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With a generous donation from The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, the CUHK-Nankai Joint Research Centre of Social Policy and the Department of Social Work of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) successfully co-organised a two-day online international conference on ‘Programme Evaluation and Social Impact Assessment’ on 21 to 22 October 2021, which drew over 580 attendees. The conference was officiated by Prof. Chi-yue CHIU, Dean of Social Science, CUHK, Ms. Ada CHU, Executive Manager, Charities Planning and Operations, The Hong Kong Jockey Club and Prof. Steven Sek-yum NGAI, Chairperson and Professor, Department of Social Work, CUHK.

In his welcoming remarks, Prof. Chi-yue Chiu recognised the achievement of the Jockey Club MEL Institute Project and said, ‘When we navigate in a new area, GPS helps us locate where our destination is and find the most efficient ride to reach our destination, and direct us to the right path when we are lost. The Jockey Club MEL Institute Project is our GPS. We need it to navigate new territories in social services, and that’s why we value the service so greatly!’

Ms. Ada Chu also said, ‘Today’s conference will provide us with an excellent platform for local and international experts to consolidate knowledge and share best practices and insights.’ She also expressed her gratitude to CUHK and the NGO partners for their effort throughout the Jockey Club MEL Institute project.

During the two-day conference, the keynote speakers, Prof. Xinping GUAN, Professor, Department of Social Work and Social Policy, Nankai University, Prof. Tiziano VECCHIATO, President, Fondazione Zancan (Italy) and Prof. Steven Sek-yum NGAI, Chairperson and Professor, Department of Social Work, CUHK delivered their keynote addresses on their valuable experience in conducting programme evaluation on social policies or intervention projects successfully implemented in mainland China, Italy and Hong Kong.

Eight internationally renowned scholars were invited as plenary speakers to give insightful presentations on their practice wisdom in conducting programme evaluation and lessons learnt from the social impact assessment in Australia, Italy, Netherlands, mainland China and Hong Kong. They were Prof. Aron SHLONSKY, Head and Professor, Department of Social Work, Monash University, Australia, Prof. Siu-ming TO, Associate Professor, Department of Social Work, CUHK, Prof. Ilan KATZ, Professor, Social Policy Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Prof. Chenxi HUANG, Vice Dean, School of Social Development, East China Normal University, Prof. Cinzia CANALI, Director, Fondazione Zancan, Italy, Prof. Hung WONG, Associate Professor, Department of Social Work, CUHK, Prof. Frank VANCLAY, Head and Professor, Department of Cultural Geography, University of Groningen, The Netherlands, and Prof. Fan WU, Chairperson and Professor, Department of Social Work and Social Policy, Nankai University, Tianjin.

Over 30 scholars and practitioners from Australia, Burkina Faso, mainland China, South Korea, Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong also shared their research and experience in the parallel sessions covering a wide range of topics including ‘Ageing and Disabilities’, ‘Children and Family’, ‘Youth’, ‘Social Work Education’ and ‘Policy Practice’.

Prof. Steven Sek-yum NGAI said in his closing remarks, ‘We hope that the conference is just a beginning, and we can ride on the idea and partnership developed in this conference to further promote people’s wellbeing and contribute to social development.’

About the CUHK-Nankai Joint Research Centre of Social Policy

The CUHK-Nankai Joint Research Centre of Social Policy is an inter-university joint research centre, founded together with Nankai University in September 2008. It aims to enhance research collaboration and exchange among staff of both universities, with a view to promoting the development of social work and social welfare in Hong Kong and mainland China.

About the Department of Social Work, CUHK

The Department aims to provide quality professional and academic training in social work, to develop knowledge related to social welfare and social work, and contribute to the social development of Hong Kong. In the undergraduate programme, the Department prepares students to be professionally competent social workers who are committed to the welfare of their clients and to social justice. In the postgraduate programmes, the Department provides advanced training for the development of those who wish to become professional and academic leaders in the social welfare field. Students are encouraged to develop independent and critical thinking, identify with the humanistic values and ethics of the social work profession, maintain a special concern for the vulnerable groups in society, and keep abreast of current social issues. The Department strives to be a leading centre of social work education and research in Chinese communities.

About the Jockey Club MEL Institute Project

Funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, the Department of Social Work of CUHK has developed a 3-year programme, the Jockey Club MEL Institute Project, since 2019 to extend experience and knowledge of Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) for programme management and evaluation to local NGOs. The project provides a 14-session certificate training course delivered by overseas and local experts, which covers 4 main areas including ‘Service Development and Monitoring’, ‘Resource and Planning Management’, ‘Media and Communications’  and ‘Programme Evaluation and Impact Assessment’. Participants take part in a 4-month mentored practicum so as to gain practical knowledge and skills in programme evaluation by applying it to their work under the coaching of experienced mentors. Apart from face-to-face offline communication, an Online Knowledge Hub also serves as a primary channel to enhance participants’ learning experience. For more details, please visit https://jcmel.swk.cuhk.edu.hk.