Apax Shortlisted for UK Business Tech Awards: Pioneering Mental Wellbeing Through VR | UK Business Tech Awards

Reflections on what makes technology good, and why purpose comes before novelty

On 11 September 2024, the UK Business Tech Awards published news that Apax had been shortlisted in the Tech for Good category. Apax is a supported housing social enterprise in Lewisham, South East London, and the shortlisting recognised its VR Wellness programme.

Being shortlisted in a category called Tech for Good invites a simple but important question. What makes a piece of technology good, rather than simply new? This piece reflects on that question.

Novelty Is Not the Point

New technology can be exciting. Headsets, apps and artificial intelligence all attract attention, and it is easy to be drawn in by what a device can do before asking whether anyone actually needs it. Novelty fades quickly, however.

Technology for good starts the other way round. It begins with a person, a need and a hope, and only then looks for a tool that might help. The device comes last, not first.

Seen this way, the most valuable technology is often the least showy. It fades into the background and leaves people feeling more capable, more connected or a little calmer than before. That is often the mark of a tool that truly helps.

Starting With a Need

In its shortlisting news, Apax described itself as a London-based non-profit social enterprise supporting vulnerable adults, particularly people experiencing homelessness and mental health difficulties, and said it supports over 140 individuals.

Those needs shaped the programme. Apax explained that the VR Wellness programme is designed to help people manage social anxiety, reduce stress and improve their mood, and to prepare for independent living.

Starting from needs like these keeps technology honest. If a tool does not help someone feel steadier or more confident in daily life, then it has not yet earned its place. Purpose has to come first.

How the Programme Works

The programme pairs Meta Quest 2 headsets with the TRIPP meditation app, combining immersive virtual reality experiences with an AI-powered personalised virtual coach. Apax describes it as offering safe spaces where residents can work on reducing social anxiety, managing stress and practising life skills.

What matters is not how advanced this sounds, but whether it fits comfortably into a resident's day. A session that someone chooses to return to says more than any specification ever could. Choice and comfort matter more than features.

Good technology also respects people's limits. It should be easy to pause, easy to step away from and never presented as the only route to feeling better. It sits alongside the relationships and other support that residents already value. Nobody should feel obliged to use it.

Signs That It Helps

In the same post, Apax reported that residents had experienced improved mental health outcomes, alongside increased confidence and digital dexterity, which it described as skills vital for independent living. These are changes residents can feel in their daily lives.

Confidence and digital skills are a useful test of whether technology is doing good. They last beyond the session itself and travel with a person into other parts of life. That makes them a lasting measure of value.

Our own announcement of Apax being shortlisted for the UK Business Tech Awards sits in the Awards section of our website. This piece looks instead at the ideas behind the category itself.

Questions Worth Asking

For any organisation thinking about new technology, a few questions can help. Who is it for? What will it make easier for them? And how will we know, from their own words, whether it is working? Simple questions often reveal the most.

Other questions are about fairness. Will everyone have the chance to try it, including people who feel nervous around technology? Is help available for those who need a little more time to feel comfortable? Inclusion should be designed in from the start.

Asking these questions early keeps purpose ahead of novelty. It also builds trust, because residents can see that a new tool is being offered for their benefit and not simply because it is available.

Purpose Over the Long Term

A tool that serves a real purpose tends to find new uses. Apax said it is exploring further applications of VR, including staff training and enhanced life-skills development for residents.

Growth like this is most meaningful when it stays rooted in the original aim. Each new use should answer the same question as the first: does it help people feel well and move towards the lives they want? If the answer is no, it may be time to rethink.

Technology will keep changing, often quickly. A clear sense of purpose is what allows an organisation to welcome those changes thoughtfully, keeping what helps and letting go of what does not. Purpose is the steady thread through it all.

Gratitude and Looking Forward

Being shortlisted alongside other organisations using technology for good was an honour. Apax's post ended with a heartfelt thank you to everyone involved in making the achievement possible. It was also a reminder of how many others share the same aim.

The recognition belongs to the residents who were willing to try something new, and to the staff and partners who supported them along the way. Their openness is what gives the programme its meaning. Without them, there would be nothing to recognise.

You can read the full post in UK Business Tech Awards news: Apax Shortlisted for UK Business Tech Awards: Pioneering Mental Wellbeing Through VR.