Sustaining Cultural Social Enterprises through Private Sector Partnerships: A Case Study of Cultural Philanthropy Practices in Hong Kong Sar and Macau Sar

Diversity of cultural expressions is part of the foundation of humanity and bears crucial implications for international stability and development. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) defines cultural diversity both as the collective ways that cultural heritage is expressed and as the creative productions and their subsequent consumption of such cultural products (UNESCO, 2015). For instance, drawing a painting, composing prose, or even creating a short video based on one's cultural heritage can be a form of cultural expression. Similarly, enjoying such cultural productions and sharing them are also elements of cultural diversity. This aspect of cultural diversity is especially relevant in a developmental context, as it is tightly connected to many Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, including gender equality and reduced inequalities (Hosagraphar, 2017). Recognizing an urgency to establish a framework to improve governance for cultural diversity at a national level, UNESCO adopted the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005), which 146 Parties ratified by 2018 (UNESCO, 2018). Nevertheless, a lack of funding has emerged as a significant obstacle in ensuring that cultural diversity is integrated into a framework of sustainable development. Specifically, while over 86% of the Parties included a reference to culture in their sustainable development plans, there has been a significant decrease in government spending on the culture sector as well as a nearly 50% decrease in contributions to the International Fund for Cultural Diversity from 2011 to 2016 alone (UNESCO, 2018). This challenge highlights the limitations of a top-down approach in promoting cultural diversity and calls for innovation in the grassroots community level. Indeed, empowering local grassroots organizations has been an important part of the SH Foundation's strategic approach to increasing the impact of our work on promoting cultural diversity. However, a lack of self-sustainability in these organizations has become a significant constraint for the developmental potential of both these organizations as well as the scale of impact of the SH Foundation. To address this challenge, increased corporate engagement may be a potential solution that will allow the SH Foundation to empower a larger portfolio of organizations without having to significantly increase funding output. That said, it is unclear if this intervention will be successful in the unique socioeconomic dynamics of the SH Foundation. Therefore, this problem of practice seeks to conduct a case study to understand the viability and best practices of the intervention. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]