Blueprint for All became a Deloitte charity partner when the firm developed its first UK Black Action plan (now called The Deloitte Black Experience) in 2020 to promote racial inclusion in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. With a mission to create an inclusive society in which everyone can thrive, Blueprint for All’s work is closely aligned to Deloitte’s 5 Million Futures goal of empowering people from underrepresented groups to access the world of work.

Sharnelle McCloed, a Tax partner who has led Deloitte’s relationship with Blueprint for All from the start, explains: "Every Deloitte person engaged in this collaboration knows they have the capabilities to bring value and create a symbiotic relationship. Helping Blueprint for All to impact more young people through their services enables us to make an impact that matters and deliver the ambition set out in our Black Action Plan."

In addition to co-creating a bursary scheme and providing a work insights programme for students of Black, Asian, and minority ethnic heritage, Deloitte has been supporting Blueprint for All through a series of projects. The first was a pro bono user experience framework which defined and explored the profiles of the charity’s key beneficiaries.

The framework became one of the tools which enabled Sonia to formulate the blueprint for how the charity would transform its engagement with its young audiences. "I wanted to show our supporters and partners that we could transform the way we open up opportunities for young people by digitising our entire offering."

Sonia had raised the need for capacity building through digital enablement early in the partnership with Deloitte, which meant this was one of the primary objectives which Sharnelle was requested to focus on.

Kicking off the build for the My Blueprint for All platform set in motion a project that resulted in one of the charity’s most profound transformations in its 25-year history.

Blueprint for All’s digital ambition was high: to better serve the career needs of young people from underrepresented backgrounds, by connecting them to the right services at the right time through one central platform.

The project started with a six-week discovery period that would not only shape the functionality, design and core services of the platform, but also allow strong bonds to quickly form between the Deloitte team, Sonia, and Blueprint for All’s Head of Operations Chelsea Way, through a series of fast-paced, ‘big ideas’ workshops.

From then on, the relationship went from strength to strength, with additional competencies brought in from across Deloitte and new roles created within Blueprint for All to support its digital transformation.

Making the portal part and parcel of everyone’s role is one of several ways in which the project has transformed the organisation. It has also replaced a disparate set of engagement tools, eliminated time-consuming tasks, and overall allowed Blueprint for All to evolve from a predominantly ‘face-to-face’ organisation to a hybrid and more responsive partner to the communities it serves while expanding its reach.

Matt Clark, who heads up the Design team in Deloitte Digital and led the project said, "The portal will be able to support all of Blueprint for All’s future needs and ambitions as a fully scalable platform. Our industry tends to over-use the phrase 'digital transformation', but in this instance it is quite literally a case of digitally transforming the organisation."

Sonia agrees: "This project has effectively reshaped our entire offering to the 16 to 30 age group and allowed us to showcase to our 400 or so partners and funders the tangible difference that we can make for those young people."

By addressing the mismatch between the aspirations and ambitions of young people in underrepresented groups and the opportunities that are available to them, the project not only sits at the heart of Blueprint for All’s purpose, but also helps deliver two of Deloitte’s 5 Million Futures priorities: to close the digital gap by helping charities thrive in an increasingly virtual world, and to unlock untapped talent through programmes that support and inspire young people on their path to employment.