Be SMART: A knowledge transformation tool to improve financial literacy





What it is?

Developed by Sau Po Centre on Ageing, the knowledge transformation tool, naming Be SMART (i.e., Beyond Self/Money/Age/Retirement/Today), is an interactive learning and educational tool for financial education and knowledge enhancement for older people and their family. It can help users navigate the complex choice landscape by addressing the misconceptions commonly held by older adults.


How does it develop?

The content and format of the tool are based on the empirical findings of a research project, naming “Advance Financial Planning in the Third Age in Hong Kong” (.pdf). The knowledge transformation tool is co-created by peer researchers and academic research staff.The contents are created to address the greatest common misconceptions held by most participants. Topics includes joint accounts, reverse mortgages, annuities, enduring power of attorneys, guardianship orders, and wills.

 The knowledge transformation tool is presented in two formats: (1) an online self-assessment quiz; and (2) six educational animations. These two formats have been employed to cater to the different learning preferences of older people. The knowledge transformation tool is interactive in terms of its Q&A feature. The descriptions of the tool are based on real-life scenarios using characters presenting various roles. Relatable scenarios enable learners to apply knowledge easily and directly in their daily roles and tasks. The real-life experiences can make learning engaging, relatable, understandable, and memorable.


How can it be used?

It could be used as a self-learning tool or a complementary education resource to improve the understanding of advance financial planning.

The online self-assessment quiz (link "only in Chinese") is consisting of six “true or false” questions. It can be self-administered within 10 minutes. After answering all questions, and respondents can immediately see correct and wrong answers with brief explanations. Therefore, the quiz can be used for self-learning for older adults. The quiz can also be used by educators as a test material to assess the baseline financial knowledge of the audience or to evaluate their understanding of a certain topic and the ability to apply it to real-life scenarios.




Six educational animations have been also created. The length of time of each animation is approximately one minute. Those animations can be easily integrated into social media platforms such as YouTube and Facebook for public education. Each of the animations can also be used as a case study for group work or embedded into other educational activities such as public lectures, seminars, workshops.


** Be SMART is produced as part of the Advance Financial Planning in the Third Age in Hong Kong project, which has been funded by the Investor and Financial Education Council (