Highlights of Sharing Session on CIIF 20th Batch Approved Projects & Training Workshop on "Relationship between Social Capital and Social Enterprises"

i.

"Healthy Mothers-to-be" Project
Miss Rainbow TANG Choi-hung – Assistant Service Supervisor, Kwun Tong Methodist Social Service

Collaboration across different medical professionals served as a platform in support of a group of unemployed middle-aged women or those lacking working experience by enhancing their health care knowledge and training them up to be qualified post-natal carers on top of their child care experience. These post-natal carers provided services to help and provide back-up support for post-natal mothers, who lacked child care experience and might experience post-natal depression, to take care of new-born babies. When the funding of project was expiring, they begun to upgrade the post-natal carers to a leading role and finally sustained the project as a form of SE.

ii.

"Simple Home Repair Employment Scheme" Project
Miss SIU Ka-yee – Project Co-ordinator, Lok Kwan Social Service

The project applied social capital strategies and SE operation model at its initial development stage. The project successfully gathered a group of underemployed renovation masters, and utilised their expertise in renovation to improve the home conditions for those in need in the community as well as developed mentorship with the youths by teaching them renovation skills and sharing life experience. In return, the masters were provided with the knowledge of risk management and business operation by professionals from corporations. As a result, their self-confidence and hope were regained.

iii.

"I + 0 Styling Studio" Project
Miss Carmen CHOI – Project Officer, Tung Wah Group of Hospitals

With the support from committed corporations, the project ran a photographic studio as a kind of participating platform to provide career development opportunities in beauty and photography fields for the low-motivated youth. This community studio changed the life of youth and helped them develop close relationship with other families in the community through the provision of photographic services. Participating corporations also had a new experience in fulfilling "corporate social responsibility’, that is the precious relationship forged among people, corporations and the community. The community studio sustains its development in the form of SE.

iv.

"Pattern Maker" Project
Miss WONG Yi-tak, Jolie – Project Co-ordinator, Lok Kwan Social Service

Unique local brand fashion products were jointly produced by a magic match between experienced middle-aged clothes makers and young fashion designers. Both of the cloth makers and fashion designers were empowered through the reciprocal mentorship. This was resulted from a new cross-sectoral collaboration model, involving business enterprises, a design school and the Garment Fashion Practitioners Association, that applied social capital building strategies in creating multi-faceted win-win outcomes such as creating market niche for Hong Kong garment. The production workshop continues its operation as a form of SE upon funding expired.

Four guests affirmed that applying social capital strategies in developing SEs made critical impact, especially in the areas of personal enhancement and role transformation towards a leader, development of mutual trust relationship and cross-sectoral collaboration. Ms. Tang and Ms. Siu both shared that they intentionally advanced the leading roles and skills of the participating women and renovation masters respectively so that they were enabled to self-manage the SEs for the sake of sustainable development. Ms. Tsui and Ms. Wong emphasised that the mentorship between participants and cross-sectoral mentors contributed much to the sustainability of the project outcomes.

All sharing guests agreed that cross-sectoral collaboration was the most critical factor for successful SE development. "I + 0 Styling Studio" project demonstrated that the participation of make-up experts, photographic professionals and corporations could effectively enhance participating youth’s capability and provide job placement and even job opportunities that caused upsurge of economic benefits. For the "Healthy Mothers-to-be" Project, Ms. Tang stated that the collaboration from medical specialists could effectively enhance women’s self-confidence and equip them with sufficient knowledge and skills to be post-natal carers.

Guests pointed out that SE in whatever forms would eventually benefit different stakeholders. These include, but not limited to, improvement of employee and employer relationship; enhancement of project participants’ employability and self-confidence; social and economical benefits from injecting revenue generated from SE into expansion of the SE business creating snow-balling effect; and facilitation of experience and network transfer.