According to the Global Information Technology Report (2002-2003) Singapore ranks #1 in government online services, or e-government. Citizens of Singapore can use the Singapore Government online portal for finding government information, downloading forms, and conducting transactions online.
History & Current Policies
The first eGovernment Action Plan was launched in 2000 as a way for the government to better serve the people in a digital economy. The second eGovernment Action Plan was unveiled in 2003, and aimed to further transform public service into a networked government that delivers accessible and integrated e-services to the people.
The second e-Government Action Plan has three distinct goals:
1. Delighted Customers - Today, more than 1,600 e-services have been implemented. Moving forward, the government intends to further improve the e-service experience, and to encourage greater usage of government e-services.
2006 goals are to:
• Implement 12 more cross-agency integrated e-services;
• 90% of the Government's customers use e-services at least once a year; and
• 90% of these users are satisfied with the overall quality of e-services. For users, it means fewer forms to fill and fewer queues to join. [23]
2. Connected Citizens - Explain public policies and their rationale online; and provide another channel for public feedback on policy formulation and review. [24]
3. Networked Government - A 'Networked Government' is one that collaborates, shares information and leverages on its collective knowledge to serve the public effectively. ICT will be used as a key enabler in transcending agency boundaries to deliver value-adding, integrated and responsive services to individuals and businesses. [25]
Examples
The Online Business Licensing Service (OBLS) is an effort to integrate 69 licenses from 20 government agencies in order to provide a one-stop shop for new company/business registrations and license applications. Through the OBLS, businesses can apply for new licenses, renew existing licenses, update licenses information, and terminate business licenses. The average processing time has been reduced from 21 days to 12.5 days. [26]
3P Integration, or 3PI, is the next level of service delivery through cross-boundary integration of people and private and public services to provide a complete service or online experience for the user. An example of a 3PI project is the national electronic billing payment hub. This project will bring together players from different sectors to establish a national electronic bills payment hub that provides open access to all service providers and users in Singapore . The Electronic Bill Payment Hub is a vital component to successfully spread the adoption of e-commerce.[27]
SingPass or, "Singapore Personal Access", is an alphanumeric password of between 8 to 24 characters. This is a common password to allow people to transact with any Government online service. Currently, 112 Government online services use SingPass for authentication. In 2004 there were 7.9 million SingPass authentication transactions.[28]
Since the government is such a strong proponent of ICT, it comes as no surprise that it has developed such an impressive e-government portal. Singapore is one of only countries in the world to have so many public services available online. The government runs more efficiently by giving both individuals and businesses the ability to conduct transactions online.
[26] e-Gov Monitor
[27] e-Gov Monitor
[28] e-Gov Monitor