DPM Tharman Shanmugaratnam at the Launch of the Institute for Societal Leadership

Mr Ratan Tata, Chairman, ISL Advisory Board,
ISL Advisory Board members,
Mr Ho Kwon Ping, Chairman, Singapore Management University,
Prof Arnoud De Meyer, President, Singapore Management University,
Members of the Social Science Research Council,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Introduction

A very good morning. It is a pleasure to join all of you at this launch of the Institute for Societal Leadership (ISL) and the opening of the Societal Leadership Summit 2016.

Developing networks of societal leaders

The ISL’s agenda, if I could paraphrase it, is to build thought leadership and practices that build and sustain the common good.

It is hence about promoting leadership, of firms and organisations in different spheres, that is focused on that common good – the betterment of the community, the country or the region.

The ISL agenda was inspired by the vision of Mr S R Nathan, and is an important response to the times.  I say that for a few reasons.

First, because most societies face continuing challenge in achieving their most important social objectives – uplifting the vulnerable, enabling social mobility and a dynamic of broad-based prosperity, and addressing the incessant destruction of the natural environment and build-up of climate change.

These are objectives for every government, but they plainly cannot be for governments alone to achieve. They must also be intrinsic in the mission and ethics of every firm and organisation, if only because every player has a social impact. Knowingly or unknowingly, every player has an impact on some if not all of these basic social challenges - we either make things better or worse. That’s also an opportunity, because it means that the power of leadership in every field focusing on achieving a positive social impact is tremendous.

Prof Arnoud De Meyer and Martin Tan just spoke about the need to compromise individual interests or that of your own organisation in order to foster the common good. That’s a starting point. That compromise is about the short term trade-offs, when business objectives are not consistent with the social good. But there need be no long term trade-off or compromise, and we have seen enough examples of enterprises and other organisations that achieve their own missions in a way that sustains the common good. Achieving that is core to our challenge: achieving the objectives of our individual firms and organisations in a way that sustains the common good. And the key is to build sustainable value.

The second reason for ISL’s relevance to the times is a related one. It is in the nature of each of the important social challenges that I mentioned, that they require efforts and approaches in many different spheres, complementing each other. These are complex challenges, each with many causes – economic, social, environmental and often political.  We cannot tackle social mobility through education alone, or preserve the environment through the efforts of conservationists alone. They have to be tackled on many fronts, and we also know that they are most effectively tackled not through disparate efforts but complementary efforts.

That collective approach – involving governments, firms, the media and NGOs, and citizens themselves – unleashes a positive dynamic of its own. And in many societies, getting many stakeholders are involved and focused on the common good is also a way to keep governments responsive and accountable.

The third reason why the ISL meets the need of the times was just highlighted by Prof Arnoud Meyer. There is a real merit in forming a network of societal leaders across the region, and indeed further afield. There is so much to be gained from borrowing and adapting practices that have worked well somewhere else. And in collaborating across the region, or calling on each other when we each need a boost. There is only upside in the networks that ISL aims to build, no downside.

Developing Social Science and Humanities Research

The ethos of wanting to add to the common good must be the starting point for societal leadership. But we must pair good intentions with a serious effort to learn from experience and figure out what works.

That’s why, in January this year, we established the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), to promote research and scholarship that meets some of our key challenges in Singapore.   

The Government will provide strong support for the Council’s work in developing a vibrant and mature research ecosystem.  For a start, the Ministry of Education has set aside $350 million over the next five years to support various initiatives and programmes to develop this social science and humanities research ecosystem. This represents a 45% increase in MOE’s spending on social science and humanities research compared to the last five years.  There are three main prongs to how the Council intends to develop the ecosystem.

Supporting Strategically Relevant Research

First, the SSRC is focusing its efforts and resources on the big challenges. That is why it has launched a new Social Science Research (SSR) Thematic Grant in May this year. This year, it has focused on three big challenges which are relevant to us in Singapore as well as to many other societies:

• First, how can we enhance integration, a shared identity and social resilience?  This question is central to us as a multi-ethnic nation, and certainly a key issue for many other societies.
• Second, how do we best enhance human capabilities throughout life?  Current models of education and training will need to evolve to support a new world of work, constantly reshaped by technological advances. What new models of training and education do we need?
• Third, how do we spur productivity and innovation? That too is a central challenge for us and most of the more advanced economies.

I am glad that the research community has responded enthusiastically to the SSRC’s first grant call.  At the close of the grant call in August this year, 70 proposals had been received from several institutions[1], including SMU and ISL. (The results of the inaugural SSR Thematic Grant call are expected to be announced in early 2017.)

The Council is planning for a second grant call to be launched in 2017, and will continually refresh its research agenda to address the important questions of the day.

Building Networks and Encouraging Multi-disciplinary Research

Second, the Council is working to strengthen the network of researchers, policymakers, and thought leaders around the world. Just as I mentioned in the context of the ISL, we have to encourage a more collaborative and multi-disciplinary approach to these inherently complex challenges.

I hope the Council’s efforts would encourage more robust discussion and collaboration between our research community and policymakers, for example in methods to promote social mobility or a lifelong approach to human capital development.   

A regional and global perspective is important. Our region today is a fascinating and fertile ground for study, but scholarship has not caught up with its growing importance. We can and must build up this scholarship in the region that can inform and spur both policy reform and the initiatives of societal leaders.

As these are equally global challenges, the SSRC has started to engage organisations and thought leaders around the world – like the Social Science Research Council in New York and the Centre for Advanced Study in the Behavioural Sciences at Stanford University.

The Council is also encouraging closer collaboration across institutions and disciplines, which again is a focus of the ISL as well. This includes collaboration with the STEM disciplines. The SSRC is pushing for the use of innovative, cross-disciplinary approaches and techniques for addressing problems. I am happy to hear that several research teams have responded to this year’s grant call with ideas that cross disciplinary and organisational boundaries.

Developing the Pipeline of Local Talent

Lastly but critically, the SSRC is developing programmes to help  nurture local talent in the social sciences and humanities fields, and building up a pool of people who can provide thought leadership relevant to Singapore and Asia. We need to catch up when it comes to local talent development in the social sciences and humanities. We have to build a stronger core of local researchers and thought leaders in the social sciences and humanities.

More broadly, I hope that we will develop a culture that celebrates and values the social sciences and humanities, and recognises their potential for improving society, here in Singapore and in the region.  I also hope that more Singaporeans will see social science research as a viable career option in academia.

Conclusion

We have before us in all our societies pressing challenges, and with them opportunities to improve people’s lives. They demand serious inquiry and fresh thinking, and I am very heartened to see our institutions and the academic fraternity responding with initiatives and like the ISL.

I wish the leaders and change-makers gathered here every success in making the change that you wish to see in the world. Thank you.

[1] NUS, NTU, SMU, SUTD, SIT, UniSIM, ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute and S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies submitted proposals. ISL submitted one of SMU’s two proposals.