Hong Kong needs social science to help deliver on its 5-year plan

Hong Kong’s first five-year plan gives its universities an opportunity to show what their research can do for the city. Its ambitions for technology, regional development and international cooperation depend on decisions about institutions and people’s lives. Social scientists should help shape those decisions from the outset.

The blueprint explicitly addresses public governance, including civil service performance, departmental coordination and digital administration. It also provides for monitoring and assessment. Universities can contribute the evidence needed to turn these commitments into better decisions.

Artificial intelligence offers an immediate opportunity. The policy address has announced a HK$300 million (US$38.24 million) AI for Welfare Lab and proposes requirements for bidders on public-facing government AI projects to submit safety and ethics declarations.