February 15, 2013
Hitachi Solutions

TOKYO, February 15, 2013 - Hitachi Solutions, Ltd. has partnered with Service Grant, a non-profit organization (NPO), to carry out a major website facelift for the Japan-China Civil Society Network (CSNet), working on a pro bono1 basis. A team of professionals from Hitachi Solutions worked pro bono for CSNet, an organization striving to bridge social innovators such as NPOs, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and social entrepreneurs in Japan and China.

1Pro bono refers to services that are provided by professionals with specialized skills, without payment or for a reduced fee as a public service. The phrase is short for "pro bono publico," which means "for the public good" in Latin. Offering pro bono work is becoming more common among leading companies in Japan seeking to make a social contribution.

The project is the first official pro bono project to be undertaken by Hitachi Solutions. The team of five employees who volunteered to work on the project represents a cross-section of employees with a strong social conscience and desire to do pro bono work. The members divided their roles between project management, marketing, information architecture, and markup engineering, working on a pro bono basis over a period of about nine months.

The project started with a kickoff meeting in April 2012 and was implemented with assistance from Service Grant. After surveying the needs of CSNet and submitting an interim proposal for the website facelift, the team commenced with the development work. Working on a pro bono basis and juggling the project with their regular work duties, the team of IT professionals applied their skills to develop a website concept and structure, collaborating with outside designers to put forward design proposals and ultimately complete a major facelift for the CSNet website.

The members of the project team felt good about their participation in the project. Some comments were: "It was rewarding to contribute to society using my work skills," "It gave me a better appreciation of NPOs," "I acquired new skills," "It broadened my perspective and helped me grow as a person," and "It allowed me to gain experience that I can now apply to my work."

Hitachi Solutions plans to expand its pro bono work in order to apply the expertise it has developed through its main business to assist reconstruction efforts in the disaster-hit Tohoku region and address various other social issues.

The pro bono team from Hitachi Solutions made the effort to understand our organization before carefully developing the new website. They repeatedly asked us about our mission and goals, who we serve, the methods and approaches we use, our strengths and weaknesses, and notable features and characteristics, until they had a clear picture of each. The team spent a great deal of time developing a website and content that fully reflects the strategic direction of our organization. We are determined to leverage our new website to make major strides this year.

http://csnet.asia/

Miki Takano
CSR Promotion Department, Corporate Brand & Communications Division
E-mail: csr-contact@hitachi-solutions.com

Public Relations & Advertisements Department Corporate Brand & Communications Division
E-mail: inquiry@hitachi-solutions.com

Hitachi Solutions, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a solutions provider with approximately 10,000 employees. Hitachi Solutions provides value-driven services throughout the IT life cycle, from systems planning to systems integration, operation, and maintenance. For more information on Hitachi Solutions, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi-solutions.com.

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