The CEO is to provide leadership to initiate, lead and manage all initiatives and projects to develop the WKCD. This includes the overall responsibility for creating the strategic direction, project delivery, operations, financial management, policy and programme development, government and stakeholder relations to effectively start up and achieve the goals of the WKCDA. In addition, the CEO needs to lead the fund raising and sponsorship activities for the WKCDA.
The Director, CEO’s Office will support the CEO by managing day-to-day administrative activities, internal interaction/co-ordination across functions and serve as head of the Board secretariat in relation to Board business.
In line with international best practice, the responsibility of this department is on delivery of the project, from planning, development, to implementation. Setting a delivery objective, rather than a planning and development goal, is a recognition that implementation is critical, and that design and development must be well coordinated to achieve the results of both socio-economic gains and physical landscape and building construction. Specifically, the major tasks of the Department will focus on making the WKCD a destination of choice for both local residents and visitors, and the residence of choice for the arts and cultural community and creative industries so that a better environment is created for arts and culture, leisure and exchange. Within this function, the Department will plan and design the public space in the WKCD as a place that can be used by the community as a meeting-place for open interaction, enjoyment, relaxation, etc.
The Project Delivery Department will also develop both a strategy for attracting creative industries and a business strategy for the retail/dining/entertainment facilities, and ensure that the physical site and building specifications of the relevant facilities, piazzas, open space, transport and other linkages, etc., can meet the user requirements. Moreover, the Department is responsible for managing all the technical engineering and structural aspects of project delivery and procurement of contracts for the planning and design of the WKCD.
Both the M+ & Exhibition Centre Department and Performing Arts Department are tasked to play a key role in defining the vision, mission and artistic direction of the arts and cultural facilities of the WKCD. They will develop the business models by evaluating the various options for the management of the arts and cultural facilities, assessing the market for potential operators of arts and cultural facilities, and advising on the feasibility, business case and impact on the WKCDA organisation from different operational models. They will liaise with local and international stakeholders for potential partnership in future operation/provision of programmes for the arts and cultural facilities. The staff of these two departments therefore should possess knowledge and expertise in a wide range of activities related to the planning and management of museum and performing arts operations respectively.
As a public body, the Board considered it prudent that the WKCDA should start off with a small team of senior experts, leaving the exact number of staff of these two departments to be decided after the studies on the mode of governance1 of the WKCD's arts and cultural venues and the market studies2 are concluded prior to the end of this year. Before the finalized structure of the two departments are agreed, the top tier staff of the M+ & Exhibition Centre Department and Performing Arts Department will review the findings of the market analyses, mode of governance studies and other studies before finalizing the WKCDA's recommendations on the facilities mix, programming philosophy, and governance arrangements for the WKCDA. Based on the findings of the studies and engagement of arts and cultural stakeholders, these two departments will shape the overall strategic direction of developing the arts and cultural facilities.
The internal auditor will have the overall responsibility to manage the audit process for the WKCDA. The internal auditor will focus on conducting regular audits of internal controls and processes, and providing recommendations to improve compliance throughout the different stages of the WKCD development.
The Communications and Marketing Department will play a proactive role in the Public Engagement Exercise and in establishing strong external relationships. Specifically, the Department is required to conduct market and customer research and analysis; develop and execute marketing and brand strategy; implement marketing promotions and campaigns; conduct public engagement exercises; engage in proactive public relations and external communications; and in conjunction with the Project Delivery, M+ & Exhibition Centre Department and Performing Arts Department, develop and design common area special events and programmes throughout Hong Kong to put into effect WKCDA's commitment to developing the district into an arts and cultural hub.
The Finance Department will oversee the overall financial sustainability of the development, operation and management of the WKCD project. During the planning stage, the department will play a critical role in establishing the foundational financial policies, processes and systems for the WKCDA, and overseeing fund investment.
During the planning stage, the department will also cover the information technology function to oversee external service providers who will design, implement and maintain the internal data, software and hardware.
The Human Resources Department will oversee the employee and support activities of the WKCDA by managing staff recruitment, training and development, performance evaluation, administration of remuneration policy, administration of pay and other staff benefits, procuring supporting supplies and managing the day-to-day office.
The Legal Services Department will provide legal advice to all WKCDA departments; draft and review contracts; provide legal advice on issues that may arise in the development of the WKCD project; and ensure legal compliance of the WKCD project with all statutory requirements.
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The Board considered that the above organisational structure aligns with common public bodies' set up, meets the organisational design principles adopted by the Board and the objective of delivering the core functions of the Authority while leaving internal audit, legal and human resource functions as separate departments to provide checks and balances. The Board also took the view that the organisational structure for the design and construction stage and operations stage needed to be considered later, with a view to seamlessly adjusting the organisational structure in response to operation and experiences, changes in strategy, market needs and stakeholder needs.
1 The mode of governance studies aim to recommend the most suitable mode of governance for the arts and cultural facilities and their relationship with the WKCDA Board and external institutional relationships, drawing references from comparable existing institutional models of successful and leading facilities.
2 The market analysis studies aim to obtain market information on the existing and potential market so as to ascertain, through market researches, the existing and potential audienceship/clientale of the arts and cultural facilities locally, regionally and internationally with a projection of 20 years at 5-year intervals up to 2030.