Mr James Kang, IDA's Assistant Chief Executive, Government Chief Information Office, gives a presentation on Government ICT procurement trends. |
An electronic service for every individual and businesses to receive correspondences from government agencies, the use of biometrics in immigration screening and clearance, and a system to streamline the storage of X-ray records of Singapore Armed Forces personnel – these are some of the projects lined up as part of the Singapore Government’s projected S$1.1 billion worth of new infocomm tenders in Financial Year 2010 (FY2010).
Speaking at the Industry Briefing 2010 on Business Opportunities for Infocomm in the Public Sector on 11 May 2010, RADM(NS) Ronnie Tay, Chief Executive Officer of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), noted that the continued investment and emphasis on infocomm by both the public and private sectors have placed Singapore high on various international rankings.
Singapore was ranked second in the Networked Readiness Index under the World Economic Forum's Global Information Technology Report 2009-2010 released in late March. The report also ranked Singapore first in its readiness sub-index, which measures the extent to which individuals, businesses and the government are prepared to use infocomm in their daily activities and operation.
Industry Briefing 2010 attracts a capacity crowd. |
“Infocomm plays an increasingly prominent role as a key enabler and has become an essential infrastructure crucial for sustaining and enhancing an economy's innovation potential and long-term competitiveness,” said RADM(NS) Tay. “Infocomm is also instrumental to achieving productivity growth as it enables workers and end users to work faster and more effectively.”
The annual Industry Briefing organised by IDA provides information to the infocomm industry about infocomm projects that are in the pipeline for government agencies in the new Financial Year.
In total, about 350 new infocomm tenders are expected to be called in FY2010. Among them are:
- A project by IDA to re-develop the eCitizen Portal to include new features such as the OneInbox, an electronic service that allows individuals and businesses to receive correspondences from government agencies;
- A Biometrics Screening Capability system which will be implemented at all immigration counters in the coming year. The turnkey system will enable the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority to enhance security as well as to process the clearance of travellers more effectively at checkpoints;
- A Central Picture Archiving Communications System, a computerised military healthcare system by the Ministry of Defence to streamline the storage of X-ray records of Singapore Armed Forces Personnel; and
- A new Central Provident Fund (CPF) Member System that aims to achieve increased operational efficiency, increased business agility and enhanced public service delivery to the CPF Board’s over 3 million customers.
Mr Quek Siow Ming, Assistant Director, Projects Unit, Technology & Infrastructure Division, presents the ICT procurement plans for the Ministry of Home Affairs. |
The projected value for the FY2010 tenders is consistent with past years' procurement trends, excluding one-off major developmental projects such as the Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network and the Government’s Standard Operating Environment (SOE) projects. Actual infocomm procurement in FY2009 amounted to S$1.12 billion.
Beyond these projects, the Government is also encouraging greater innovation in the use of infocomm to deliver public services, through programmes such as the Government Technology Experiments & Trials Programme (TREATS).
“We recognise that the Government is a major infocomm user and there are opportunities for the public sector to pilot new innovative solutions proposed by industry and to push the envelope in providing services to its employees and citizens,” said RADM(NS) Tay.
TREATS aims to identify suitable technologies for trials with government agencies and encourage innovation in the public sector. “Infocomm companies should leverage this opportunity to test-bed cutting edge solutions to meet business needs expressed by our agencies,” he said.
About OneInbox
When launched in 2012, OneInbox will give individuals the choice of accessing correspondences from government agencies through the eCitizen portal (www.ecitizen.gov.sg) using their SingPass, instead of receiving hard copies in the mail.
To frequent travellers and the approximately 180,000 Singaporeans living abroad, OneInbox allows them to access government correspondences instantly, even when they are not in Singapore. Individuals will also be able to access the history of letters they received from the Government, and eliminate the need for them to call up the agencies should they misplace their hardcopy letters.
OneInbox will subsequently be extended to the business community, allowing businesses to choose to receive government correspondences electronically via a single and secured platform.
Besides providing one-stop convenience to individuals and businesses, OneInbox will also offer potential cost savings to agencies by reducing the need for hardcopy correspondences.
The integration of the OneInbox with government e-services will allow individuals and businesses to perform transactions with the Government immediately upon receiving the electronic correspondence.
For example, upon receiving an electronic correspondence to renew the business registration, a business user is able to click on a link within OneInbox to directly access the Accounting & Corporate Regulatory Authority of Singapore’s (ACRA) Renew Business Registration e-Services. Or, upon receiving an “Advice to Self Employed Persons” letter from the Central Provident Fund Board (CPFB), an individual is able to click on a link within OneInbox to directly access CPFB’s electronic enquiry/feedback service if he/she likes to find out more. These are some of the possible ways that government agencies are exploring to correspond with individuals and businesses.
Click here for more information on OneInbox.