Activity Report
Listings of Societal Issues 2023 Released
The Japanese version of the 2023 edition of Resolving Societal Issues Through Innovation – Listings of Societal Issues has been released in advance to ICF members.
The new Listings provides updates with special consideration to recent global developments, including the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. For example, from the perspective of human capital management, the issue that “few people in adulthood return to school (between different job opportunities)” in the area of Education and Human Resource Development has been completely revised.
In addition, based on ongoing international debate, the double burden of malnutrition (i.e., the coexistence of overnutrition alongside undernutrition, at all levels of the population) has been incorporated into the issue of “unhealthy food that remains in prosperous societies” in the area of Water and Food. The design of the Listings has also been renewed, now boasting outstanding visualization designed for science communication.
Listings of Societal Issues 2023 : https://incf.smktg.jp/public/application/add/740
Press Release (in Japanese)：https://www.mri.co.jp/news/press/20231018.html
New Entrepreneurial Stories of Impactful ICF Members (#39)
In order to tackle societal issues through business, entrepreneurs must have excellent interpersonal skills and strong organizational capabilities. What do they think and how are they trying to achieve the world they want?
The ICF has published a series of articles that sheds light on the personalities of entrepreneurs who are striving to resolve societal issues. The goal of these articles is to share with readers the philosophies of and the issues being tackled by these business founders, which in turn should lead to accelerated social breakthroughs in the future.
The new article covers Adacotech Incorporated, which utilizes AI image analysis technology.
The list of Japanese articles is here.
The list of English articles is available here.
Upcoming Activities（October – December)
ICF Interim Meeting（October 20th）
The ICF Interim Meeting 2023 will be held on Friday, October 20.
The meeting will feature the results of ICF activities in the first half of the year and the schedule of activities in the second half, with special attention given to the Listings of Societal Issues and BAP 2023. The gathering will also report on the progress of MRI’s co-creation activities with New Ordinary, last year’s BAP finalist.
The gathering will additionally discuss societal impact assessment, which is a necessary element of leading societal issue-resolving projects to sustainable success. To facilitate this discussion, there will be a panel discussion on concrete examples on how to create a societal impact, evaluate and manage that impact, and appeal to the public.
ICF members who are supporting or working on societal implementation will give pitches. Your participation will be most welcome.
■ Date: 3:30 pm to 5 pm on Friday, October 20, 2023 (followed by networking until 6 pm)
■ Venue: Mitsubishi Research Institute (with livestreaming)
■Program (tentative)
・Achievements of first half of fiscal 2023 and future activities:
-Listings of Societal Issues and BAP 2023
-Co-creation activities with New Ordinary (BAP 2022 finalist)
・Member pitches
-Carepro, Inc.
-HyperloopTT
-Adacotech Incorporated
-Next Relation, Inc.
-Hachioji City
・Panel Discussion: Impact Assessment of Societal Issue-Resolving Projects
＜Panelists＞
-Takatsugu Konno, CEO of Token Express Co., Ltd.
-Yuki Kuwabara, Representative Director of &PUBLIC Inc.
-Daisuke Kanda, CEO of ninpath Inc.
-Makiko Yamazoe, Senior Researcher at Global Business Division of Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc.
<Moderator>
-Chief of Staff, ICF Secretariat
Note: A networking event will be held at the venue after the meeting until 6 pm
★ Please register from the following URL:
In-person https://mri.smartseminar.jp/public/seminar/view/5921
Online https://mri.smartseminar.jp/public/seminar/view/5954
ICF Startup Showcase（New!!） 👈BAP-related Event
From among the 208 companies that applied for the ongoing ICF Business Acceleration Program (BAP) 2023, selected startups will deliver their pitches. Networking opportunities with these startups will be available.
Registration for in-person and online participation is scheduled to open in early November.
■ Date: Afternoon on Friday, December 8, 2023
■ Venue: BASE Q Hall in Tokyo Midtown Hibiya (with livestreaming)
■ Outline: Finalists’ (about 7 companies’) pitches in the final Pitch Contest, 3-minute pitches by award winners (about 8 companies), award ceremony, networking event, and booth exhibition
Additional News
Changes in ICF Secretariat
Chief of Staff,
ICF Secretariat
In October 2023, the ICF Secretariat at Mitsubishi Research Institute was reorganized from the Future Co-creation Division into the Future Co-Creation Group in the Business Platform Unit.
As part of this transition, Yuji Mizuta has succeeded Ayato Susaki as the Chief of Staff of the ICF Secretariat.
We will continue to promote co-creation activities with ICF members and aim to create collective impact toward resolving societal issues.
The annual plan for ICF activities is available at:
https://icf.mri.co.jp/activities/