Link Collab Fest Crosses Boundaries in Social Innovation
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While established players in the social service sector struggle to break conventions, resource-constrained innovators have brilliant ideas waiting to be realised. How can we do things differently together?
Link Together Initiatives, Link’s flagship charity and community engagement programme has linked up like-minded non-governmental organisation (NGO) partners with its other stakeholders, leveraging its network to amplify social impact. At the 10th anniversary of the programme, Link took one step further by hosting Collab Fest, an event which serves as a cross-sector collaboration platform to enable social enterprises (SE), social innovators (SI) in addition to NGOs to explore synergies in promoting youth empowerment.
Collab Fest brought participants to team up with like-minded partners, forge novel ideas into purpose-filled proposals, and maximise their unique strengths to create greater value for communities. On 21 October, Pitching Day, shortlisted teams competed in front of the public and a panel of judges at the Link Sustainability Lab. The winning collaborative project “Draw Your Own Legend” by Hong Kong Student Aid Society, StartChing Limited, and Rolling Books Limited stood out with its aim at connecting institutionalised boarders with special education needs (SEN) to society, and took home a $100,000 cash prize to bring their idea to life.
Communities first
Jessica Tam, Business Director of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, has over a decade of experience working on collaborative initiatives with NGOs, SEs, and SIs. The judge and industry veteran shares that the key to a successful project pitch lies in the macro vision of the community’s need and development.
“The winning team in particular stood out with its ability to precisely identify the communal needs of its target demographic, which allow them to raise awareness more effectively within communities.”
Steven Tsoi, who holds a position as Chief Impact Evangelist of Social Ventures Hong Kong, has led projects that create shared value for local communities and businesses. Tsoi also inspires people to be more socially innovative via storytelling and training through his work, and he did just that as a judge for Collab Fest.
“Playing to each other’s strengths is easier said than done,” said Tsoi. “Being able to combine observations with thorough research, carry out district-by-district analysis on a service gap, correctly identify the users’ needs, and then finally present the ideas clearly is what makes these pitches impressive. Having more conversations within the community when coming up with a project plan is crucial,” he said.
Even though some teams were only just formed, they were able to identify communal needs that share both sides of the same coin, catching the judges by surprise. “The younger generation loves stories, while the elderly has plenty to tell,” Tam said. One proposal was able to connect the two groups through traditional dessert making. It also manages to promote intergenerational harmony and preservation of local culture at once, two traditionally separate interests taken by NGOs and SEs. “I am glad to see ideas like these being exchanged in our spaces. I wish to see more of them.”
A nudge to the right direction
When facing the same social issue, traditionally, NGOs have the upper hand in the knowledge and experience serving their target demographic, but they are less inclined to explore new solutions. On the other hand, SEs and SIs may have many innovative ideas, but lack the capacity and finesse in bringing them to life. Collab Fest served just the platform for them to shed their usual constraints and push beyond their paradigm through cross-sector collaboration. The changemakers also thought that the industry is in time for a good nudge.
“Over the past decade, our society has evolved past the old way of thinking where NGOs and service centres are the only responsible parties for community wellbeing. Everyone can be a changemaker, and many are willing to contribute their professional knowledge to help meet the changing needs in communities,” said Tam.
In particular, the business sector in general has a lot to offer. “Digital and physical reach, business and management skills, a corporate perspective; these could all be valuable inputs for community projects to launch, refine and scale up,” she added.
“As Link operates its business around local communities, facing the public, it makes an excellent platform to manifest community-based projects, to facilitate more collaboration and matching, which has potential to ultimately become the solution touchpoint for social issues, or a ‘marketplace’ of ideas,” added Tsoi. “Building a community that promotes synergy between its members is what will enable cross-sector collaboration in the long term.”
Link’s Managing Director of Corporate Affairs, Lorraine Chan was pleased to see that the platform bore encouraging outcomes. “As a daily companion for the people of Hong Kong, Link has always sought to expand the reach of its impact alongside stakeholders and like-minded partners in the community. Through Collab Fest, we wanted everyone to know that social innovation can be a collaborative effort. Together, we can turn our ʻcould-have-beensʼ into action, linking communities to a brighter future.”