Singapore Gears Up to be Leading e-Government to Better Serve the Nation in the New Digital Economy

At the opening ceremony of CommunicAsia 2000 this morning, Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan unveiled the eGovernment Action Plan. The Government's vision articulated in the Action Plan is to be a leading eGovernment to better serve the nation in the digital economy. To this end, the Government will set aside...

Singapore, 6 June 2000 | For Immediate Release

At the opening ceremony of CommunicAsia 2000 this morning, Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan unveiled the eGovernment Action Plan. The Government's vision articulated in the Action Plan is to be a leading eGovernment to better serve the nation in the digital economy. To this end, the Government will set aside $1.5 billion for infocomm technology initiatives in the public sector over the next three years.

As the world becomes increasingly global and as technology change occurs more rapidly than before, the Government needs to understand how the new economy will impact public policies. The Government must harness infocomm technologies to innovate, create value and make quantum leaps in the delivery of services to citizens and businesses. The challenge is for the Government to remain relevant and responsive.

DPM Tan elaborated on the five strategic thrusts to achieve the eGovernment vision and desired outcomes. These are: pushing the envelope of electronic service delivery; building new capability and new capacity; innovating with infocomm technologies; anticipating to be proactive, sensing to be responsive; and developing thought leadership on eGovernment1.

Six programmes have been identified to support the five strategic thrusts. These are a knowledge-based workplace, electronic services delivery, technology experimentation, adaptive and robust infocomm infrastructure and infocomm education.

The strategic programmes alone will not work. To be a leading eGovernment serving the nation in the digital economy, the Government is prepared to challenge tried and tested ways of doing things, even if these have been highly successful in the past and are adequate for the present. The new economy will demand that we adopt a "creative destruction" approach in our policies, regulation and work processes to keep up with the rapid developments in the global economy.

For the eGovernment Action Plan to be successful, the entire public sector will need to share the vision. Public servants at all levels need to embrace new tools and new ways of working to harness the power of infocomm technology for policy development, organisation excellence and service delivery.

For more details on the eGovernment Action Plan, please refer to DPM Tony Tan's speech and the eGovernment Public Document attached below.

ISSUED BY CORPORATE COMMUNICATION DIVISION
INFOCOMM DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF SINGAPORE
Notes to Editor:

Press Release Attachment
Title	Date of Issue
eGovt Public Paper (36.00KB)	6 June 2000

¹ With effect from 6 September 2000, the headers for the Strategic Thrusts in the eGovernment Action Plan have been revised as follows:

1. Strategy 1: From "Pushing the envelope of electronic service delivery" to "Delivering Integrated Electronic Services"
2. Strategy 2:  From "Building new capability and new capacity" to "Using Infocomm Technologies to Build New Capability and Capacity"
3. Strategy 4: From "Anticipating to be proactive, sensing to be responsive" to "Being Proactive and Responsive"
4. Strategy 5: From "Developing thought leadership on eGovernment" to "Re-inventing Government in the Digital Economy"

About Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore

The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) is a dynamic organisation with an integrated perspective to developing, promoting and regulating info-communications in Singapore. In the fast-changing and converging spheres of telecommunications, information and media technologies, IDA will be the catalyst for change and growth in Singapore's evolution into a vibrant global info-communications technology centre. For more information, please visit www.imda.gov.sg.

For media clarification, please contact:

Ms Jennifer Toh
Assistant Manager, Corporate Communication
Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore
Tel: (65) 6211-0508
Fax: (65) 6211-2227
Email: jennifer_toh@imda.gov.sg