A new five-year plan for Hong Kong is in development, but experts suggest that the government's approach should be more collaborative. Crafting such a plan is a monumental task requiring extensive research and strategic thinking.

Hong Kong’s government will launch a consultation exercise on the city’s first five-year plan next month. The plan is set to be released before the end of the year. It’s a monumental task. Lau Siu-kai, a consultant to the semi-official Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies think tank and former head of the government’s now-defunct Central Policy Unit, has warned as much, saying: “It took years for local governments on the mainland to master the research and strategic thinking...