SINGAPORE, A MODEL FOR SOCIAL IMPACT EFFORTS

The upcoming annual conference of the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network, AVPN in Singapore, highlights the features of a unique ecosystem, a constellation of initiatives to promote a new model of social development , one driven by the creativity and ingenuity of the citizens and backed by the Government.

With its conducive policy environment, Singapore is not only one of the most thriving places on earth to set up a business but also one of the best to establish social purpose ventures that, driven by social innovation, ensure transformative social impacts, helping the city state to achieve a more fair and just society, one geared towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

Consequentially Singapore is well positioned to nourish a new collaborative model where increasingly more generous state interventions are equipping a multitude of actors to undo the traditional boundaries dividing the economic sector from the social’s, fostering new synergies for the common good.

It is not about a shrinking of state’s responsibilities but rather it is a realignment of the same, a pivot that requires a redoubling of its efforts aimed at catalyzing the resources to help members of society to deal, in the best possible ways, with the most pressing issues concerning them, from increased income gaps to the effects of climate change, not to mention the most immediate repercussions from COVID-19, ensuring that, in the process, no one is left behind.

It is a system smartly regulated where a variety of non-state actors, from informal voluntary groups to more established not profits, for profit social enterprises and ethical businesses and impact driven investors, those who intentionally pursuing a financial return while also achieving a social or environmental impact, are unleashing their energies and creativity to do good while making good.

That’s why Singapore is becoming a thriving example of social innovation lab, a giant experiment that could become an inspiration for the rest of South East Asia.

At its core, the City state boasts one of the strongest volunteering supporting systems or volunteering infrastructures as it is called in jargon.

The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, back in 2014, launched an ambitious program, the Youth Corps Singapore, with the aim of creating new pathways for local youths to get engaged and involved with what I call the BIG V, volunteerism, a transformational tool that develops a person’s character, creates social cohesion and harnesses civic creativity to tackle the most pressing issues, all together.

The SG Cares Community Networks are anther government initiative at grassroots level that brings together different actors to discuss and solve local problems faced by the citizens.

With such nourishing of volunteerism, no one should be surprised that the 3,000 healthcare professionals joined the Ministry of Health’s call to set up a voluntary corps, The SG Healthcare Corps, to help fight COVID- 19.

The National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre, NVPC, the national hub for promoting a culture of giving, not only in financial terms but also in another equally important form, volunteering, has embarked in an ambitious journey to turn Singapore into a “City of Good”, where volunteering and social impact activities are going to become a way and style of life that will positively define every single Singaporean.

Also the Ministry of Social and Family Development has also an incredible array of volunteering opportunities while the National Council of Social Service, in partnership with NVPC, activated SG Cares, a national movement aimed at “guiding and supporting the goodwill of all who live in Singapore to better help those in need”.

Singapore also offers a lesson on how to recognize and award the best examples of civic engagement, often created through cross pollination process from different government agencies, with The President’s Volunteerism & Philanthropy Awards providing a prestigious platform to celebrate the nation’s civic heroes.

Critics might call this approach heavily top down but its effects on the grounds show its efficacy.

Moreover, a culture of volunteerism and civic engagement is not the only one blooming in Singapore.

Linked to it, through a continuum of interventions, the social enterprise scene in the city state is also flourishing with innumerable social ventures that are self-sustainable while contributing to the common good.

They are dynamic, innovative and are successful thanks to a hybrid support from the state combined with cutting edge philanthropies where the national banks and private families’ wealth offices play a huge role together with impact investors from the entire globe.

In this regard, Singapore is probably breaking another record with 10 companies certified as B Corporation, the hallmark of a new way of doing business, more conscious, more responsible towards the shareholders and with a clear social mission.

At the end of this diverse ecosystem there is a financial sector that is mission driven and a world leader leading in terms of best practices in terms of social and responsible investments.

Amid this landscape, the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network, AVPN, a regional membership based network based in Singapore, is working as facilitator, deal broker and policy lab, bringing together the best minds and resources to achieve scale and impact in the fight for a more equal, sustainable and just Asia Pacific region.

AVPN best symbolizes the spirit of collaboration and networking that is needed to fight the most gruesome fixtures faced by most of the societies in the region.

The Asia Pacific has already been for long a leading engine of world economic development. Now we need to ensure that such wealth generation won’t only be reversed by the long term effects of the pandemic but also made more fair and inclusive through the reconstructions of local economies.

The government of Singapore has showed the way to create new forms of cross sector cooperation inspired by its citizens’ commitment for a better society.

While the foundations have been laid, there is still considerable work ahead, and, in a post COVID-19 scenario, even more investments and more of “Singaporean out of box” creativity will be required.

Yet it is not time to be stingy towards regional integration.

Though the model is so uniquely designed to suit Singapore’s special circumstances, the approach could also be re-adjusted and replicated in the region.

Perhaps it is about time Singapore launched a “Thriving ASEAN Mission” that will financially support the most vulnerable members of the bloc by also promoting its way to foster a civic minded society that is proving so effective at home.

The ingenuity and of course, the financial resources of Singapore can inspire the entire region, fuelling new dynamics that drive impactful social change.

The annual AVPN conference from 8–12 June that was supposed to convene in Singapore but now will roll out on line, could be the starting point to kick off the process.

The Author is the Co-Founder of ENGAGE, a not for profit based in Kathmandu with a strong interest on youths development, civic engagement and social innovation in Asia Pacific.