Area of Focus: Education/Capacity building for Non-Profit Sector
Partnership agency: Singapore Management University
Conceptualised & Initiated by Lien Foundation
The non-profit sector in Singapore needs to keep pace with a rapidly changing world by attracting talents, crafting forward strategies and adopting best practices. A good start would be to create a nexus – whether an association or platform – to galvanise disparate members, and spearhead the development of the industry standards.
The Singapore Management University’s (SMU) Lien Centre for Social Innovation plans to do precisely this - raise the professionalism and capacity of the non-profit sector in Singapore
The Lien Centre for Social Innovation at SMU is a part of the Foundation’s ongoing commitment to non-profit governance and management, philanthropic giving, corporate social responsibility and community outreach.
The SMU was created to educate leaders and entrepreneurs who can adequately meet the demands of today, and the future. Its courses are designed to encourage participation and engagement, and help mould a breed of smart, independent, thinking adults capable of tackling the challenges of the new economy. SMU also strives to inculcate ‘heartware’ as much as it does ‘hardware’ – its students must complete a community service requirement in order to graduate.
There is a clear alignment of goals amongst the Lien Foundation, SMU and the social needs of the nation - there is a growing demand for indigenous competencies in research and teaching in relation to the non-profit sector.
The Lien Centre for Social Innovation (called the Centre for short), is the only project of its kind in Asia. The Centre will be a nexus for scholars, non-profit service leaders, corporate entities, philanthropists and government agencies to strengthen their capabilities as a unified body to promote social change. It also reinforces the Foundation’s role as catalyst and facilitator to improve the lives of the underprivileged through capacity building.
The Centre is designed as a university-wide initiative which supports the growth
and quality of non-profit organisations by strengthening governance, management
and best practices in this sector.
The Centre to be an integrated platform to:
- Promote social innovation as a key element to advance society and address social problems in a productive manner
- Build up resources in leadership, management, personnel development, research, information systems, access to financing and experience exchange for non-profit organisations which they may otherwise lack
- Cultivate a new generation of socially conscious business leaders.
SMU will leverage its in-house resources, existing relations with other universities and access to captains of industry to support this initiative.
Using a three-pronged approach, the Centre coordinates activities in the areas of research, teaching and industry/public engagement.
Part of the Centre’s programmes will include a Lien Foundation Fellowship – a platform to recognise notable academics, non-profit leaders, and philanthropists as well as tap on their unique expertise in the field.
They would be suitably engaged to contribute in areas such as research, professional and/or faculty development as well as conference speaker – thus enhancing the capacity building within the Singapore non-profit sector.
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