As Volunteers’ Week kicks off across the UK, Sony has today announced that it is partnering with YouthNet – the organisation behind Do-it, the UK’s largest volunteering database – to create ‘+U’.
+U is a mobile app that will make volunteering more accessible than ever before by putting bite size volunteering opportunities into the palm of your hand.
What is +U?
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+U will be a revolutionary android mobile app that will deliver real world, bite-size volunteering to a new, socially motivated audience.
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+U will be a unique mobile phone volunteering application that combines real world volunteering opportunities with social and gaming incentives
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Potential volunteers will be matched with local projects through geo-location technology
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Users will be rewarded with points based on the voluntary opportunities they complete, and will be able to share their experiences and achievements on their social networks. Volunteering will get faster, easier and more social
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+U could be set to give charitable organisations a vital boost by inspiring a new generation of volunteers to put themselves forward
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+U was the final concept to emerge from Sony and WWF’s crowd sourcing project, Open Planet Ideas.
How will it work?
Through the agreement with YouthNet, the Do-it database will provide +U with a feed of thousands of volunteering opportunities, many of which are drawn from local Volunteer Centres and grass-roots organisations throughout England.
+U is still very much in the early stages of development. As a trial partner, YouthNet will be playing a central role in the design and implementation of the app.
How was +U born?
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+U mockup
+U was the final concept to emerge from a joint Sony and WWF crowd sourcing project called Open Planet Ideas which launched in September 2010
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Open Planet Ideas laid down a challenge to the online community: to come up with ways to use existing technology to help create more sustainable lifestyles and communities
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Sony received hundreds of brilliant ideas, but judges eventually decided that +U – then called ‘Greenbook’ – was the idea they would like to take forward for development
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Since then, Sony has been developing the idea using further feedback from the community on its Open Planet Ideas Facebook page
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Sony announced that it was partnering with YouthNet – who offer more than one million opportunities to volunteer through 28,000 partners – on Wednesday 1 June 2011
What’s next?
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From Thursday 2nd June we will be asking for feedback on what the +U logo should look like
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We’ll be posting three logo options on Facebook and asking the community to tell us which ones they like best. Sony and YouthNet will use that feedback to help them decide which one to go with. Get involved!
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Sony and YouthNet will continue working on the development of +U, and aim to share a preview version for testing in the coming months
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We intend to announce the date for release of the final application in IFA in September 2011
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Ultimately, Sony plan to release +U as an ‘open source’ application for any organisation to use
Emily Nicoll, general manager of environmental communications, Sony Europe
“We’re very excited about this next phase in the development of “+U” now with our new trial partner. It’s a great project to be working on. Open Planet Ideas (OPI) was set up as a collaborative, open platform and we intend to continue that approach by working together with organisations such as YouthNet as well as the OPI community, to develop a real and innovative new approach to volunteering.”
Sony logo
Emma Thomas, CEO of YouthNet, the charity that runs Do-it, said:
“Do-it is the most comprehensive database of volunteering opportunities in the UK, offering more than one million opportunities to volunteer from 28,000 organisations in the UK so there is huge potential to develop the way in which we encourage and motivate people to volunteer. We are delighted to be partnering with Sony on the pilot for this ground-breaking idea because, ultimately, Do-it is driven by the passion to make it as easy as possible to volunteer and ‘+U’ will help us to achieve that goal.”
Paul Frigout, original creator of the +U concept, said:
“Seeing the concept taking shape is extremely pleasing, and I am eager to keep working with the development team. The name +U really embeds the key message of the project: each person can be the change. Also the partnership with YouthNet is really positive, we are already learning from each other before the app is rolled out across Europe.”
A spokesperson for the the Teenage Cancer Trust said:
“At Teenage Cancer Trust we rely on the generosity and support of our volunteers to help raise both funds and awareness of our work in helping young people fight cancer. Do-It.org is a key resource in recruiting volunteers all over the UK and we think this new app will enable us to reach many more volunteers who can give their time to Teenage Cancer Trust.”
Andrea Rannard, Head of Infrastructure Development, Volunteering England, said:
“Mobile volunteering has the potential to engage millions of individuals across the globe in volunteering and have a positive impact on the lives of many more; it is for this reason that Volunteering England is delighted to have contributed to the development of “+U.” The initiative offers a new platform for building partnerships between business and the community and, in doing so, represents an innovative approach to volunteering and corporate responsibility.”
Damien Austin-Walker, Head of Online and Tech at TimeBank said:
“Using mobile to connect people up with volunteering in their locality has exciting potential to motivate many into giving back to the community and a chance to develop new ways of using and engaging volunteers. I’m extremely excited with the collaborative approach and open platform of +U – a great way to ensure that we build on what currently works, to apply fresh ideas for making it happen, and leave a lasting benefit for all.”
Tom Hulme, Design Director at IDEO and Founder of OpenIDEO, said:
“I’m ecstatic to see the progress toward realising this wonderful concept. It’s exciting to see the work of so many come together”
About Open Planet Ideas
Open Planet Ideas represents part of Sony’s broader commitments in sustainability, ranging from research and development of energy-efficient products to responsible materials for re-use and recycling.
Open Planet Ideas has been developed in collaboration with global design and innovation consultancy IDEOto harness the collective power of communities to foster environmental and social good. It draws on community input at every stage of the project – from the initial ‘inspiration’ phase to help refine the challenge through to evaluation and eventual realisation.
About Do-it
Do-it (http://www.do-it.org.uk/) is run by online charity YouthNet, the UK’s first exclusively online charity founded by Martyn Lewis in 1995.
Do-it was launched 2001 and hosts around 1 million volunteering opportunities, searchable by postcode and interest, plus articles and advice on finding the perfect role. More than 700,000 people are registered with Do-it and around 130,000 people visit the site per month.
Do-it works with charities and volunteer centres and helps people engage with communities by ensuring voluntary work is quick and easy to find, enabling people to give their time in a way that suits and inspire them.
