The initial achievements reaped from approved Community Investment & Inclusion Fund projects indicate the seedlings cultivated are taking effect, chairman Dr Raymond Wu says.

Releasing the fund's first performance report today, Dr Wu said 59 projects involving $46.5 million have been approved since its launch in August 2002, with the first few batches working successfully at the individual and community levels.

"At the individual level, people such as non-engaged youth, unemployed middle-aged women without formal education or work experience, new arrivals and the homeless, and those who are previously labelled as marginalised or vulnerable, are building up capacity and confidence, and participating more actively in economic and social life," Dr Wu said.

"At the community level, there are increasing signs of cross-sectoral collaboration, evolving partnerships, with greater participation of and contribution from the business sectors and professional bodies."

Results come in various forms

He said the initial results have come in various forms. Some are tangible like the rising number of volunteers involved or jobs created, while others are less clear, like increased confidence, self-esteem, increased ability to help oneself and others, and increased joint efforts to solve local problems.

Secretary for Health, Welfare & Food Dr Yeoh Eng-kiong said the fund's initiatives have sown the seeds for a tripartite partnership and everyone should consolidate and promote its success.

The $300 million fund seeks to promote the development of social capital which, according to the World Bank, means making changes to the institutions, relationships and norms that shape the quality and quantity of a society's interactions.

The strategies adopted by the fund are social investment and tripartite partnerships. The seed funding is invested in community-initiated projects with the aim of building individual, family and community capacities for self-help and mutual help, enhancing their social connectedness, and enabling their participation in social and economic life with outcomes.