Think tank urges dedicated Hong Kong policy research grade
On.cc · 1 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
The Academy of Future Economics released a policy address submission covering four areas: government policy research capacity, the Northern Metropolis, housing and artificial intelligence in education. It said that, based on publicly listed titles in the government telephone directory as of July this year, the Chief Executive's Policy Unit had 13 staff with research-related titles. The think tank proposed a trial "Planning and Policy Research Officer" grade staffed by people trained in economics, statistics, data science, social science, public policy or related fields. It said the new grade would focus on problem definition, data analysis, scenario modelling, policy option comparison and effectiveness evaluation, complementing the Chief Executive's Policy Unit and Administrative Officer grade
Key Points
- The think tank said Administrative Officers and other officials now help with research, but AO entry requirements do not require training in statistics, econometrics, research design or policy evaluation
- It argued the proposed research grade's cost would amount to about 3 per mille of total government expenditure in 2024-25
- On the Northern Metropolis, it said success depends on whether businesses, jobs and families keep moving in and choose to stay
- It urged district-level "mixed-use, flexible allocation" planning and said the Northern Metropolis University Town should integrate education, research, industry, jobs and housing
- On housing, it said average usable floor area of newly completed homes fell from 50.4 square metres in 1995 to 37.2 square metres in 2024, a 26% drop
Why It Matters
The proposals focus attention on whether public spending is producing measurable outcomes, rather than only whether money has been committed. For Hong Kong readers, that links long-term planning, housing quality, education reform and Northern Metropolis development to a common question of how government evaluates results and adjusts policy over time