The Singapore Government has completed its three-year e-Government Action Plan II (eGAP II) launched in 2003. This commitment to the development of an e-Government has brought recognition to the country

with Singapore topping the e-Government sub-index of the World Economic Forum Global IT Report for five consecutive years from 2002 to 2006, and being consistently ranked among the top three in Accenture's annual global e-Government Leadership Report since 2000.

Mr Raymond Lim, Minister for Transport and the second minister for Foreign Affairs

The end of this phase saw the integrated delivery of some 1,600 user-friendly, accessible and convenient e-services to citizens and businesses. That is more than 98% of all the Government's public services made accessible online, according to the then Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Finance and Foreign Affairs, Mr Raymond Lim (currently Minister for Transport and the Second Minister for Foreign Affairs).

Results have also been encouraging, with the annual e-Government Customer Perception Survey conducted in March 2006 showing that nearly 9 out of 10 citizens who needed to transact with the Government in the past 12 months had done so electronically at least once. Of those who transacted electronically, about 9 out of 10 expressed satisfaction with the overall quality of e-services delivered.

To build on the achievements of eGAP II, a new S$2 billion five-year masterplan, called iGov2010, has been mapped out to guide Singapore's latest direction in e-Government. The plan was unveiled by Mr Lim at the annual iGov Forum on 30 May 2006.

"Under iGov2010 we will invest S$2 billion to transform backend processing to achieve front-end efficiency and effectiveness," said Mr. Lim. "The principle to think 'Customer' and 'start with the user in mind' in everything we do remains the same in iGov2010. Rather, what is new is the strengthened focus and emphasis on transcending organisational structures, changing rules and procedures, to reorganise and integrate the government around customers' and citizens' needs and intentions."

The iGov2010 Route

iGov2010 is developed in consultation with the people, private and public sectors and is built along four main thrusts.

Firstly, by increasing the reach and richness of e-Services provided, it hopes to not only to make Government e-services more accessible to a larger population, but also to gather insights into customers' needs and preferences to deliver more pro-active, responsive, user-friendly and integrated e-services. One of the key initiatives is to leverage the pervasiveness of mobile phones to deliver more useful services to a wider population and for greater convenience to customers on the move.

iGov Forum

Secondly, iGov2010 will leverage infocomm technologies to actively engage citizens in the policy-making process and strengthen its relationship with the citizens by making information on Government websites more interesting, vibrant and easier to understand. The Government Online Consultation Portal will also be enhanced to tailor to the needs of different users groups more effectively.

Thirdly, the Government will continually improve the capacity and capability of public agencies through greater sharing of processes, data and systems across the Government. Infocomm will also be used to raise the capabilities of our public officers and transform the way they work.

Finally, the private sector growth will be promoted through partnerships in innovative infocomm projects to enhance Singapore's national competitive advantage. Public agencies will collaborate with the infocomm companies in the co-creation, development and export of e-Government solutions. Whenever possible, the Government will release the relevant intellectual property rights of the e-Government solutions to the companies so that they can export these solutions to the overseas markets. Moves to foster a pro-business environment will contribute towards attracting investments to Singapore as will cooperation with countries of strategic interest to develop infocomm initiatives.

Something for Everyone

In addition to enhancing the quality of public services to customers, the Government seeks to transform the very nature of its relationship with citizens, aiming to strengthen the bond between government and citizens, and among the citizens themselves. For the private sector, infocomm technologies will help make Singapore a great place for businesses with easier and faster transactions with the Government and business operations. To work towards this, the Government will also collaborate with the infocomm industry in innovative projects to co-create, develop and export new solutions.

According to Minister Raymond Lim, iGov2010 is well positioned to strengthen Singapore's national competitive advantage, as well as its reputation as a centre of excellence and a global showcase for ideas, innovation and knowledge. Through partnerships and collaborations in the international arena, we will be a world-class city where people live, work and play through infocomm, technologically advanced and well connected to the rest of the world.

Mr Lim sees this as an opportunity to deliver truly seamless e-government services to citizens. "This demands that we adopt a whole-of-government approach, and work across agency lines, in collaboration with the private and people sectors. Only by doing so, can we be an "integrated Government" - a one-stop, non-stop government at its best. Let us all work together to realise the new possibilities that await us and make this a success," he concluded.