Civic Exchange
Encyclopedia
Civic Exchange is a Hong Kong
-based, non-partisan public policy
think tank
and registered charity. It was founded by former Legislative Council of Hong Kong
member Christine Loh
(陸恭蕙), and environmental researcher Lisa Hopkinson (何麗莎).
Civic Exchange describes itself as “Hong Kong’s independent think tank” and applies the organisational concept of creating a think tank that can add intellectual capital to Hong Kong society using a cooperative structure. Much of the group’s work is to consider public policies and how to help the Hong Kong public make sense of complex issues and find better solutions to challenges and problems. The organization’s projects generally fall into one of three main fields: civic participation and social development, environment
and conservation
, or integration of economic analysis.
, legislative bodies
, educational institutions, local and international businesses and organizations, working professional
s and ordinary members of the community.
In various ways, Civic Exchange works with each for research, public outreach, organisation of venues for events, and to improve dialogue between civil society
and the government.
. Many of its publications pertaining to Hong Kong politics encourage civic participation and incorporate the public into the discussion about Hong Kong’s political future
. One prior focus of the organization has been on the concept of functional constituencies. Civic Exchange’s 2006 Functional Constituencies: A Unique Feature of the Hong Kong Legislative Council was one of the first books to provide original research and critique about functional constituencies.
In addition to its academic findings, Civic Exchange complements its papers with public opinion
surveys to better support recommendations on specific issues. In the past, these surveys have been in cooperation with Hong Kong Baptist University
’s Hong Kong Transition Project and Hong Kong University's Hong Kong Public Opinion Program.
Another dimension to engage the general public is Civic Exchange’s Sustainability Tools. These tools are designed to help the general public learn such skills as how to bridge the communication gap between civil society and government, send clear messages, actively listen to others, and organise successful meetings. The goal is to achieve better mutual understanding and lay the foundation for consensus-building, conflict resolution, and problem-solving in public affairs. While these skills may apply more directly to civic participation and social development, the concept of Sustainability Tools can be translated to other policy areas as well.
and water pollution
, energy
, climate change
, and urban planning
. In each of these topics, the think tank focuses mainly on the specific impacts on Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta
region. Among the notable, groundbreaking research is its two-year air monitoring project between 2002-2003 and the Hedley Environmental Index, which, in 2008, was the first website in the world to quantify the monetary and public health costs of air pollution in real-time. Civic Exchange uses such publications and research to promote finding multi-disciplinary solutions that draw on the strengths of different sectors of society.
Because Hong Kong's decisions affect not only its people, but also Hong Kong's neighbours in the Pearl River Delta, Civic Exchange emphasises the process of stakeholder engagement to collect the opinions of as wide a spectrum of people as possible. One such cross-border issue that Civic Exchange works on is air pollution. On 10 January 2009, over 500 people attended a public dialogue conference hosted by Civic Exchange. “The Air We Breathe: A Public Health Dialogue,” was an event promoting discussion about air quality in Hong Kong and consisted of experts, government officials, and the general public. The aim was to hear what Hong Kong people had to say about air pollution and what changes they felt could be made.
Aside from specific reports focusing on the facets of Hong Kong’s economy
, Civic Exchange integrates economic analysis into its political and environmental programme areas. For example, its environmental reports have reported the fiscal costs of inaction in reforming policy. On a political front, Civic Exchange's 2003 report "The Budget and Public Finance in Hong Kong" reflects on the ties between Hong Kong's politics and its economic decisions by tracking how the Chief Executive
's policy address translates into public finance decisions.
member Cyd Ho
. In 2005, the site attracted 25,000 visitors each month.
Another online initiative is the Get Out The Vote HK website, which was created in the summer of 2008 for the Legislative Council election. GOTV HK is a bilingual, online magazine used to inform the public about different dimensions of Hong Kong’s political system and update them on the key election issues of 2008 using such features as a political “Term of the Day.”
Civic Exchange also has used different types of new media to try and broaden its outreach. It has posted full-length video of its events onto online video sites and uses the social networking website Facebook
to announce its events and publications to the group’s members.
and Wellesley College for their students to work as interns.
s, scholars and businessmen
, including Jan O. Karlsson
, Amory Lovins
, Baroness Scotland of Asthal, Peter Hain
, Sam Brownback
, Daniel Brennan, Thomas Heller, Judy Chow, John Watson
and Chris Patten
.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
-based, non-partisan public policy
Public policy
Public policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...
think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
and registered charity. It was founded by former Legislative Council of Hong Kong
Legislative Council of Hong Kong
The Legislative Council is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong.-History:The Legislative Council of Hong Kong was set up in 1843 as a colonial legislature under British rule...
member Christine Loh
Christine Loh
- External links :* ] ]*...
(陸恭蕙), and environmental researcher Lisa Hopkinson (何麗莎).
Civic Exchange describes itself as “Hong Kong’s independent think tank” and applies the organisational concept of creating a think tank that can add intellectual capital to Hong Kong society using a cooperative structure. Much of the group’s work is to consider public policies and how to help the Hong Kong public make sense of complex issues and find better solutions to challenges and problems. The organization’s projects generally fall into one of three main fields: civic participation and social development, environment
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
and conservation
Conservation movement
The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental and a social movement that seeks to protect natural resources including animal, fungus and plant species as well as their habitat for the future....
, or integration of economic analysis.
Mission
Civic Exchange's stated mission is to:- Promote civic education amongst members of the community and for such purpose to conduct research and publicise the results so as to provide objective and balanced information to the public concerning economic, social and environmental issues.
- Undertake research on development of economic, social and political policies and practices to help shape the breadth and depth of public policy debate and so to provide well-founded and reasoned argument on the issues identified above.
Partners
As a think tank, Civic Exchange cooperates with many different components of society to produce its publications and organise its events. This includes government departmentsGovernment departments and agencies in Hong Kong
This is a list government agencies of the Hong Kong Government.The policies of the government are formulated decided by the bureaux led by secretaries and permanent secretaries are discussed in the Executive Council and implemented by the departments and agencies...
, legislative bodies
Legislative Council of Hong Kong
The Legislative Council is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong.-History:The Legislative Council of Hong Kong was set up in 1843 as a colonial legislature under British rule...
, educational institutions, local and international businesses and organizations, working professional
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
s and ordinary members of the community.
In various ways, Civic Exchange works with each for research, public outreach, organisation of venues for events, and to improve dialogue between civil society
Civil society
Civil society is composed of the totality of many voluntary social relationships, civic and social organizations, and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society, as distinct from the force-backed structures of a state , the commercial institutions of the market, and private criminal...
and the government.
Civic participation and social development
Civic Exchange has consistently been involved in research concerning Hong Kong’s constitutional development according to the Basic LawHong Kong Basic Law
The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, or simply Hong Kong Basic Law, serves as the constitutional document of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China...
. Many of its publications pertaining to Hong Kong politics encourage civic participation and incorporate the public into the discussion about Hong Kong’s political future
Politics of Hong Kong
Politics of Hong Kong takes place in a framework of a political system dominated by its constitutional document, the Basic Law of Hong Kong, its own legislature, the Chief Executive as the head of government, and of a multi-party system...
. One prior focus of the organization has been on the concept of functional constituencies. Civic Exchange’s 2006 Functional Constituencies: A Unique Feature of the Hong Kong Legislative Council was one of the first books to provide original research and critique about functional constituencies.
In addition to its academic findings, Civic Exchange complements its papers with public opinion
Public opinion
Public opinion is the aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs held by the adult population. Public opinion can also be defined as the complex collection of opinions of many different people and the sum of all their views....
surveys to better support recommendations on specific issues. In the past, these surveys have been in cooperation with Hong Kong Baptist University
Hong Kong Baptist University
Hong Kong Baptist University is a publicly-funded tertiary institution with a Christian education heritage. It is the sole surviving institution of 13 major Christian universities that once operated on the Chinese mainland,...
’s Hong Kong Transition Project and Hong Kong University's Hong Kong Public Opinion Program.
Another dimension to engage the general public is Civic Exchange’s Sustainability Tools. These tools are designed to help the general public learn such skills as how to bridge the communication gap between civil society and government, send clear messages, actively listen to others, and organise successful meetings. The goal is to achieve better mutual understanding and lay the foundation for consensus-building, conflict resolution, and problem-solving in public affairs. While these skills may apply more directly to civic participation and social development, the concept of Sustainability Tools can be translated to other policy areas as well.
Environment and conservation
Civic Exchange works closely with both local and international scientists and experts to provide the latest data about such environmental issues as airAir pollution in Hong Kong
Air pollution in Hong Kong is considered a serious problem. Visibility is currently less than eight kilometres for 30% of the year. Cases of asthma and bronchial infections have soared in recent years due to reduced air quality....
and water pollution
Water pollution
Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies . Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds....
, energy
Energy
In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...
, climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
, and urban planning
Urban planning
Urban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....
. In each of these topics, the think tank focuses mainly on the specific impacts on Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta
Pearl River Delta
The Pearl River Delta , Zhujiang Delta or Zhusanjiao in Guangdong province, People's Republic of China is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea...
region. Among the notable, groundbreaking research is its two-year air monitoring project between 2002-2003 and the Hedley Environmental Index, which, in 2008, was the first website in the world to quantify the monetary and public health costs of air pollution in real-time. Civic Exchange uses such publications and research to promote finding multi-disciplinary solutions that draw on the strengths of different sectors of society.
Because Hong Kong's decisions affect not only its people, but also Hong Kong's neighbours in the Pearl River Delta, Civic Exchange emphasises the process of stakeholder engagement to collect the opinions of as wide a spectrum of people as possible. One such cross-border issue that Civic Exchange works on is air pollution. On 10 January 2009, over 500 people attended a public dialogue conference hosted by Civic Exchange. “The Air We Breathe: A Public Health Dialogue,” was an event promoting discussion about air quality in Hong Kong and consisted of experts, government officials, and the general public. The aim was to hear what Hong Kong people had to say about air pollution and what changes they felt could be made.
Integration of economic analysis
Given Hong Kong’s status as an international financial centre, Civic Exchange has looked at various factors that affect its economy. Past areas of focus include the government budget, tax structure, and how Hong Kong can adjust to meet the needs of an aging population.Aside from specific reports focusing on the facets of Hong Kong’s economy
Economy of Hong Kong
As one of the world's leading international financial centres, Hong Kong has a major capitalist service economy characterised by low taxation and free trade, and the currency, Hong Kong dollar, is the ninth most traded currency in the world. Hong Kong has remained as the world's freest economy,...
, Civic Exchange integrates economic analysis into its political and environmental programme areas. For example, its environmental reports have reported the fiscal costs of inaction in reforming policy. On a political front, Civic Exchange's 2003 report "The Budget and Public Finance in Hong Kong" reflects on the ties between Hong Kong's politics and its economic decisions by tracking how the Chief Executive
Chief Executive of Hong Kong
The Chief Executive of Hong Kong is the President of the Executive Council of Hong Kong and head of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The position was created to replace the Governor of Hong Kong, who was the head of the Hong Kong government during British rule...
's policy address translates into public finance decisions.
Other programme areas
Aside from the three main areas addressed through Civic Exchange’s publications and events, the organisation also runs other programmes.Online initiatives
In the past, Civic Exchange has made ventures into online publications and blogs. The organisation launched a bilingual blogazine, Civic Express, in June 2005. Now retired, Civic Express had a total of 12 contributors, including LegcoLegislative Council of Hong Kong
The Legislative Council is the unicameral legislature of Hong Kong.-History:The Legislative Council of Hong Kong was set up in 1843 as a colonial legislature under British rule...
member Cyd Ho
Cyd Ho
Cyd Ho Sau-lan is a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong for the Hong Kong Island constituency.Cyd Ho is a founding member of The Frontier, a pro-democracy political group, and since 2006, founding councillor of the World Future Council....
. In 2005, the site attracted 25,000 visitors each month.
Another online initiative is the Get Out The Vote HK website, which was created in the summer of 2008 for the Legislative Council election. GOTV HK is a bilingual, online magazine used to inform the public about different dimensions of Hong Kong’s political system and update them on the key election issues of 2008 using such features as a political “Term of the Day.”
Civic Exchange also has used different types of new media to try and broaden its outreach. It has posted full-length video of its events onto online video sites and uses the social networking website Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
to announce its events and publications to the group’s members.
Internship Programme
Civic Exchange offers internship programmes to undergraduates and postgraduate students to try and foster interest in public policy. Internships are individually designed to the student’s interests, whether it be a specific research topic or working with Civic Exchange members to organise the group’s events. For the summer months, Civic Exchange has established partnerships with Yale UniversityYale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
and Wellesley College for their students to work as interns.
Talks and seminars
Civic Exchange has, in the past, held seminars, talks, workshops and public discussion forums on environmental and political topics. Past speakers have been politicianPolitician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
s, scholars and businessmen
Businessperson
A businessperson is someone involved in a particular undertaking of activities for the purpose of generating revenue from a combination of human, financial, or physical capital. An entrepreneur is an example of a business person...
, including Jan O. Karlsson
Jan O. Karlsson
Jan Olov Karlsson , Swedish politician, former President of the European Court of Auditors, and former Minister for Development Cooperation, Migration and Asylum Policy from 2002 and from September 11, 2003 to October 10, 2003 acting Minister for Foreign Affairs, following the murder of Anna...
, Amory Lovins
Amory Lovins
Amory Bloch Lovins is an American environmental scientist and writer, Chairman and Chief Scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute. He has worked in the field of energy policy and related areas for four decades...
, Baroness Scotland of Asthal, Peter Hain
Peter Hain
Peter Gerald Hain is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for the Welsh constituency of Neath since 1991, and has served in the Cabinets of both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, firstly as Leader of the House of Commons under Blair and both Secretary of State for...
, Sam Brownback
Sam Brownback
Samuel Dale "Sam" Brownback is the 46th and current Governor of Kansas. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a U.S. Senator from Kansas from 1996 to 2011, and as a U.S. Representative for Kansas's 2nd congressional district from 1995 to 1996...
, Daniel Brennan, Thomas Heller, Judy Chow, John Watson
John Watson
John Watson may refer to:In politics:* John Christian Watson , known as Chris Watson, Australia's third Prime Minister* John Bertrand Watson , British Member of Parliament for Stockton-on-Tees, 1917–1923* John S...
and Chris Patten
Chris Patten
Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes, CH, PC , is the last Governor of British Hong Kong, a former British Conservative politician, and the current chairman of the BBC Trust....
.
Funding
Civic Exchange is independently funded. Nearly all of the organisation’s funding comes from donations on specific projects, rather than general donations. In its 2006-2007 Annual Report, the organisation received 43% of its funding from a broad spectrum of Hong Kong businesses, 29% from Hong Kong individuals, and the rest coming from a combination of local and international non-profits, charitable foundations, and the Hong Kong government.Select published books
- Getting Heard: A Handbook for Hong Kong Citizens (讓民意聲音響起來), 2002: the first book published by Civic Exchange, as a guide to help citizens participate in public affairs.
- Building Democracy: Creating Good Government for Hong Kong (創建民主:締造一個優良的香港特區政府), 2003: a collection of essays discussing important political concepts and issues, including the Basic Law and democracy, political paties and the reform of the political sysyem, democrazy and voting system, Hong Kong media and society.
- At the Epicentre: Hong Kong and the SARS Outbreak, 2004: provides the whole picture of the SARS period in Hong Kong, exploring both the economic consequences and long-term political implications for Hong Kong, China and the international community.
- Functional Constituencies: A Unique Feature of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, 2005: provides information on the relevant law of functional constituencies and their place in Basic Law. It also examines the impact of functional constituencies members on the society.
- The Rise of Hong Kong Politics: the view through political cartoons 1984-2005 (從政治漫畫分析香港政治的興起), 2006: Explores how the rise of political cartoons paralleled the emergence of a purely local brand of politics by including more than 160 selected public cartoons.
- Idling Engine: Hong Kong's Environmental Policy in a Ten Year Stall, 2007: addresses the major environmental issues facing Hong Kong, what progress has been made, and the challenges that remain.
- Still Holding Our Breath: A Review of Air Quality Policy in Hong Kong 1997-2007, 2007: examines Hong Kong's air pollution, analyses the scope and efficacy of existing policy, and provides recommendations for improvement.
- Reflections of Leadership: Tung Chee Hwa and Donald Tsang, 1997-2007, 2007: the authors use the major speeches and decisions of the two chief executives to analyse their leadership. The book also examines the Executive Council over the past decade.
- From Nowhere to Nowhere: A Review of Constitutional Development-Hong Kong 1997-2007, 2007: tells the story of how Beijing and the HKSAR Government stall constitutional reform. The authors explore the origins of the HKSAR's peculiar constitutional structure and analyse its impact on governance, conflict resolution, and the development of political leadership.
- Climate Change Negotiations: Can Asia Change the Game?, 2008: a compilation of essays by different scholars, consdering Asia’s objectives, concerns, aspirations, and responsibilities in addressing global climate change.