Ambitious about Autism is a national UK-based charity for autistic children and young individuals. With its operational focus on London and the southeast of England, the organization runs specialized schools and colleges supporting autistic children and young people individuals aged three to 25. The charity also campaigns for change and creates opportunities for autistic people to be valued members of society.
Marsh McLennan UK has expanded our ongoing partnership with Ambitious about Autism by leveraging our expertise in enabling employability. This collaboration facilitates internship opportunities within workplaces that are well-prepared to embrace autistic individuals, nurturing their professional development and integration.
We are excited about the framework that has been created and seeing the impact this will have on the work we do as a charity, as well as its impact on the lives of autistic young people as we create more employment opportunities and seek to deliver long-term change
From charity initiative to self-sustaining success
Our objective was to support Ambitious about Autism in transforming its employability initiative into a self-sustaining product, guaranteeing the continuity of the internship program even in the absence of funding. Through a dedicated eight-week collaboration, we engaged closely with the charity’s staff, employing co-creation workshops and one-on-one interviews to gain a profound understanding of their desired outcomes, operational context, and existing challenges.
The outcome of this collaborative effort was a comprehensive evaluation of the organization’s current strategy, a refined product proposition, and new implementation plan. This framework delineated the precise steps Ambitious about Autism needed to take to seamlessly transition towards a self-sustaining model, ensuring the perpetual operation of its internship program regardless of funding circumstances.
It was great to work with Ambitious about Autism on this fast-paced pro-bono project and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to support its meaningful work
We created a product and pricing proposition targeting companies seeking to be more autism-inclusive and reducing barriers for employers to provide a higher number of work experience opportunities for autistic people. Our approach sought to maintain the charity’s ethos, deliver positive outcomes for young people, and provided a framework which could be replicated across the charity’s other programs to maximize impact.
