Rieko Oda, Representative Director of Public dots & Company, Co., Ltd.
Many societal problems are difficult to resolve by local government or company effort alone. In response to the needs of both local governments that want to utilize solutions from the private sector and private companies that want to involve local governments in business development, there is a growing momentum for public-private partnerships. We interviewed Ms. Rieko Oda, the Representative Director of Public dots & Company Co., Ltd., who is developing a business focused on scarce human resources that can serve as bridges between the public and private sectors.
―What kind of business does Public dots & Company Co., Ltd. do?
Representative Director of Public dots & Company, Co., Ltd.
There is a lot of talk about public-private partnerships because people expect that private sector solutions will work for local societal issues. We are solving problems that arise in cooperation between local governments and private companies.
―What exactly is your company doing?
We are creating an online salon where those who used to work for the government, mainly former local assembly members, can get together. We have about 800 salon members studying together and have skilled members participate in projects as consultants. We call such human resources with experience in both the private sector and government “public professionals.”
―Why did you decide to start a business by gathering public professionals?
A public-private partnership is a combination of the needs of a local government that wants the help of the private sector and the needs of a private company that wants to obtain clues to the development of its new businesses by resolving issues of the local government and community.
The Cabinet Office is also leading a public-private partnership platform for the SDGs for regional revitalization (1). However, the database and provided services alone do not necessarily ensure the success of a project. It is, after all, vital for the health of the project that there is someone to supervise and carefully take care of the work involved. Thus, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications has also established a regional project manager system (2). The current common understanding is that human resources are the key to public-private partnerships.
―Is it possible to secure enough of the kind of human resources that the country needs?
There is an overwhelming shortage of such human resources. I have been consulted on many public-private partnership projects, but it is hard to find qualified project managers. I have even asked long-established consulting firms working on public-private partnerships about collaboration with us, but they all told me that they were lacking appropriate human resources. There are very few people who can develop a new business, know both the public and private sectors, and can build a relationship with a local community.
Of course, there are a certain amount of people who have only some of the skills, such as those who can only develop a business or those who only know the target community. However, there is then still the need for another person to connect the above mentioned each skill, so human resources who know these things comprehensively are absolutely required. It is in this kind of situation that our pool of human resources can be extremely helpful.
―How did you get involved in this kind of industry in the first place?
Originally, I had worked in business process reengineering (BPR) and outsourcing at Fujitsu, taking care of systems and programs for various industries, including trading companies and electric power companies.
However, in the summer of 2010, when I was engaged in administrative reform of a local government, I found its administration really inefficient and very high-cost compared to the private sector. I was frustrated because I knew our taxes were being used in this system inefficiently, and that as a result something needed to be changed. I quickly ran for office and became a Kawasaki city councilor. But in reality, I was surprised again by the fact that there were more issues in politics than in administrative spheres.
―Why did you resign as a city councilor and start your own business?
Local assembly members can only deal with their own areas. Societal issues may be common across the country or must be considered across regions, so I resigned after two terms (eight years) of service and established a private company to promote co-creation between the public and private sectors from both perspectives. I am also the Representative Director of the Public-Private Co-Creation Future Consortium, a general incorporated association.
―What are some examples of public-private co-creation that your company has been involved in?
For example, we support the business development of Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. In its medium-term management plan, the company announced the transformation of its gas station business and the Smart General Store concept, which aims to develop mobile modules that meet the needs of residents on demand. We support them by cooperating with local governments and collecting information from local people about what can be done at gas stations nationwide.
In June 2021, we conducted Japan’s first demonstration experiment of a mobile brain checkup service in Toin Town, Mie Prefecture. We loaded an MRI machine into a trailer and asked local people to use the service, and it was so popular that the reservation slots were filled almost immediately. I have even heard that the mayor received many complaints about not being able to make a reservation.
―What’s next for Public dots & Company?
Our company’s core competency is in developing people with experience in the private sector into public professionals who know both sectors by helping them accumulate experience and knowledge about the private sector. Since it is not scalable if we only work with local councilors, we are also involving former public servants and chiefs to participate in our projects and as seminar lecturers.
At present, civil servants are not allowed to have side jobs, so we have only former ones. However, the ban on side jobs will probably be lifted sometime in the near future. We are preparing with that in mind.
In addition to custom-made consulting, we are also developing a service that utilizes the knowledge of scarce public human resources. It is a monthly paid service where public human resources give advice on various subjects. It is planned to launch in 2022 not directly by us but through a separate corporation.
*1. Public-private partnership platform for the SDGs for regional revitalization: A platform established by the Cabinet Office to support dissemination of event information, matching members, and holding of sectional meetings. The aim of the platform is to promote the implementation of SDGs in Japan for sustainable town development and regional revitalization.
*2. Regional project manager system: A system established by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in FY 2021 to appoint people who will serve as bridges for various parties in important projects of local governments
| Company name：Public dots & Company Co., Ltd. |
| Founded：May 2019 |
| Number of employees：5 |
| Main businesses：Consulting, education and scoring, and co-creation URL：https://www.publicdots.com |
This article is part of a series of articles introducing venture companies working together as ICF members to resolve societal issues.