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The Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office (PICO) was a creation in
Carrie Lam Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor ( Cheng; ; born 13 May 1957) is a retired Hong Kong politician who served as the 4th Chief Executive of Hong Kong from 2017 to 2022. She served as Chief Secretary for Administration between 2012 and 2017 and Sec ...
's Policy Address in 2017 to revamp the
Central Policy Unit The Central Policy Unit, established in 1989, was responsible for advising the Chief Executive (previously the Governor) of Hong Kong. It was replaced with the Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Unit in 2018. Previous heads * Leo Goodstadt ...
. It has commenced operation since 1 April 2018, and ceased operation from 1 July 2022. The Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office is a policy and innovation unit advising the
Chief Executive of Hong Kong The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and head of the Government of Hong Kong. The position was created to replace the office of governor of ...
and coordinates with other areas of the Government of Hong Kong (namely bureaux and departments) to enhance public participation in policy creation.


Functions

The Council of Advisers on Innovation and Strategic Development was established in 2018 to replace the two former advisory bodies (Commission on Strategic Development and the Economic Development Commission). In light of the establishment of the new advisory council, PICO would provide the council with secretariat services and research support to facilitate objective and systemic discussions based on evidence.Legislative Council (20 November 2017) Legislative Council Panel on Public Service Review and Revamp of the Central Policy Unit. Retrieved 18 May 2022 at https://www.legco.gov.hk/yr17-18/english/panels/ps/papers/ps20171120cb4-212-4-e.pdf PICO manages the current two policy research funding schemes in Hong Kong, namely the Strategic Public Policy Research Funding Scheme and the Public Policy Research Funding Scheme. The "first-stop" and "one-stop" consultation services have been provided by the small dedicated offices in the
Development Bureau The Development Bureau (DEVB; ) is an agency of the Government of Hong Kong responsible for urban planning and renewal, land administration, infrastructure development, building safety, landscape, greening & tree development, water supplies, ...
and later the Chief Secretary for Administration's Office from 2009 to 2017. Increasing the participation of young people in policy making has been an important reason why PICO was established.
Carrie Lam Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor ( Cheng; ; born 13 May 1957) is a retired Hong Kong politician who served as the 4th Chief Executive of Hong Kong from 2017 to 2022. She served as Chief Secretary for Administration between 2012 and 2017 and Sec ...
, when she was still the Chief Executive-elect in 2017, had talked about her intention to reorganise the
Central Policy Unit The Central Policy Unit, established in 1989, was responsible for advising the Chief Executive (previously the Governor) of Hong Kong. It was replaced with the Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Unit in 2018. Previous heads * Leo Goodstadt ...
to a new organisation to employ 20-30 young people on a non-civil servant contractual basis to nurture them as young and energetic policy designers for around three years. This vision has laid down the framework for the later establishment of the PICO. Before the establishment of PICO, Carrie Lam has also suggested that when the contract concludes, these young people could either return to their original work and training, or they would have nurtured sufficient interest in politics that they could, for instance, participate in District Council elections. Further, since PICO would formulate different policy research and co-ordination work, PICO would also make different arrangements for engaging the different stakeholders concerned and the general public. For instance, the PICO could arrange engagements of different forms, such as small group meetings with experts, focus groups, workshops and public meetings.


Reorganisation of government structure for sixth term government

The PICO is also responsible for drafting the proposal for the reorganisation of government for the 6th-term government. On 17 May, the Executive Council endorsed the proposal for reorganisation. After the government published the package of proposals to reorganise the government structure, neither PICO nor the former CPU was seen in the reorganisation structure. It is uncertain whether the PICO's functions would change in the new government, as well as whether PICO would remain in the new government. Yet, as the Chief Executive-Elect
John Lee John Lee may refer to: Academia * John Lee (astronomer) (1783–1866), president of the Royal Astronomical Society * John Lee (university principal) (1779–1859), University of Edinburgh principal * John Lee (pathologist) (born 1961), English ...
suggested, policy research and innovation are essential to the government, and if the PICO will no longer exist in the new government, another revamp will be made through the establishment of another new organ in the government structure.


Organisation

The structure of the Office is as follows,Item for Establishment Subcommittee of Finance Committee (EC(2017-18)14). Legislative Council . (20 December 2017). Retrieved 12 May 2022, from https://www.legco.gov.hk/yr17-18/english/fc/esc/papers/e17-14e.pdf * Head (Non-Civil Service Appointment (D8-equivalent)/ Administrative Officer Staff Grade A1 (D8) ** Deputy Head (1) (Administrative Officer Staff Grade B1 (D4) *** Administration and General Team *** Assistant Head (1); Assistant Head (2) (Administrative Officer Staff Grade C (D2) **** Secretariat to CE's Council of Advisers **** Policy Research and Co-ordination Team * Deputy Head (2) (Administrative Officer Staff Grade B (D3) ** Assistant Head (3) (Administrative Officer Staff Grade C (D2) *** Project Co-ordination Team   *** Policy Research and Co-ordination Team * Deputy Head (3) (Administrative Officer Staff Grade B (D3) ** Assistant Head (4) (Administrative Officer Staff Grade C (D2) *** Statistics Team *** Policy Research and Co-ordination Team ** Public Policy Research Funding Team The head of the Office is responsible to the
Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
. The Chief Executive's Council of Advisers on Innovation and Strategic Development was formed alongside the Office in 2018. It replaced two former advisory bodies – the Commission on Strategic Development and the Economic Development Commission, both of which also used to be chaired by the Chief Executive. One of the functions of the Office is to provide secretariat and research support to the Chief Executive's Council of Advisers on Innovation and Strategic Development.


Development

The Office was seen as a replacement for the Central Policy Unit (CPU). CPU was formally established in 1989 to supplement the then Government Secretariat's work by researching and examining specific policy issues. On 27 February 2017, the then-CE candidate
Carrie Lam Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor ( Cheng; ; born 13 May 1957) is a retired Hong Kong politician who served as the 4th Chief Executive of Hong Kong from 2017 to 2022. She served as Chief Secretary for Administration between 2012 and 2017 and Sec ...
suggested in her Election Manifesto to transform the
Central Policy Unit The Central Policy Unit, established in 1989, was responsible for advising the Chief Executive (previously the Governor) of Hong Kong. It was replaced with the Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Unit in 2018. Previous heads * Leo Goodstadt ...
into a policy and project coordination unit that looks after cross-bureau and cross-department projects and fosters public participation in policy formulation and policy research and innovation. It was also suggested that the new unit would no longer be involved in the appointment of members of statutory bodies and Government committees. In October 2017,
Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
Carrie Lam announced in her Policy Address that the Policy Innovation and Coordination Office would be established to revamp the CPU.  Young people who aspire to be engaged in policy research and policy and project coordination would be recruited to join the Office as non-civil service contract staff. In her Policy Address, Lam also announced the establishment of the Chief Executive's Council of Advisers on Innovation and Strategic Development, which would replace the Economic Development Commission and Commission on Strategic Development. The Policy Innovation and Coordination Office would provide secretarial support for the council and conduct evidence-based policy research in light of the council's suggestions.   On 23 February 2018, the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council approved the funding, i.e. the addition of four permanent posts in the civil service, for the establishment of the Office.   On 1 April 2018, the Policy Innovation and Coordination Office was officially established.


Dissolution and uncertainties

In January 2022, Chief Executive
Carrie Lam Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor ( Cheng; ; born 13 May 1957) is a retired Hong Kong politician who served as the 4th Chief Executive of Hong Kong from 2017 to 2022. She served as Chief Secretary for Administration between 2012 and 2017 and Sec ...
announced her proposed government restructuring plan during her attendance at the Chief Executive's Q&A session at the Legislative Council. In the documents submitted to the Legislative Council, the Policy Innovation and Coordination Office was not listed in the organisational chart of the proposed restructured government. This aroused speculation from the public that the Policy Innovation and Coordination Office would be disbanded in the coming government administration. According to some government insiders, since the Policy Innovation and Coordination Office reported directly to the Chief Executive, the Lam administration would not put forward any proposals regarding the Office at that moment and its future would be decided by the next Chief Executive, such that if he sees fit, he may rename it as the "Development and Policy Reform Group".
Starry Lee Starry Lee Wai-king, SBS, JP (, born 13 March 1974 in British Hong Kong) is a Hong Kong politician, chairperson of the largest pro-establishment Beijing-loyalist party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (D ...
, the chairperson of DAB, which is the largest political party in Hong Kong, likewise pushed for the establishment of a "Development and Policy Reform Group". She was of the view that the formation of such a Unit would enable long-term planning and tighten cooperation with its Mainland counterpart, viz, the "
National Development and Reform Commission The National Development and Reform Commission of the People's Republic of China (NDRC), formerly State Planning Commission and State Development Planning Commission, is a macroeconomic management agency under the State Council, which has br ...
". After announcing his intention to run for the Chief Executive election,
John Lee Ka-chiu John Lee Ka-chiu ( zh, t=李家超; born 7 December 1957) is a Hong Kong politician and former police officer who is the 5th and current Chief Executive of Hong Kong. Originally a police officer, Lee served as the Deputy Commissioner of the ...
suggested that he would deliberate with the incumbent administration over the prospect of the Policy Innovation and Coordination Office. On 17 May 2022, upon John Lee's successful election, the Executive Council endorsed Chief Executive-elect John Lee's proposal to reorganise government structure for his coming administration. The proposal affirmed most of the recommendations put forward in Carrie Lam's policy address. However, both the Policy Innovation and Coordination Office and the
Central Policy Unit The Central Policy Unit, established in 1989, was responsible for advising the Chief Executive (previously the Governor) of Hong Kong. It was replaced with the Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Unit in 2018. Previous heads * Leo Goodstadt ...
which was speculated to be re-established, were not mentioned in the restructuring proposal. It has thus been observed that regardless of the format of the new policy research department, the Policy Innovation and Coordination Office would cease to exist. Lee said that he was inclined to develop a working group for conducting policy research, and would actively study the specific format for establishing such a "policy research group" after forming his "cabinet", which was still in progress. During a press release, Lee put emphasis on "strengthening" policy research and pledged to take into account different perspectives and views outside the government to facilitate a better understanding of different views in the society. He added that the proposed policy research group would also study issues relating to international affairs. On 1 July 2022, the website of PICO stated that the Office has ceased operation from 1 July 2022.


Comparison Between CPU and PICO


Differences in target audience

CPU was an "internal think tank" for the top echelon of the government, namely, the
Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
, the
Chief Secretary for Administration The Chief Secretary for Administration, commonly known as the Chief Secretary of Hong Kong, is the most senior principal official of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The Chief Secretary is head of the Governmen ...
and the Financial Secretary. The CPU rarely provided research services for other policy bureaus. In fact, the heads of the policy bureau did not have access to the reports produced by CPU.  Thus, the CPU was described as one of the most opaque bodies in the government. There had been proposals requesting the government to increase the transparency of CPU. In contrast, Head of the Office, Betty Fung explained in 2017 that PICO would become a more transparent organisation involving various stakeholders. Within the government, PICO would coordinate among policy bureaus and provide policy recommendations for them. This is because policy bureaus are often preoccupied with their statutory, administrative tasks and ad hoc duties. Thus, they might lack the capacity to conduct comprehensive policy research.  Outside of the government, PICO had collaborated with over 10 think tanks and universities. In the Legislative Council document explaining the function of PICO, it was specifically mentioned that the policy research carried out by PICO would collaborate with local and external academia and think tanks. However, the expansion of PICO's target audience also means that it is no longer one of the most important sources of policy analysis of the CE. In previous years, CPU has been regarded as the inner " Executive Council" of the CE.


Differences in roles

PICO inherits the majority of CPU's function. However, it is worth noting that one thing has changed significantly. PICO no longer exercises the duty of "detecting and assessing community concerns and public opinions", one of CPU's core functions. When
Lau Siu Kai Lau Siu Kai () (born 1947), GBS, is a sociologist from Hong Kong. He graduated from the University of Hong Kong, and taught at the Department of Sociology of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where he is emeritus professor of sociology, aft ...
was leading CPU, it conducted public opinion surveys weekly and analysed public responses. Moreover, an unofficial duty of the CPU was to make important policy decisions based on the public opinion collected. CPU was once regarded as the "
War Room A command center (often called a war room) is any place that is used to provide centralized command for some purpose. While frequently considered to be a military facility, these can be used in many other cases by governments or businesses. ...
" of the government. As PICO does not systematically detect public opinion, it no longer plays the role of the "War Room".


Coordinate selected major cross-bureaux policies

PICO is responsible for coordination of selected major cross-bureaux policies proposed by the Chief Executive and the Secretaries of Departments to help better achieve policy objectives. Many innovative and comprehensive solutions to social problems require cross-bureax and inter-departmental cooperation. Thus, a strong research institution is needed to formulate effective policy responses that address the pressing social challenges and drive such policy innovations beyond the conventional and institutional boundaries. Differing from CPU, PICO attempts to engage with the policy bureau closely in the whole policy research process, this includes selections of research topics, study scopes, collection of information and formulation of policy options. PICO would also coordinate cross-bureaux policies' implementation plans and monitor progress.


Provide public sector and policy consultation services for the private sector

Government consultancy to facilitate innovative development projects is a practice developed from
Carrie Lam Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor ( Cheng; ; born 13 May 1957) is a retired Hong Kong politician who served as the 4th Chief Executive of Hong Kong from 2017 to 2022. She served as Chief Secretary for Administration between 2012 and 2017 and Sec ...
's experience as the
Secretary for Development The Secretary for Development of the Hong Kong Government is responsible for planning, land development and public works related development policy in Hong Kong. The position was created in 2007 to replace portions of the previous portfolios ...
and
Chief Secretary for Administration The Chief Secretary for Administration, commonly known as the Chief Secretary of Hong Kong, is the most senior principal official of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The Chief Secretary is head of the Governmen ...
. She established a small dedicated office in the
Development Bureau The Development Bureau (DEVB; ) is an agency of the Government of Hong Kong responsible for urban planning and renewal, land administration, infrastructure development, building safety, landscape, greening & tree development, water supplies, ...
in 2009-2012 and in the Chief Secretary for Administration's Office in 2012–2017. Due to the positive feedback given to such practice, Carrie Lam included it in PICO. The purpose of the "first-stop and one-stop" consultation is to allow the private sector and non-profit organisations to understand more about the public sector's viewpoints on their proposed innovative projects by offering co-ordinated advisory services to them.


Provide more opportunities for young people to directly participate in public policy formation

Compared to CPU, PICO is particularly focused on the recruitment of young people. When PICO was first established, it recruited 20 young people. 90% of PICO's staff were under 35 years old. This is different from CPU's practice of hiring reputable academia. It has been analysed that the purpose of recruiting more young people is to increase communication with the younger generation and include more young people into the governmental system.


Achievements


Implementation of objectives

Since the establishment of PICO, it has provided "first-stop and one-stop" consultation and co-ordination services for 24 projects and co-ordinated the Chief Executive's annual Policy Address and approved about 30 research projects under the PPR Funding Scheme and the SPPR Funding Scheme each year.
Chief Secretary for Administration The Chief Secretary for Administration, commonly known as the Chief Secretary of Hong Kong, is the most senior principal official of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The Chief Secretary is head of the Governmen ...
Matthew Cheung Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, (; born 20 November 1950) is a former Hong Kong politician who served as Chief Secretary for Administration from 2017 to 2021. Cheung previously served as the Secretary for Labour and Welfare for ten years. He was award ...
also stated that PICO helped bureaux to "remove red tape" by reviewing existing legislation and conducting policy research on cross-bureaux issues in order to formulate solutions or legislative amendment proposals.


2022 Employment Support Scheme

PICO was responsible, along with the
Labour and Welfare Bureau The Labour and Welfare Bureau () is an executive agency of the Government of Hong Kong responsible for employment, labor-development, manpower, human resources management, poverty-reduction, and social welfare in Hong Kong. The bureau is mana ...
, for implementing the 2022 Employment Support Scheme. The Scheme was launched under the Anti-epidemic Fund to provide wage subsidies to employers for three months (i.e. May, June and July 2022) to retain their current employees or even employ more staff when the business revives as soon as the epidemic situation permits. Self-employed persons who were eligible could also apply for a one-off subsidy. The Scheme received applications from 29 April to 12 May 2022. PICO stated that the Scheme received an overwhelming response on the first day of application, in which they received applications from more than 42,000 employers and 27,000 self-employed persons. Head of Office Doris Ho Pui-ling, said that the response to the application was in line with expectations. On the closing of the application, PICO said that they have received a total of 176,000 applications from employers, involving 1.66 million employees, and another 119,000 applications from self-employed persons. They stated that the number of applications was higher than their original estimates.


Temporary Unemployment Relief Scheme

Coordinating with the Home Affairs Department, PICO was also tasked with the implementation of the Temporary Unemployment Relief Scheme. The Scheme was launched under the Anti-epidemic Fund to provide a one-off subsidy of $10,000 to those who lost their jobs due to the fifth wave of the pandemic. Upon the closing of application on 13 April 2022, PICO said that they received a total of 470,000 applications, which was 57% higher than its estimation of 300,000 applications. Head of the Office Ho Pui-ling, said that one of the reasons that the number of applications was higher than expected might be that the unemployment situation of the previous month was worse than what the government had anticipated, and that the government's estimation did not extend to employees on furlough. She emphasised that even if the total amount of subsidy exceeds the original estimate of $3 billion, they will not set a cap on it and will use emergency funds to pay for the additional expenses.


Controversies


Doubts as to reformation from Central Policy Unit to PICO

Before the Policy Innovation and Coordination Office was officially established, several doubts as to the reform, in particular to the proposed structure of PICO, were raised by members of the Legislative Councillor. Legislative Councillor
Regina Ip Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee (; ' Lau; born 24 August 1950) is a Chinese politician. She is currently the Convenor of the Executive Council (ExCo) and a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo), as well as the founder and current chair ...
criticised the proposed structure of PICO as leaning towards civil servants because most positions would be filled by civil servants, instead of scholars or members of society as they were in the Central Policy Unit. She described such a move as "backward".
Ip Kin-yuen Ip Kin-yuen (, born 1961) is a former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong for Education constituency and a chief executive for Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union. Background Ip graduated from University of Hong Kong with Bachelor ...
suggested that the PICO shall be led by non-civil servants to better bring innovative ideas to the government. Eventually, the head and deputy head of the PICO remained to be part of the civil servant structure. In 2020, Scholars Terence Lin from Beijing Institute of Hong Kong and Macau Scholars and Kay Lam from Hong Kong Policy Research Institute also pointed out that the reformation into PICO failed to address the original defects of the Central Policy Unit.


Lack of coordination ability

A core innovation of PICO is coordination of policy research and implementation among government departments. However, reports have commented on its limited coordination ability. Evidence shows that the government bureaus did not rely on PICO for policy coordination. Duplicated policy research jobs are set in PICO and the respective policy bureaus. For example, PICO has included "Education and Youth Development" and "Innovation and Technology/ Artificial Intelligence/ Re-Industrialization" as their major and strategic themes. However,
Home Affairs Bureau The Home and Youth Affairs Bureau () is one of the policy bureaux of the Hong Kong Government. One of the important roles of the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau is to enhance liaison and communication with all sectors of the community inclu ...
and
Innovation and Technology Bureau Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau (ITIB) is one of the policy bureaus under the Government Secretariat of the Government of Hong Kong and is responsible for policy matters on the development of innovation and technology and informa ...
which are responsible for the two topics respectively have established their own policy research team within the bureau. Furthermore, Legislative Councillor
Regina Ip Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee (; ' Lau; born 24 August 1950) is a Chinese politician. She is currently the Convenor of the Executive Council (ExCo) and a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (LegCo), as well as the founder and current chair ...
once questioned the feasibility of having young people as coordinators.


Lack of political ability

A number of commentaries have analysed that the 2019 Anti-Extradition Bill Movement reflects the lack of political sensitivity of Carrie Lam's administration. The Executive Council's non-official member, Cheung Chi Kong, attributed the lack of political sense to PICO's replacement of CPU as PICO no longer acts as the "war room" of the government through collecting and analysing public opinion. It also fails to provide strategic opinions to the Chief Executive. Similarly, Scholars Terence Lin from Beijing Institute of Hong Kong and Macau Scholars and Kay Lam from Hong Kong Policy Research Institute also pointed out the reformation of Central Policy Unit into Policy Innovation and Coordination Office diminished the important function of assessing public sentiment and political work Central Policy Unit originally held. This has also led to more voices suggesting the re-establishment of CPU to strengthen the political power of the Chief Executive. The former head of CPU,
Lau Siu Kai Lau Siu Kai () (born 1947), GBS, is a sociologist from Hong Kong. He graduated from the University of Hong Kong, and taught at the Department of Sociology of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where he is emeritus professor of sociology, aft ...
pointed out that the government needs to recruit a group of experts exclusively focusing on politics, policy and long-term strategies. This is because Hong Kong's political environment and international position have become increasingly challenging, such as the unstable
Taiwan strait The Taiwan Strait is a -wide strait separating the island of Taiwan and continental Asia. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to the East China Sea to the north. The narrowest part is wide. The Taiwan Strait is itself a s ...
political climate. Thus he suggested that there is a pressing need for the government to analyse the international situations and propose long-term policy reforms. PICO has been more focused on coordination and lacks the ability to conduct strategic research.


"Lennon Wall" in the office of PICO

During the 2019 Hong Kong protests, staff members of the Office created a "
Lennon Wall The Lennon Wall or John Lennon Wall is a wall in Prague, Czech Republic. Since the 1980s, this once-typical wall has been filled with John Lennon–inspired graffiti, lyrics from Beatles' songs, and designs relating to local and global cau ...
" by posting post-in notes with political propaganda, slogans and demands on a display board in the office. Some of the slogans posted on the Lennon are politically aggressive, including "
Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times" (; also translated variously) is a slogan used by social movements in Hong Kong. The slogan was first used in 2016 by Hong Kong Indigenous spokesman Edward Leung as his campaign theme and slogan fo ...
(光復香港,時代革命)", which is later decided by the High Court that displaying such a slogan is capable of inciting others to commit secession. Such conduct received backlash from members of the pro-establishment camp while some opinions from the government suggested that government workplaces shall not be used to express political opinions to prevent negative effects on political neutrality. PICO's response stated that they have always encouraged discussion and sharing of information among colleagues through their open plan office.
Secretary for the Civil Service The Secretary for the Civil Service is the head of the Civil Service Bureau in Hong Kong. Unlike other secretaries for bureaux, the Secretary for the Civil Service is filled by an administrative officer from the civil service, who may choose to ...
Joshua Law Joshua Law Chi-kong (; born 1957) is a Hong Kong government official. He was the Secretary for the Civil Service from July 2017 to April 2020. He graduated from the St Peter's College, Oxford University where he read PPE. He joined the Admini ...
admitted that political slogans were posted in the office, suggested that civil servants shall not spark internal conflicts and stated that the slogans may not be agreed upon by other colleagues.


Involvement in "Witman Hung Partygate"

During the
COVID-19 Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, Deputy Head of PICO Vincent Fung Hao-yin attended the birthday party of Witman Hung amidst warnings against large gatherings due to the initial spread of the
Omicron variant Omicron (B.1.1.529) is a variant of SARS-CoV-2 first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa on 24 November 2021. It was first detected in Botswana and has spread to become the ...
. Vincent Fung received a verbal warning from Chief Executive
Carrie Lam Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor ( Cheng; ; born 13 May 1957) is a retired Hong Kong politician who served as the 4th Chief Executive of Hong Kong from 2017 to 2022. She served as Chief Secretary for Administration between 2012 and 2017 and Sec ...
for failure to report and continuing to work despite having received a compulsory testing notice and exposing other colleagues in a risk of being infected.


Head

The Office was headed by Betty Fung Ching Suk Yee, from 3 April 2018 to 1 December 2020, before she was seconded to the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority as Acting Chief Executive Officer on 7 December 2020. Charmaine Lee Pui Sze, deputy head of the Office, served as the acting head of the Office from 1 December 2020 to 17 January 2021. Since 18 January 2021, the Office has been headed by Doris Ho Pui-ling, before which she was deputy secretary for development (planning and lands) at the
Development Bureau The Development Bureau (DEVB; ) is an agency of the Government of Hong Kong responsible for urban planning and renewal, land administration, infrastructure development, building safety, landscape, greening & tree development, water supplies, ...
.


See also

Government of Hong Kong The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the executive authorities of Hong Kong SAR. It was formed on 1 July 1997 in accordance with the Sino-Br ...
Central Policy Unit The Central Policy Unit, established in 1989, was responsible for advising the Chief Executive (previously the Governor) of Hong Kong. It was replaced with the Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Unit in 2018. Previous heads * Leo Goodstadt ...


References


External links


Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Unit
{{authority control Hong Kong government departments and agencies Political and economic think tanks based in Hong Kong Think tanks established in 2018 2018 establishments in Hong Kong