Singapore reorganises government technology agencies

Making sense of Singapore's technology policy makers.

To enable the Singapore government to be more integrated and responsive in its strategy and execution for Smart Nation and Digital Government (SNDG), the various government agencies in charge of technology will be reorganised as of 1 May 2017:

A Smart Nation and Digital Government Office (SNDGO) will be formed under the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) comprising staff from the Digital Government Directorate of the Ministry of Finance (MOF), the Government Technology Policy department in the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI), and the Smart Nation Programme Office (SNPO) in the PMO.

The Government Technology Agency (GovTech), a statutory board under MCI, will be placed under the PMO as the implementing agency of SNDGO.

Collectively, the SNDGO and GovTech will form the Smart Nation and Digital Government Group (SNDGG) in the Prime Minister’s Office.

The SNDGG shall be responsible for the following:

+Application of digital and smart technologies to improve citizens’ lives in key domains, in partnership with other government agencies, industry, and the public.

One such key domain is urban mobility. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has been using data analytics to better manage our bus fleets, reduce crowding and improve timeliness. It has also been experimenting with self-driving vehicle technologies. The SNDGG will work with LTA to further exploit existing and emerging technologies to improve public transport, enhance urban logistics and reduce congestion so as to enhance the commuter experience;

+Develop the digital enablers and platforms for Smart Nation, to grow economic value and catalyse innovation by companies and citizens. The SNDGG will build on ongoing work by GovTech to enhance data-sharing through the data.gov.sg site, and partner the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to promote e-payments. The SNDGG will also drive the development of a national digital identity framework to facilitate digital transactions, and a national sensor communication backbone (the Smart Nation Platform) to support agencies’ use of Internet of Things (IoT) applications to fulfil their missions.

Drive digital transformation for the public service, to strengthen government ICT infrastructure and improve public service delivery. The SNDGG will build up digital capabilities within government, including in areas such as data science and the Internet of Things (IoT), to continue delivering public service excellence to citizens.

The SNDGG will be overseen by a Ministerial Committee chaired by Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Teo Chee Hean. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for Communications and Information will be Deputy Chairman and Minister-in-charge of Cybersecurity and the Info-communications Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA). The other members of the Ministerial Committee are Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister-in-charge of the Smart Nation Initiative; Minister Ong Ye Kung, who has been appointed to champion Public Service innovation; and Minister of State Dr Janil Puthucheary, who will be the Minister-in-charge of GovTech and also the person coordinating GovTech’s strategy with IMDA’s industry development efforts.

Ng Chee Khern, currently Permanent Secretary (Defence Development) of the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), will concurrently lead the SNDG Group as Permanent Secretary (Smart Nation and Digital Government). Ng will also retain his appointment as the Chairman of the GovTech Board.