Project Reference No.: UGC/IDS(R)11/21
Project Title: Data Science Research Centre for Social Policies and Services (Caritas)

Abstract

With the great advances in computing power, storage and networking, numerous facets of social, business and industrial activities are moving on-line. This has ignited, and provided rich ground for data science related research, often interdisciplinary in nature, bringing together data scientists and domain experts to collaborate. The purpose of setting up a Data Science Research Centre for Social Policies and Services is to promote and support data science related social sciences research in our Institute, leveraging on the strong ties our Institute has with NGOs, and past experiences in social policy research. The research centre will recruit a small team of data scientists. They will provide the necessary data engineering support, help bring the data science perspective to the collaboration teams, and provide some data science training when needed. They will also try to engage academics from other Institutes for collaboration, and help organize seminars, workshops and conferences.

Project Reference No.: UGC/IDS(R)14/21
Project Title: Establishing a Research Infrastructure for ESG Intelligence: A Multi-Stakeholder Perspective (HSUHK)

Abstract

The Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) concept was developed in 2006 by The United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI). In recent years, ESG has been a hot topic for both academic research and industry practice in the areas of finance and accounting. One of the main challenges on ESG integration in investments and ESG reporting is the measurement issue. As ESG is non-financial information, quantifying ESG data into a composite measure that is acceptable by all stakeholders is extremely difficult. The recent work on “Aggregate Confusion” by the MIT¹ team is a good example aiming to understand the divergence of various ESG ratings provided by the data providers.

This proposal recognizes the importance of measuring ESG efforts of corporations from the perspectives of major stakeholders, namely, asset owners and analysts, accounting professionals, consumers, and institutional investors. By providing research in ESG measurements and quantifying the social return aspects, we can improve the ESG performance and therefore business sustainability of listed firms in Hong Kong and Mainland China. To achieve this goal, we integrate researchers and outside experts from different academic areas in finance, accounting, marketing, decision sciences, and communication to construct a comprehensive ESG intelligence platform which can serve as a research infrastructure for future ESG research. To achieve this target, we need to integrate empirical findings from four separate but related research directions to test the validity of our comprehensive ESG intelligence database. Our four research components represent pioneering effort in producing the needed alternative data for ESG integration in the business world.

We understand that the purpose of IDS grant must provide a significant infrastructure support across various disciplines at the university level. By establishing a centralized ESG data infrastructure for research and subsequent knowledge transfer activities under a new Research Centre on ESG and Business Sustainability, future projects in this area by researchers from HSU do not need to apply for RGC and other funding to acquire the same data, enhancing cost and research efficiency at the society level.

Deliverables of the project include two main outputs: 1) a scientific methodology with computational procedure (i.e., an algorithm based on the findings of the four research components) imbedded in a web-based platform for researchers to use for their own work; 2) a database using our ESG intelligence to show case our alternative data for top 300 firms in Hong Kong and the CSI 300 firms in Mainland for researchers. We believe that, generating a research infrastructure on ESG profile for listed firms in Hong Kong and Mainland can benefit the society significantly because the needs for ESG intelligence for both academic and professional communities are very similar and closely linked. Academic publications, policy papers, seminars and conferences are expected. Furthermore, we will devote additional effort to organize knowledge transfer sessions in our seminars and conferences to benefit industry professionals and students who are interested in latest ESG knowledge.