Singapore is world leader in e-government penetration: survey
Tokyo
SINGAPORE has retained its first placing in the world in terms of the quality of "e-government", according to a joint survey conducted by Japan's Waseda University and the International Academy of Chief Information Officers (CIOs).
The international rankings are awarded annually by Waseda, one of Japan's leading private universities, and the Japan-based international academy to recognise the quality of "interaction between government, people and the private sector" via e-government.
Electronic or e-government refers to the utilisation of Information Technology (IT), Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and other web-based telecommunication technologies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery in the public sector.
"The 2017 survey puts Singapore in first place (as last year), followed by Denmark, the US and Japan, which moves from first to fourth place," according to a statement. Estonia was at fifth place, followed by Canada, New Zealand, South Korea, Britain and Taiwan.
"Internet penetration in Singapore has reached a high level compared to other countries, which helps facilitate e-government," a joint statement by Waseda and the academy said. "Approximately 82 per cent of people in Singapore have used the Internet in their daily life." Singapore was one of the first countries to launch computerisation and telecommunication infrastructure construction. "With the development of an information society, the government in Singapore has launched continuous strategies in different aspects of D-Government or digital government."
Singapore citizens "have adapted to the culture of connecting with the government by using online service systems and participating in public affairs through different channels which are provided by the government. Deliberative democracy has been reflected through ICT utilisation in the public sectors".
The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore was recently reorganised into GovTech, the statement noted. "It is now taking a lead in developing Singapore (to be) a Smart Nation through tech-enabled solutions. It aims to rally the collective efforts of people, businesses and government to work together to support better living, create more opportunities and support stronger communities by harnessing infocomm technologies, networks and big data."
"A Smart Nation Platform is being developed by GovTech with common infrastructure and services such as a data-sharing gateway, and video and data analytics capabilities. This helps public agencies optimise their sensor deployment needs, the sharing of data collected and data analytics to support needs such as urban planning and incident response." The National Portal of Singapore contains timely and useful information for local citizens and foreigners, the report noted. "It has also provided latest national news and useful guidelines in every aspect of Singapore life. The portal is very well-organised to serve citizens, without (requiring them) to know which government agency is responsible for a particular service, policy or programme."
The International Academy of CIOs was founded in 2006 in Japan. Its co-founders also included the US, Indonesia, Philippines, Switzerland and Thailand. Alliances are also being developed with several regional countries including Singapore, South Korea and China.
