Through initiatives in Capacity Building, we strive to foster the development of the social innovation ecosystem, the work of which includes nurturing social entrepreneurs, augmenting the capacity of the sector, facilitating cross-sector collaboration, as well as enhancing public awareness and understanding of social innovation and entrepreneurship.
The SIE Fund will directly fund capacity building projects. We welcome the community to lodge proposals to the Task Force Secretariat. A list of capacity building initiatives and projects directly launched or supported by the SIE Fund is as follows:
The Food Support Flagship Project aims to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the overall food support service in Hong Kong. St. James' Settlement, as the intermediary for the Project, has launched the FOOD-CO platform in May 2017 for different stakeholders of the sector to coordinate information sharing on the demand and supply of food items and related services. 
Gerontechnology is widely recognised as a key to addressing the challenges and tapping the opportunities arising from the ageing population. The SIE Fund has decided to engage an intermediary to design, develop and operate an inclusive platform so as to facilitate the development of the gerontechnology ecosystem in Hong Kong. The initiative will be taken forward as the second flagship project of the Fund. 
The SIE Fund encourages corporations to apply the Creating Shared Value (CSV) approach in their business strategies for addressing social needs while exploring new business opportunities. We kick-started our initiatives with a forum in 2015, followed by three workshops. A second forum and a series of activities have been launched in 2017. 
The Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS), as the intermediary for the project, launched this innovative project in September 2017. The project brings in the joint efforts of landlords, non-governmental organisations, social enterprises and professional bodies to provide affordable and decent transitional social housing to the grassroots to improve their living environment and quality of life. The 3-year project aims to provide 500 units and benefit 1 000 households. The SIE Fund and the Community Chest have jointly provided a grant for the three-year operation of the intermediary. 
The SI CEO Competition for Tertiary Students co-organised with Youth.gov.hk was launched in August 2016. Students were invited to develop and implement innovative business plans to tackle social issues, specifically around elderly care, food support and social inclusion. 
To showcase the winning ideas of Social Innovation Video Competition, a series of roadshow was held from April to May and September to November 2015 in shopping malls and tertiary institutions.
The Social Innovation Video Competition co-hosted by the Fund and Youth.gov.hk was organised in 2014-15 school year to arouse students' awareness and invite ideas for poverty alleviation. Talks, workshops, guided tours and a contest were held to inspire thoughts and actions. 
As part of the work to nurture new generations of social entrepreneurs, the “HK Social Innovators” (HKSI) was launched in May 2016 at the SIE Fund website. It features seasoned and budding social innovators with the aim of inspiring new ideas and encouraging a wider participation in social innovation. A weekly column was also launched on am730 by which HKSIs share their thoughts and aspirations. 
Launched by Enable Foundation Limited in 2017, it is a training programme that aims to train young designers to become enablers for social innovation in Hong Kong. The Programme will be conducted through engaging young designers to co-create with senior citizens, community groups, service providers and design professionals to address three social issues in Hong Kong, namely Fine Dying, Dementia Going and Productive Ageing. 