So, one of the key things I want to do a better job at going forward is sharing more about the cool work we’re doing across the non-profits and other projects I’m involved in.
One such area that I’d like to introduce to you is our Shared Data project, which I’m very excited about.
At Foundation for Shared Impact (FSI), we believe that solving systemic problems requires broad collaboration. Accordingly, our Shared-Impact Model brings people together to share information, resources, and knowledge so that goals and operations are synchronized, resources are maximized, and overlap and waste are minimized. By sharing resources and information broadly, communities lift themselves, and greater social impact can be collectively achieved.
The power of data in driving social impact
One such aspect that holds the potential to be truly transformational is the collection, analysis, and sharing of data. Data has the power to create a more inclusive, innovative, and resilient society, and to enact change and vastly expand impact. Moreover, using objective, quantifiable data is one of the most effective ways to drive systems change, eliminating opinions and “noise” from the calculus, and laying bare both problems and possible intervention points.
At FSI we believe that data is critical to driving systems change; however, the social impact space tends not to be very heavily invested in data aggregation, analysis, and sharing. This is particularly true for the social impact space across Asia, which tends to be significantly behind when compared to North America and Europe in terms of collection and usage of data. This is true for a number of reasons, including lack of expertise and resources, and will require external support in order for the social impact space to be really equipped and willing to expand their use of data. And, even though Hong Kong is one of the most technologically advanced jurisdictions in the world, and has one of the most robust social impact and charity sectors, it still ranks behind many other countries in terms of data transparency and usage in the social impact space.
Our Shared Data project
Anyways, we have started working on building a comprehensive database of resources for charities, including a public, unbiased database of all Hong Kong-registered charities that can be used by volunteers, the public, funders, etc., to learn more about each registered charity’s activities, how they spend their money, and help bring transparency and efficiency to the sector.
I think it’s pretty crazy to think that Hong Kong has 9,621 registered charities (16,291 if including subsidiaries), but there is essentially no public website or database that details these charities, much less one that gives information about what they do, who is behind them, how they spend their money, etc. Essentially, the only thing publicly available is the PDF list provided by the government on a monthly basis that just lists the names of the charities! (see here).
As a result of this lack of shared data and transparency, donors are essentially left in the dark, with no clarity about how their donations will be utilized, or what beneficiaries have to say about the NGOs’ work, and more. Considering the fact that philanthropic donations in Hong Kong amount to more than HK$12 billion annually, it is crucial that we ensure the money is being utilized more effectively.
As part of this process, we have started developing and using relevant digital tools to purchase and scrape public charity corporate document records at scale, including audited financial statements, incorporation records, and more. This is important because public records are a cornerstone of transparency and oversight, but due to the costs and practical challenges of collecting such records at scale, to date, no one has done that for a place like Hong Kong.
The road ahead for the Shared Data project
Currently, we are very occupied scraping, researching and aggregating information. Simultaneously, we are gradually building out our separate website for this, which is being built here: www.shareddata.org. We’re also increasingly engaging volunteers who are looking for a meaningful way to give back and make a positive impact on Hong Kong. Should you, among others, want to help us do research, you can check out the basic onboarding guide to get started here: https://bit.ly/instructions-charity-research.
A key current bottleneck for our endeavours, however, is the cost of acquiring legal documents from the Hong Kong Government’s ICRIS system. If you’re not familiar, the system is where you essentially can access a company’s legal documents, BUT, each file costs 18+ Hong Kong Dollars. As you can probably imagine, considering that Hong Kong has nearly 10,000 charities, the total cost is not unsubstantial – and so, therefore, should you want to help support these endeavours you could donate to FSI, which is a tax-exempt charity, and ALL (100%) such money would go to downloading and sharing legal documents with the public.
Looking further ahead, we have a host of prospective plans that connects to the initial database focus, such as:
- We hope to develop an API and a resource database that address an array of creative solutions, ranging from powering a company’s employee giving program to enabling text notifications with suggestions of high-performing charities serving the causes respective donors care about most, and more.
- We aspire to build fundraising-related solutions to enable the public to donate to charities directly on the platform, set up recurring donations, receive tax-receipts and more, including the possibility to create an “e-Wallet for charities” to enable small dollar transactions and cryptocurrency donations.
- Since FSI has connections to The University of Hong Kong and other academic researchers, we envision using Shared Data to fuel academic research, providing insights on topics related to charitable and philanthropic giving throughout the sector.
- We plan to build analysis and data visualization tools that make it easier for the general public to understand relevant data trends.
- We hope to develop a more comprehensive and flexible impact measurement assessment tool that will make it easier for charities to share their results and impact-related information with the public, and which will aid the shift towards providing a more holistic assessment of charities’ effectiveness.
- We aspire to include and share foundation pages and other funding opportunities, where such foundations and other private funders will be able to share information about themselves, application procedures, provide impact reports, and more.
- We hope to work with funders (public and private) to integrate more uniform, online application processes to reduce friction and time necessary for NGOs to apply for funding.
- We would love to see funders implement data dashboards that they can use to better track the impact of their giving in real time.
- Finally, we hope that through all of the above, we can drive the conversation about the next generation of Asian philanthropy.
As we proceed with our work, I may circle back to this and share more specific updates about the progress – but for now, let’s leave it at this. If you want to get in touch for whatever reason, contact me at [email protected]
Take care and stay awesome.
Best,
Jon