Integrating Government e-Services to Better Serve Customers Customer-Centric Approach to Online Services Raises Hit Rate from 240,000 to 4.2 million per Month

Singapore, November 13, 2002 - More Singaporeans are accessing their government services online. eCitizen has made good progress since its re-launch in October 2001. A first stop on the Internet for public e-services, the portal has seen the number of hits increase from 240,000 to 4.2 million per month over the last one year...

Singapore, 13 November 2002 | For Immediate Release

Customer-Centric Approach to Online Services Raises Hit Rate from 240,000 to 4.2 million per Month

Singapore, November 13, 2002 - More Singaporeans are accessing their government services online. eCitizen has made good progress since its re-launch in October 2001. A first stop on the Internet for public e-services, the portal has seen the number of hits increase from 240,000 to 4.2 million per month over the last one year. Going forward, a key focus of the public sector will be to integrate public services across agencies. This is to provide citizens with a single window for service delivery, even if the service involves several agencies.

"Since the re-launch of eCitizen last October, Government agencies have made substantial efforts to make online government services simpler and more convenient to the public," said Mr. Panneer Selvan, Director, Central Services, Ministry of Finance, "Government agencies have made good progress towards the target of delivering all feasible services online. The number of government services delivered online has increased from 65 % to 83 % of all feasible services over the last year."

More Integrated e-Services

The public sector will increasingly focus on delivering integrated services. Integrated e-services offer simpler procedures and greater convenience as users do not need to fill in multiple forms, or visit multiple websites to obtain the service they want. Recent integrated e-services announced are :

• The Online Donation Portal allows the public to donate to over 100 charities online from a single website. The administrative cost of collecting donations online is about half that of collecting donations manually. This means a greater portion of every dollar collected through the online portal will be channelled to charities.
  The One-Stop Government Job Portal makes the task of searching and applying for a government job easier for those seeking a public service career.
• The one-stop portal consolidates job offers across the civil service.
• The new Arts and Heritage Town on eCitizen provides the public with information and services related to the arts and heritage scene in Singapore. From exhibitions and events, to online resources and services such as theatre bookings, the town has something for everyone - including a section for kids.

More integrated services will be offered over the course of next year. These include e-services to apply for all relevant licences required to set up a business through a single application.

Personalisation

Public sector agencies are also working to enhance customer convenience by offering more personalised services to the public. The newly launched My.eCitizen allows users to create a personalised eCitizen homepage with their favourite e-services. Alerts can also be created for receipt by email or SMS. For example,

• reminders to return library books;
• alerts to renew road tax; or
• notification of job openings.

"Enhancing the user experience and convenience for the public remain the focus of electronically delivering government services. Integration of services and personalisation help us to achieve this goal," added Ms Tan Swee Hua, Director, Electronic Services Division, at the IDA.

For its efforts to better serve Singaporeans using Infocomm technology, the Singapore Government received the following international commendations this year:
(a) top position in the 2002 Global IT Report by Harvard University and the World Economic Forum;
(b) the 'Explorer' Award organised by E-Gov with a selection committee representatives from the US General Services Administration and other US Government departments; and
(c) the Stockholm Challenge Award in the e-Government category awarded by the City of Stockholm in coordination with the European Commission.

Mr Panneer added, "Our true measure of success is when more citizens use our e-services and find that Government services online help them to avoid getting inline."

About eCitizen

The eCitizen portal is the Singapore government's first stop on the web for a wide range of government services. All services and information on the eCitizen portal are conveniently categorised according to lifestyle needs. These include: Arts & Heritage, Business, Defence, Education, Elections, Employment, Family, Health, Housing, Library, Recreation, Safety & Security, Sports, Transport and Travel. Users can experience a world of convenience and benefits by retrieving information and transacting online with government ministries and agencies. The eCitizen portal is owned by the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and managed by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA).

For more information on eCitizen, please contact:

Choong Cheng Theng / Cindy Lim / Michele Soh
Edelman
Phone: 6733 1110
Emails: ecit@edelman.com.sg

Kelvin Lee
Manager
Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore
Phone: 6211 1726
Fax : 6211 2227
Email: kelvin_lee@imda.gov.sg