Prof. Martyn Jones

School of Global, Urban and Social Studies
RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

Topic: Making A Difference Through Research: The Craft of Collaboration

Research holds an increasingly important place in the social service sector. Yet it is apparent that research in, by and for this sector is not easy. There is a craft to research and its use that is not fully captured in formal methodologies. The craft arises from an appreciation of the situated nature of successful research and its integration into practice and policy innovation. But more than this, there is a craft involved in working together on these challenges; and the craft of collaboration to be explored in the keynote speech is understood to require considerable qualities and capabilities that are beyond those of research itself.
In so far as research contributes – directly or indirectly – to making a difference for the better in the lives of people who are marginalized, disadvantaged or vulnerable, then for the most part it requires people from different places and perspectives to collaborate on shared purposes and goals. The keynote speech reflects on the experience of building various forms of research collaboration, involving in particular RMIT University and the social service sector in Australia. It outlines principles and approaches that have informed new initiatives, and discusses the obstacles and benefits encountered. While requiring considerable investment, creative collaboration is seen as vital in advancing research that nurtures innovation and makes a positive difference to clients and communities.

Topic: Exploring the Possibility of User Participation in Service Management – A Collaborative Research with the Service Users and Practitioners

Collaborative research allows university researchers, service practitioners and service users to bring their perspectives and experiences to the knowledge generation process, so that research can be more sensitive to the concerns of the practice community. A collaborative research among university researchers from The Chinese University of Hong Kong and service users and practitioners from Caritas Services for the Elderly was started in 2012 to explore the possibility of greater user participation in service management. The presentation will introduce how researchers from various backgrounds take part in formulating the research questions, designing the study methodology, collecting data as well as interpreting the findings. Challenges in the research collaboration process and the strategies in dealing with them will also be shared in the presentation.

Dr. HUNG Suet Lin

Associate Professor, Programme Convener
MSocSc in Social Work
Department of Social Work
Hong Kong Baptist University

Ms. CHAN Wai Yung, Mariana

Chief Officer
Social Security and Employment
The Hong Kong Council of Social Service

Topic: Study on Child Care Service for Low Income Families in Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, there has been an impetus to examine the gap in child care services along with the decline in fertility rates in the past decades and the government’s recent concern to release women’s labour force. This study, and conducted by The Hong Kong Council of Social Service (funded by ZeShan Foundation) involved both the practitioner and scholar. It targets at mapping the service gaps, analyzing obstacles faced by service operators, identifying local new initiatives and relevant overseas experiences, and proposing recommendations. Methodology includes literature review, individual interviews, focus-group interviews and a telephone survey. Stakeholders, including policy makers, government officials, child care service providers and low income parents were involved. Major findings of the survey reveal that low income families have been more adversely affected by the inadequacy of child care services such as the lack of support for mothers who are primary carers, financial stress and level of satisfaction with existing child care service. Individuals and focus group interviews also suggest that low income parents have experienced great difficulties in getting access to long whole-day service and qualified community child-minders. Recommendations are proposed in relation to policy and provision of child care services.

Dr. Amy Y.M. CHOW

Associate Professor
Department of Social Work and Social Administration
The University of Hong Kong

Mr. Joseph LO

Supervisor
Jockey Club Yee Lok Care and Attention Home Jockey Club Rehabilitation Complex
Tung Wah Group of Hospitals

Topic: Concerted Effort in Developing Death Education Service for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities

With longer lifespan of persons with Intellectual Disabilities (PWID), they have a higher chance to outlive their parents. The loss of parent among PWID is intricate because of the exceptionally intimate parent-child relationship. Yet, PWID are often considered as incapable of grief. Since 2011, the Department of Social Work and Social Administration of the University of Hong Kong and Tung Wah Group Hospitals have conducted a series of research study for exploring PWID’s level of understanding of death, developing and testing different service models and measuring tools related to death and bereavement. It is hoped to better prepare the service providers in facing this new trend. The project is the first of its kind in Asia. This can be considered as a win-win experience of adopting an evidence-based approach to develop a theory-driven intervention model and test with rigorous research methods. The goal of the research is not only for establishing evidence of effectiveness, but also for finding areas for improvement. The three parties even prepared a new proposal for external funding, hoping to move forward in refining the model.

Topic: Constructing Rental Index of Subdivided Housing Units – A policy advocacy attempt to reveal the living hardship of deprived residents

There are some housing rental indices in Hong Kong, such as the government’s RVD rental index, however, there are no rental indices for sub-divided units. Yet, tenants of sub-divided housing units are in the most urgent need of this market information because they are normally households in the lowest income group, rental change would affect their living quality the most. They are vulnerable to any unreasonable rent increase. Currently, they rely solely on real estate agents, who are in serious conflict of interests because their commissions are based on a fixed percentage of the monthly rent of the units. This project aims to construct a quarterly rental index of sub-divided housing units in Hong Kong, and is collaboration between IOFC of CUHK, HKCSS and Platform of Concerning Subdivided Flats and Issue in Hong Kong. The index is based on a novel construction method by a comparison approach between rateable values of housing flats and actual market rents of the sub-divided housing units within the same flat. The rental change over time can then trace the rental index of sub-divided housing units with reference to the housing rental index of Rating and Valuation Department, HKSAR Government. The rental index also reveals the living hardship of deprived residents and provides an evidence to advocate policy change. As a collaborative project between academics and frontline social workers, the project lined up different experts in research model building and understanding of residents to apply academic knowledge in fighting the rights of deprived residents.

Mr. LEUNG Tsz Tun, Arnold

Senior Service Manager
Hospice & Bereavement Service Division
SKH Holy Carpenter Church District Elderly Community Centre

Ms. Leila CHAN

Journalist
Author of the “Death in Hong Kong”

Topic: Life and Death Education Project- Cross-disciplinary Collaboration on Qualitative Study

In July 2014, journalist Chan Hiu Lui, Leila published a book named “Death in Hong Kong”, which extensively covered various topics in Hong Kong about death and dying such as hospice care, bereavement support services, funeral services, and etc. This book not only successfully aroused attention of media and the public, but also brought about discussions of death, dying, and bereavement in the society. Back to the beginning, the idea of the publication came from a social worker, Leung Tsz Tun, Arnold, which based on his observations and experiences in frontline service. He then initiated the cooperation with the writer. Both two speakers will share their experience about cross-disciplinary collaboration of a social worker and a journalist in advocating a social issue.

Ms. Anchor HUNG

Manager
Center for Research and Advocacy
The Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation

Mrs. Reginia Kwong

Member of The Hong Kong Epilepsy Association

Topic: Collaboration Experience of the HK Society for Rehabilitation on Research and Advocacy with Patients’ Self-help Groups

To many people, research is the sole business of professionals. However, it is also the privilege of service users. The Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation Community Rehabilitation Network started to provide community-based rehabilitation services to persons with disabilities and persons with chronic illnesses since 1994. Centre on Research and Advocacy was set up in 2012. In the process of delivering services, individual service users, patient self-help groups and concern groups have participated in different types of research and advocacy work. Apart from being passive study subjects, they can play different roles, including proposing research topics, designing questionnaires, being interviewers and interviewees, participating in interpreting data and making recommendations and disseminating results to the media. Most important of all, using their unique experience to reflect the findings to government departments and parties concerned, to lobby officials, educating the public and voicing out their needs. To social service providers and researchers, collaboration with patients’ self-help groups on research and advocacy is also a process of enhancing user participation and empowerment, as well as fostering service improvement and development.

Mr. CHIU Han Man, Raymond

Service Coordinator
Training and Employment Service
Baptist Oi Kwan Social Service

Ms.Catherine LEE

Head of Public Relations & Sales
Maxim’s Group

Topic :BOKSS – ‘Hotmeal Service’ - Kiddy Heart Canteen Project

The success of “Kiddy-heart Canteen” services in Yau Tsim Mong district and Kowloon City district was attributed to sponsor Lee Hysan Foundation and meal provider Maxim’s Group since January 2013. The service helped families who had difficulties in fulfilling the nutritional and academic needs of their children. From Monday to Friday night, the four canteens provided meals and soups which were designed by registered dietitian to ensure healthy physical development of children from low-income families. A series of after-meal programmes aiming at minimizing the risk of poverty across generations, included moral education and social exposure programmes for children, and family support programmes for parents, in order to cultivate a nurturing and equal learning environment for children. The canteens also served as a hub of community resources and caring for the screened low-income group. BOKSS was leveraging from its successful Hot Meal Programme’ whereby positive results of Kiddy Heart Canteen had been confirmed by Social Impact Assessment. It demonstrated a positive result of this hotmeal project in which 90% families could save up money for other living expenses, 82.6% families could save up cooking time for parent-child relationship and school work supervision, 90% families could build up social support network at the canteen. The result was encouraging and shedded new light on the future development of hotmeal service.

Dr. CHAN Chui King, Liliane

Project Coordinator
Jean C K Ho Family Foundation & Ho Cheung Shuk Yuen Charitable Foundation

Topic :Studies of SmArt Youth Project and ‘Six Arts’ for People with Early Dementia

The foundations adopt the approach of identifying the need/problem, implementing the proposed method/practice with built-in evidence-based research, then scaling up the good practice to let more people benefit. At present, we partner with NGOs and the academia to build up the evidence in our projects for children and the elderly. The SmART Youth Project makes use of weekly drama and music activities to broaden the life experience and transforms the lives of the students in two primary schools at Wong Tai Sin and Sham Shui Po. In facing the issue of the ageing population, we target people with early dementia and support projects on using self-expressive art, the Chinese 6-Arts activities and music and movement for the elders living in the community. Quantitative and qualitative data are collected from the intervention and control groups. By project end, protocols and training manuals will be developed. The process, the different roles of the parties involved and the challenges will be shared.

Ms. Sindy YEUNG

Senior Program Manager
Simon K Y Lee Foundation

Topic :Study on Simon K Y Lee Children’s Fund – FLY Project

A child’s foundation years are critical to his/her development and lay the foundation for later success. Nevertheless, most deprived families lack the capacity to provide the necessary nurturing for their preschoolers and services for them are inadequate. Children from deprived families often lag behind their peers as early as in kindergarten entry. The Simon K. Y. Lee Children’s Fund – FLY Project is a research cum service project aiming to devise an evidence-based programme to enhance the learning and development of deprived preschoolers aged 1.5 to 2.5, through provision of early educational services and parents’ training. The Principal Investigators include Prof. Cynthia Leung of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Dr. Sandra Tsang of The University of Hong Kong.