcomes and doing so in a way that is collaborative and user-led.
There is a long-standing network of support for Tech for Good in the South West who are running a series of events in October, find out more about them and join their community here. If you want to know more about this data and dive into Tech for Good, join us on Oct 15th when Rocketmakers and TechSPARK will launch a dataset and microsite at our Tech for Good Bristol + Bath, Power up Lunch – find out more and sign up here!
This article and the Tech for Good Bristol & Bath dataset and event is a collaboration between TechSPARK and Rocketmakers. TechSPARK is a not-for-profit community whose mission is to strengthen the tech ecosystem in Bristol, Bath and Wiltshire. We engage over 35,000 a month through events, community management, news and our growth programmes.
Rocketmakers is a Bath-based software development agency on a mission to have a direct, positive and meaningful impact on the lives of more than 50 million people through the software they build and the support they provide.

 

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