Last Updated on Monday, 29 June, 2020 at 10:01 am by Andre Camilleri
Social wellbeing cannot be reduced to GDP; quality of life, ethical standards, safety systems, and personal achievements are not accounted for by the size of an economy. And in reflection of this, the contribution of business in society goes far beyond the production of wealth.
Companies have the power to spur innovation around an identified common problem. They cultivate the expertise in generating and allocating resources – financial, capital, or human – to develop practical solutions that create ripples of value.
Their products and services add value to customers directly, but value-creation does not stop with the final transaction. Company employees also share in the created value, as do company shareholders and the country’s economy as a whole. As simple and self-centric as it appears, our market economy has evolved into a complex, community-centric system.
However, this deep link between business and people is rarely put to strategic use by social stakeholders. On the contrary, many times companies are confined to a money-generating space and their wide-reaching contribution to social wellbeing remains overlooked or, at best, acknowledged with a degree of suspicion.
The Covid-19 emergency should empower businesses to come closer to society and treat communities less like market segments and more like centres of human action.
The time is ripe for a synergetic view of the private and public sectors: their relationship within the social space should now supersede a give-and-take mechanism and both sides must collaborate as equal agents to accomplish a shared project for society.
Corporate ID Group is spearheading this vision for social innovation driven by a confluence of business, civil society, and public administrators to shape policy, implement programmes and develop products and services that address social needs while sustaining the country’s growth.
Backed by a strong network of experts in overlapping fields covering academia, business, the public sector, and the social sector, CIGroup is launching CiNext – the long-term initiative to remodel Malta’s economy into a social enterprise by 2030.
Changes need to be made at the structural level for businesses and social actors to realise the broader purpose that every company has the promise to serve. By adding a social dimension to their offering, businesses are moving into the next stage of capitalism: meeting the needs of more stakeholders, delivering wellness to society, cultivating knowledge, and ensuring revenues to limit lay-offs and pay current operating costs.
This is the beginning of a repurposing exercise that will transform the way companies bring lasting value to the communities they serve.
CiNext, will be the cornerstone of our vision for Malta2030, which should be a process of bringing together professional stakeholders, that can contribute towards an effort to create social value through the active participation of the private sector, public entities, civic organisations and others committed to improve the wellbeing of society.
The final aim of CiNext is to assist organisations to engage in a framework that through an interplay of efforts will lead to a better society, where purpose is an integral part of the strategy led by the key actors leading to a better quality of life for all citizens
Malta2030, is an initiative of Ci Group’s Insights Institute platform, which propels Ci Consulta’s newly set up Policy Arm and whose executive team includes: Isabelle Micallef Bonello – Policy Director at Ci Group, David Spiteri Gingell – Policy Strategist at Ci Consulta and Nathanael Muscat – Policy Coordinator at Ci Consulta.
Ci Next will be propelled by CiGroup’s Insights Institute platform. Saliba said “Our philosophy at CIGroup is inspired by delivering a service through intertwined connections.”
The Insights Institute serves as the forum which brings together a wide number of stakeholders and experts. Besides being a forum, it is also a thinking space for existent and aspiring leaders in the corporate world: a forum which brings together experts from various fields with hands-on experience and a wealth of knowledge to provide the market.
Headed by Jesmond Saliba, Ci Group’s Executive Chairman, Team CiNext which will be working on Vision Malta2030. The Team includes Prof. Andrew Azzopardi, Andrew Azzopardi, Mr Franco Azzopardi, Dr Claire Bonello, Dr David Bonello, Mr Pierluca Demajo, Dr Joanna Drake, Ms Claire Duff, Prof. Charmaine Gauci, Ms Claire Hollier, Ing. Philip Micallef, Mr Silvan Mifsud, Mr Stanley Mifsud, Dr Stephanie Vella and Mr Lawrence Zammit.
The Policy Director at Ci Group Isabelle Micallef Bonello said that “Purpose as an integral part of strategy, demands a committed leadership and financial investment. This commitment not only is an antidote to social and economic greed but guarantees a resilient economic performance built on sustained profitable business models.”
CiConsulta’s Policy Strategist David Spiteri Gingell underlined that economic and societal transformation requires long term planning. Everybody acknowledges today that Malta is a successful knowledge economy and society. What nobody mentions is that this was the result of a strategic implementation process, of which I had the privilege to form part of and at times steward, which started in 1988. Malta being a successful knowledge economy is not a coincidental achievement – but the consequence of a well thought out and implemented eco system. The private initiative taken by CiGroup is an important step which
reflects a vision of inclusion and wide-ranging engagement towards a holistic development of the society to contribute to societal well-being.
Economic priorities are rapidly converging with community priorities opening the way for new strategic synergies between business and other key social players to drive the next decade of development, Ci Consulta’s Policy Cooridinator Nathanael Muscat said.
Jesmond Saliba, Ci Group’s Executive Chairman said that “While I acknowledge that this is an ambitious project, through my experience in both my professional and voluntary life I’m confident that by bringing together a number of experts as well as the commitment of private business organisations and the endorsement of a number of important stakeholders, we can support companies establish their purpose as part of their core strategy, while fuelling a momentum of change that will lead to tangible positive results.
