Vast amounts of personal data are held by numerous organisations. This sea of data has been described by some as “the new oil”, in which their true value can be extracted if they can be shared with other organisations. However, this idea also raises concern that the data will fall into the wrong hands. In order to encourage people to share their data with confidence, some people have suggested the concept of ‘data trusts’ in recent years…

Effectiveness is without doubt the first and foremost consideration when designing public programmes. Establishing ‘research clearinghouses’ that are akin to a ‘TripAdvsior’ for public programmes may be conducive to this goal.

Vocational and professional education and training (VPET) is one of the pathways to enhance young people’s upward mobility. However, VPET is generally considered as inferior to other academic articulation pathways, which in turn discourages some students from pursuing VPET. How should the Government promote and restructure the VPET to expand learning opportunities for young people?

Glistening glass skyscrapers abound in prosperous cities around the globe. However, after taking environmental performance into consideration, the construction industry is starting to have second thoughts about whether cities of glass is the way to go. An architect who has designed many famous glass skyscrapers even describes glass as a symbol of energy-guzzling buildings. Should future skyscrapers in Hong Kong say goodbye to glass curtain walls?

Educational Television (ETV), a series of programmes serving Hong Kong for almost five decades, was criticised by the Audit Commission for its high production cost and declining viewership. Those criticisms have aroused some people’s concern that whether the government expenditure on ETV is value for money. What should the Government do to promote the utilisation of ETV services?

Although online shopping is convenient to consumers, it generates a lot of packaging waste and produces more greenhouse gases at the same time. Many governments around the world have implemented policies to force the e-commerce industry to promote green online shopping, which includes switching to green energy, more environmentally friendly packaging materials and shipment methods. Can Hong Kong take a leaf out of their book?