Greetings from the Secretariat
Since establishing the Initiative for Co-creating the Future (ICF), one year has passed. We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to our members and stakeholders for their cooperation in the ICF activities.
We have conducted various activities, including the Business Acceleration Program, Seminar on the Listings of Societal Issues, the Discussions on Societal Issues, and the FCP for Behavior Change, starting with the ICF Inaugural Meeting in April 2021. Although all the events were held online, we welcomed numerous participants. In addition, we worked to disseminate information both within and outside the ICF, such as the Societal Issues Report and the walk-through videos explaining the Listings of Societal Issues.
The number of members grew from 536 to 565 in one year. The unique perspectives for the societal issues of the newly joined Startup Members broaden the range of ICF activities.
In FY 2022, which begins in April, we will continue to promote our activities so that the ICF generates the collective impact for resolving societal issues. We look forward to your active participation.
Executive Director, Initiative for Co-creating the Future (ICF)
Activity Report
Societal Issue Discussion: Ensuring Psychological Safety (March 1st)
On March 1st, we held the second Societal Issue Discussion online entitled “Psychological Safety.” Psychological Safety was first proposed by Amy C. Edmondson, Professor at Harvard University, in 1999. It is defined as “a shared belief held by members of a team that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking.” One of those ideas that is back in the spotlight today in forming a team during the pandemic.
The fifteen participants discussed measures to ensure psychological safety. Various fascinating ideas were proposed, such as a method to improve the sense of security through music, scent, or video and a tool that displays the aggressiveness in a speech in real-time.
Seminar on Public Affairs Co-Hosted with ZeLo Law Firm (March 8th)
With ZeLo, a Foreign Law Joint Enterprise (https://zelojapan.com/en/), ICF held a two-part series of seminars on financing and regulatory issues, significant challenges for startups. The themes were as follows: Part 1 on February 9th, Fundamentals of startup funding and practical considerations; and Part 2 on March 8th, Importance of public affairs for a startup company.
Public affairs encourage the government and society to build momentum and form rules. They are critical in launching a new business that aims to solve societal issues. In this seminar, Mr. Kohei Kanzawa and Mr. Daiki Matsuda, attorneys at Zelo Law Firm, explained the specific public affairs method. The participants had a chance to talk in person with the lecturers. We received positive feedback on the lectures, such as, “Lectures with various case examples made it easy to understand,” and “My understanding of the scheme improved.”
Upcoming Activities (March-May)
ICF General Assembly (April 15th)
ICF will hold the FY 2022 General Assembly on Friday, April 15th, to begin the second ICF activity year. The event will include a keynote speech, a summary of activities in FY 2021, plans in FY 2022, co-creation case examples by members, and Startup Members introduction.
■Outline of the Assembly
Time and Date: 3:00-4:30 pm, Friday, April 15th, 2022
A hybrid event is planned (live and virtual)
*The form of the event is subject to change in response to the guidance by the government.
The details will be announced later.