Key Milestone

Community Investment and Inclusion Fund

In the 2001 Policy Address, the Chief Executive announced the setting up of the Community Investment and Inclusion Fund (CIIF). Thanks to the support of project teams and collaborators from various sectors of the community, CIIF has reaped great returns for its strenuous efforts in terms of countless candid smiles, neighbourhood friendship as well as unconditional love and care through mutual help, which cannot be measured in pecuniary terms. There is no doubt that mutual trust and help among people is a very important social capital, which is a key driver for the development of a modern society. It is exactly this human touch that enables us to tide over every hurdle and build up the city’s soft power of social capital.

Social Capital – Resilience and Sustainable Reciprocity

CIIF has actively responded to various social challenges in Hong Kong since its establishment, taking the long-term social benefits into consideration. CIIF’s achievements in social capital building have been widely recognised over the community:

Differences that We Made

CIIF has "created ever more differences" with the concerted efforts made by its project teams and collaborators. It successfully established different social capital development models. Some are also developed in response to the inter-generational poverty and provide alternative solutions:

• "Community-Welfare-Housing" collaboration establishes a safe and friendly community
  Through close collaboration among social welfare organisations, the Hong Kong Housing Society/the Hong Kong Housing Authority and mutual aid committees, local residents are trained up to serve as house captains to take care of needy residents in the neighbourhood with a view to building a safe and friendly community.
• "Community-School-Family" collaboration constructs a family-supportive network bolstered by the community
  Primary and secondary schools within the community open up their campuses, offering services and school facilities to families in need as well as prompting community members and families to participate in community affairs, thereby empowering the communities to support families.
• "Community-Welfare-Medical collaboration" builds the elderly/patient care network
  Community clinics are created by a joint collaboration among social welfare organisations, the medical and health sector and local groups, disseminating healthcare information to the community. This contributes to the formation of a mutual help network for the wellness of residents in respect of their body, heart and mind, effectively relieving the pressure on caregivers and those being cared.
• "Community-Residents-Business-Government" collaboration builds a cross-generational relationship
  Social welfare organisations enlist partners from various sectors to bridge the gap between the young and the old, and promote reciprocity and mutual trust between the two generations, thereby building a cross-generational mutual help network through, for instance, forming cross-generational service (such as cleaning, maintenance and after school care) teams, cross-generational neighbourhood visitation teams, etc.
• "Community-Business-Government" collaboration fosters social integration
  Through co-operation among social welfare organisations, the business sector and government departments, communication and collaboration platforms are built for ethnic minorities and new arrivals. This bolsters their participation in community affairs and increases opportunities for role transformation, such as becoming cultural exchange tour guides, enabling them to contribute to the creation of a harmonious and inclusive community.
• "Residents-Business-School-Government" collaboration builds a youth employment and life navigation network
  Through close collaboration among the business sector, the academic sector and government departments, a platform is built to provide the youth with internships and employment opportunities by the business sector. Most importantly, cross-sectoral volunteers are mobilised to serve as life mentors to help youngsters rise to various challenges ahead.