Earlier this year, the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) organised a roundtable to engage infocomm policy and industry experts on trends and developments in smart cities, and the policies needed to encourage network/infrastructure investments and service innovations and to drive the growth and adoption of smart nation services. Here, two of the panellists share their views on the key attributes of a Smart Nation, and which of these attributes Singapore has or has the potential to develop.

Mr Manu Gupta, Partner, Lakestar

“I believe that a ‘Smart Nation’ is one that can quickly and efficiently respond to the needs of its people through use of innovative technologies.

Citizens would benefit from increased efficiency in their daily lives, thereby reducing even the mildest inconveniences relating to common issues with traffic or parking, cleanliness or sanitation, housing, or even with government bureaucracies.

A Smart Nation addresses these topics through information management. First, data must be collected, both by citizen feedback and existing systems, to understand the issues. Once collected, data must be analysed and evaluated for opportunities for process improvements. Finally, technical solutions must be implemented by the state or by its people leveraging the data. Specific benefits include moving government services away from paper-based systems all together, or allowing citizens to report city problems immediately on their mobile phones, or leveraging transport big data to manage the frequency of trains and buses in a city.

Singapore is a leader in advancing the idea of a Smart Nation. It is already holding panels and thought leadership sessions, hiring key staff at the IDA, and fostering technology innovation and hackathons with its entrepreneurs to create technology applications. It is a road of continuous improvement, and it’s great that Singapore has already taken bold initial steps.”

Mr Blair Levin, Aspen Institute, Fellow, Communications and Society Programme

“The key attribute of a Smart Nation is its ability to use the key tools of the information age – massive computing power and storage, high-speed networks and powerful connected devices – to constantly learn and provide actionable intelligence to improve the economic prospects and social welfare of its residents. Whether one is focused on education, healthcare, public safety, transportation, or any other aspect of one’s economy and society, one can look to the trends that follow Moore’s Law and see opportunities to make life better for all. It won’t happen in a single moment but rather, over time as a Smart Nation is looking for constant, steady improvement.

The foundation stones are future proof networks, a connected and digitally literate population, and strategy built on new big and open data opportunities. Singapore is well-positioned with the first two foundation stones, being in the top tier of all countries for both.

Singapore is certainly well-positioned for the third but it is wide open as to which countries will thrive the most in leveraging its skills to produce the actionable intelligence that most improves society. For example, just as the port of Singapore adjusted well to the container revolution that changed the infrastructure requirements for modern ports, so it has the opportunity to lead again as all such containers, and indeed all the devices that operate the port, are connected to the “Internet of Things.” Another example would be how Singaporeans provide feedback to the government. When one clears customs at your airport, for example, one immediately has an opportunity to provide feedback as to the quality of the service in a quick and easy manner, simply by tapping a tablet that stands right as you exit. That kind of feedback can be used for a variety of other public services. Singapore can also lead in teaching the world the opportunities for improved public sector efficiency and productivity when we move all government information to a post-paper world.

Perhaps the biggest opportunity is how to safely and securely collect, store and analyse data to help Singaporeans make better decisions about their own lives. No society has really unlocked this opportunity, in part because of the justified fears that such data will not be safe from hacking. But surely we can envision a time when everyone will have easy access to a secure data vault that helps individuals make better decisions about their healthcare, education, job training, financial decisions and nearly every other aspect of their lives. Huge new enterprises will arise to make that vision practical. Singapore is poised to lead in that transformation.”