To facilitate interested organisations to understand the Invitation Brief for the Provision of Intermediary Services for the SIE Fund, a briefing session was held on both 11 and 17 March 2014. Representatives of the Secretariat of the SIE Fund Task Force introduced the roles of intermediaries and explained the eligibility, application procedures, assessment criteria and some key engagement terms. Questions from the floor were taken. Interested parties may refer to the presentation slides and video record (Cantonese with options for Chinese and English subtitles).
Meanwhile, to enhance public understanding of the SIE Fund and social innovation, a series of videos has been produced and uploaded to the Fund's YouTube channel. The videos, together with a series of articles, are being posted on the Social Enterprise Gallery at etnet as well.
To enhance public understanding of SIE Fund and encourage cross-sector collaboration, the Youtube channel 'To know more about SIE Fund' and the first batch of videos are online. SIE Fund Task Force Members explain in the videos the idea of 'capacity building' – one of the priorities of the Fund and for the intermediaries, and other important concepts about SIE Fund and social innovation.
One of the priorities of the SIE Fund is a "flagship project" on food support. After several months' of foundation work, the project has entered a new stage of engaging different sectors and professions to form cross-disciplinary working teams. An idea generation session was held on 4 March with an aim to collect ideas on how to strengthen the food support mechanism. Participants included operators of food support projects, NGOs, hotels, caterers, supermarkets, real estate developers, IT, logistics, design, environmental protection, related government departments and SIE Fund Task Force Members. Another sharing session and several visits to operating units of food support projects were also conducted in mid-February.
is now open
Since the launch of the SIE Fund on 28 September 2013, the SIE Fund Task Force has been working on the details for engaging intermediaries. The SIE Fund is now inviting applications from interested organisations to take up the role of intermediaries for 'Capacity Building' and/or 'Innovative Programmes' to help nurture social innovation and social entrepreneurship for poverty alleviation. Please visit the 'Invitation for Intermediaries' section of this website for more details. Deadline for application is at 12:00 noon on 11 April 2014.
The SIEDF Task Force sees cross-sector collaboration as conducive to social innovation. Task Force Members are keen to study successful models, one of which they visited recently is MINDSET Place, a hostel in Fanling for people with chronic mental illness.
MINDSET Place was renovated from a residential property bought by MINDSET, a charity arm of the Jardine Matheson Group. With tailor-designed facilities and comprehensive care provided by social workers and health workers, it helps its residents to get prepared for re-joining the community. Self-financed and operated by New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association, MINDSET Place is a notable example of collaboration with contribution from business sector, architectural design profession and NGOs.
The SIEDF Task Force has strived to reach out to the public and stakeholders in the social innovation space since the launch of the Fund in September last year. The latest addition to this effort was a newsletter newly published highlighting the Fund's activities in the previous quarter as well as upcoming events. The back page is a calendar of January to March with notes encouraging people to make a change for the betterment of the society.
The SIE Fund newsletter will be published every quarter. An electronic copy of the 2014 Q1 edition can be downloaded here.
While preparing for inviting application of intermediaries, the SIEDF Task Force Secretariat proceeds with the stakeholder engagement exercise to promote the Fund. Recently a briefing session was held with audience comprising young entrepreneurs and professionals invited by the association "香港各界青少年活動委員會" and its related organisations. The Task Force opined that it is crucial for the development of social innovation in Hong Kong to bring together resources and knowledge from different sectors and professions. The collaborated efforts will provide platforms, funding and advice for nurturing social entrepreneurs and innovative ideas. (Event snapshots)
The magazine Big Issue was first published some 20 years ago in London. Despite running as a profitable business, the magazine recruits and trains homeless people to become its retail vendors. These vendors acquire copies of the magazine at about half the retail price and earn from sale the price difference. This model, which proves to be a great success in helping the homeless to earn a living and reclaim dignity, is being replicated through franchise in various cities across the globe. Its founder Dr John Bird visited Hong Kong recently. The SIEDF Task Force Secretariat seized the chance to hold a sharing session with audience from Hong Kong's social innovation and impact investing community. Dr Bird talked proudly about people turning from being 'part of the problem' to 'part of the solution'. He emphasised that there are problems in the society, but there are as many answers – a proposition the SIE Fund also appreciates. (Event snapshots)
