Helping the HK government provide better funding support for SMBs
Facilitated stakeholders and utilised data-driven research, prototypes, and A/B testing to launch a user-centric funding web for Hong Kong government.
💪🏼 Benefited 340,000 enterprise customers.
👍🏼 Reduced support calls by 20%.
Background
In Hong Kong, SMEs play a vital role in driving economic development, constituting over 98% of businesses and employing over 1.2 million people, accounting for about 45% of total employment.
Due to the economic downturn in 2020, many SMEs struggled to expand. The HK Government aims to enhance the funding application process to provide better financial support during tough times.
Current state
Ineffective Communication
Even though the government invested in various communication channels, the communication was not appealing to the enterprises.
Lack of Experience
54% SME don’t have experience in applying for government funding.
Low Awareness
Newly set up companies do not have knowledge of the funding program.
Empathy
We identified SME pain points, as well as government policies and concerns, throughout the application journey.
🤯 We found that…
Enterprises that were aware of the funding program chose not to apply.
The key barriers were complicated procedures & time-consuming processes.
Thus, we asked,
How can we make it easier & more efficient for enterprises to apply government funding?
After discussions with researchers, we concluded the funding application stages consisted of awareness, understanding, consideration, application, and vetting.
But the research showed that many enterprises skipped stages and applied with misconceptions.
Key pain points from both parties
Enterprise users
Some SME need more information support than others.
Complicated & time-consuming application procedures.
Not enough knowledge and can’t find needed information.
Information are too complicated to understand the application procedures and insufficient assistance.
Government officials
All legit documents are needed.
Each case is different. We need to evaluate them one by one.
Enterprises's submissions of information are incomplete.
We need to be gatekeeper to avoid abuse of the system.
Challenge
Content strategy
We partnered with 5 government departments (HKPC, HKMCI, TDC, TID, CEDB), each having unique content needs shaped by various regulations and policies. This diversity in content requirements made the content model varied but challenging to streamline.
Prioritisation workshop
To facilitate discussions, I prioritized the needs of users & stakeholders and created a service blueprint outlining the touchpoints across the application journey.
After thorough evaluation, we focused on developing a funding platform with toolkits to support enterprises along their journey.
Stakeholder collaboration
To address the content needs, I involved government stakeholders from the early stage. Using the research insight, I developed various UX modules with different information architecture.
Prototyping
A/B testing with users
To validate the content, I rapidly created low-fidelity mockups and quick prototypes to test with 16 users, gathering their feedback on what was helpful and what was not.
Rapid iteration with stakeholders
At the same time, we also collected feedback from the government to address their policies and concerns, ensuring a balanced approach for enterprise users & government stakeholders.
Introducing the new funding platform
A user-centric funding website for enterprises to apply for government funding more efficiently (flexible, agile)
Before
🤯 Vague funding infomation
After
💡 Clear funding information and eligibility check.
Before
😵💫 Difficult to estimate time investment needed in preparing for the application.
After
🤓 Streamlined application process with clear timeline and application tips to help enterprises plan ahead needed resources.
Before
🥵 Overwhelming information cluttering in different places.
After
🤩 Digestable, user-friendly example with supportive materials.
🌟 To optimize onboarding for enterprise customers, I went the extra mile by collaborating with a UX writer to create a demo video from scratch, which was in Cantonese as requested by the government.
Impact
Helped the government approve funding faster, benefiting 340,000 enterprises
This project not only speeds up the government's funding approval process, benefiting 340,000 enterprises, but it also reduces the risk of investing efforts in services that may not meet SMEs' needs, resulting in fewer complaints. It also serves as a successful model for enhancing other public services.
Reflection & Learning
Balancing stakeholder expectations
When faced with diverse opinions from stakeholders, it is important to seek common ground and reach mutually beneficial solutions. I've learned to manage stakeholder expectations by involving them at critical stages and prioritise the efforts to achieve win-win outcomes.