NCS SG50 e-government

e-GOVERNMENT FROM EFFICIENCY TO CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT

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e-GOVERNMENT The history of NCS is closely intertwined with Singapore’s IT story, from the start of computerisation in the early 1980s to the new era of e-Government in the digital age.

As part of the then-National Computer Board, we played a pivotal role in the early stages of Singapore’s national computerisation efforts. Our IT professionals built systems to automate the work of public officers so that the agencies could operate more efficiently. From there, we looked at how the entire processes could be brought together and improved through IT, pushing productivity up a few more notches. For example, we developed the Integrated Data Collection System for Census of Population, which enabled the Department of Statistics to release census information in two months instead of the nine that it previously took.

The citizen-centric approach In line with successive government IT masterplans, NCS helped the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) develop one-stop services such as OSCARS (OneStop Change of Address Reporting Service), APPLES (Application for Passport Online Electronic System), e-Visit Pass and the e-Appointment system. Underpinning them is CIRIS, ICA’s Central Identification and Registration Information System.

The citizen-centric approach to Government has become even more important in the past decade as people become more technology-savvy and service expectations rise. To address these new challenges, NCS has been working with various public agencies to raise the bar in citizen engagement and service delivery. Examples include the enhancement of my cpf service to provide the Central Provident Fund Board with a 360-degree view of its members, and the implementation of an e-Filing system for the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore.

To protect the personal data of citizens, we have more recently worked with the Personal Data Protection Commission to roll out the Do Not Call Registry System.

Of equal importance in the e-Government journey is the delivery of services to businesses, in line with the Government’s efforts to create a more efficient, 201

transparent and business-friendly environment in Singapore. For example, we developed systems such as BizFile to deliver one-stop convenience to businesses operating in Singapore.

Era of the Smart Nation Today, we stand at the cusp of a new era – the era of the Smart Nation, where technology will revolutionise citizen engagement, pave the way for new paradigms of co-creation, and catalyse whole-of-government transformation.

Under the latest e-Government 2015 (eGov2015) masterplan, one of the strategic areas that NCS is involved in is the transformation of public sector infrastructure to facilitate whole-of-government collaboration and deliver greater efficiency and better economies of scale. As early as 2005, we worked with the government to establish SHINE (Service-wide Hosting Environment), which provided shared computing resources to government agencies on a subscription model. Under the new eGov2015, NCS and our parent company Singtel have rolled out G-Cloud, the next-generation infrastructure which will replace SHINE.

Government of the future The government of the future will collaborate with both private and public sectors to create new business models and citizen services.

It will adopt a whole-of-Government approach that harmonises infrastructure and operating environments, so that public services can be delivered efficiently with one unified voice, addressing the challenges of citizen centricity, community engagement and pro-business environment.

NCS is well positioned to address these requirements, bringing together its deep understanding of the public sector and its mission, strong capabilities in IT and communications engineering, and the telco capabilities of its parent company to support the Singapore public sector in the era of the Smart Nation.

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All on board the Census express The Census of Population 2000 was a breakthrough for the Department of Statistics (DOS), the national statistical authority responsible for official statistics on the Singapore economy and its population. The study was completed in less than a quarter of the time it took for the previous Census in 1990, with onetenth the manpower.

Behind the remarkable improvements in efficiency was the Integrated Data Collection System for Census of Population, a system developed by NCS to ensure smooth and tightly integrated data collection, processing and tabulation operations.

An e-infrastructure was deployed to connect strategic locations island-wide and provide support for the different applications and systems that were to be used in the Census. Among these was a facility for the collection of data over the Internet, which incorporated strong log-in authentication and 128-bit encryption to ensure the secure transmission of data.

A call centre was also set up to handle the collection of Census data and queries from the public over the telephone. A predictive dialer managed the outgoing calls to the selected respondents and automatically connected them to the interviewers, while an interactive voice response system handled incoming calls.

Incomplete data collected via the Internet and telephone were printed out for door-todoor interviews. A document management system was used to help with the capture of data collected from face-to-face interviews. Completed data from the three different channels was then synchronised for computer-assisted coding and veriďŹ cation.

With the use of the Integrated Data Collection System, DOS was able to release information within two months of Census day, instead of nine months for the previous Census. Only 600 staff had to be mobilised, compared with 6,000 that would otherwise have been needed. And when all the numbers were counted, DOS enjoyed total cost savings of S$48 million.

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One gateway for all national servicemen The National Service (NS) Portal (www.ns.sg) is a unified portal that serves all national servicemen in Singapore, including those from the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) and Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Singapore Police Force (SPF) and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).

With a high 10 million page views and 650,000 e-transactions on average every month, this portal caters to the needs of over 600,000 registered users across the NS ecosystem – including pre-enlistees, full-time national servicemen (NSFs), operationally-ready national servicemen (NSmen), regulars, their families, employers, and the general public.

Managed and maintained by NCS since 2006, the NS Portal is a partnership with MINDEF and MHA, comprising a web presence and mobile platforms (mobile website and mobile applications) that enable efficient and effective delivery of services and multimedia content to our national servicemen.

For instance, the Fitness section contains NS-related training tips and information, the NS News provides military, defence and NS-related updates, and the NSTV is a dedicated video channel for up-close-and-personal views of in-camp/military training and missions. Throughout the years, the NS Portal has won numerous awards in local and international arena.

NCS provides end-to-end services for the NS Portal, from the setting up of infrastructure, to managing, operating and marketing it. We also manage the 24x7 NS Call Centre and data centre for the NS Portal, and provide round-the-clock cyber security support from our Security Operations Centre.

Over the years, we have made continuous improvements to the NS Portal together with MINDEF and MHA. In 2014, as part of efforts under the Committee to Strengthen National Service (CSNS) to enhance the NS Portal and deliver more citizen-centric services, the NS Portal was revamped.

With a new design and the introduction of social sharing functions for greater interactivity, users are now able to search, view, access and complete their eService transactions more easily. NCS remains committed to deliver a highlypositive overall experience for our users.

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One stop for reporting change of address One of the key thrusts under Singapore’s National IT Plan (1986-1991) was to provide “one-stop” services that would bring about greater convenience and simplify the way people interacted with public agencies.

One of the best early examples of these services was OSCARS, or the One-Stop Change of Address Reporting Service. Introduced in 1994, OSCARS enabled Singaporeans to update their new addresses into the then-National Registration Office’s database through online links from police posts and police stations, and to transmit this information to other government agencies.

Today, OSCARS continues to provide citizens and permanent residents with the convenience of one-stop change of address reporting. It now comes under the purview of the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA), the government agency which performs immigration and registration functions such as issuing travel documents and identity cards to Singapore citizens and various immigration passes and permits to foreigners.

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Passport to service excellence Over the years, ICA has rolled out many e-services that have enabled the agency to set new standards in service delivery. The Application for Passport Online Electronic System (APPLES), the e-Visit Pass and the e-Appointment system are just some examples.

APPLES is a web-based Internet application for Singapore citizens to apply, submit and enquire on their Singapore Passport application, minimising the number of trips they have to make to the ICA building and allowing them to avoid the hassle of queueing up.

Similarly, the e-Visit Pass (e-VP) service allows visitors to apply for a visitor’s pass over the Internet. All processing and payment is done online and once the transaction has been successfully completed, the applicant will be notified of the application status either by email or using the “Status Enquiry” on the web site.

For those who have to visit ICA, the e-Appointment System allows them to plan their time ahead of the trip. With a few simple clicks of the mouse, the customer is able to make an appointment with ICA for a wide range of immigration services and facilities, and be attended to more quickly when he arrives. From ICA’s perspective, the system also enables the agency to better manage its resources according to demand.

Underpinning these e-services is CIRIS, ICA’s Central Identification and Registration Information System which holds millions of records of all Singapore citizens, permanent residents and foreigners. Deployed in 2007, CIRIS supports the administration of each individual from the registration of birth to the issuing of identification and travel documents, immigration passes and permits, to death registration.

Information from CIRIS is updated in the People Hub, a data repository first developed by NCS over a decade ago. Originally focused on information about Singapore Citizens, People Hub has since been enhanced to include data on Singapore Permanent Residents and Singapore long-term pass holders. The data repository provides crucial information to various Ministries and statutory boards for statistical analysis, strategic planning and policy implementation.

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Empowering citizens to make informed decisions The CPF Board was set up in 1955 to provide financial security for Singaporeans in their retirement. As part of a drive to enhance customer service, it has been introducing comprehensive information packages and services through the online portal (my cpf), empowering its members to make informed decisions about their CPF funds.

NCS has been involved in the development and deployment of many of these services. We worked with CPF Board to introduce a new inbox feature called my cpf Inbox Service, which provides members with convenient access to CPF letters anytime, anywhere, through a secured online platform. Members are alerted via email whenever new letters are received. From the inbox, they can also manage their correspondence, printing hard copies or retaining copies of outgoing letters.

We also rolled out an e-service that allows employers to submit CPF contributions electronically without having to install any software. Introduced in 2010, the online application Auto-eXcel Plus automatically reflects changes in CPF rates for accurate computation of CPF contributions and stores information securely online, eliminating employers’ concerns over data loss.

To streamline information flow across the public sector, we helped enhance the statement retrieval process for CPF’s partner agencies. We built a web linkup that enables the agencies to retrieve statement data if authorised to do so by the CPF member, and use it to automatically populate their own online forms. This has resulted in improved work efficiency and productivity as manual efforts were no longer required to download the statements.

From PAPER filing to e-filing to no-filing In 1998, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) became the first revenue authority in the world to introduce an electronic filing (e-filing) system for individual taxpayers – meaning individuals could e-file their tax returns without going through any tax intermediary.

IRAS also introduced the Auto-Inclusion Scheme for Employment Income (AIS) for employers, simplifying tax filing for hundreds of thousands of taxpayers in Singapore. Under the scheme, participating employers send their employees’ income information to IRAS electronically and the information is then pre-filled in employees’ electronic tax returns. Gone are the days when employers had to issue IR8A forms to their employees, and in turn employees had to enter the information manually in their returns. Now, thanks to this scheme, all an employee has to do is log in to myTax.iras.gov.sg to check all pre-filed information and claims, click “submit” and their returns are filed, all within a few clicks!

Today, tax filing is a non-event for three in five taxpayers – this Tax Season (2015), some 1.31 million taxpayers need not even file their returns. The No-Filing Service (NFS) was introduced in 2007 to benefit taxpayers who have auto-included income and straightforward tax relief items. This service is made possible by streamlining the individual income tax system over the years, and with more employers participating in the AIS. NCS is honoured to be part of this journey in helping IRAS to make tax services more accessible and user-friendly to the citizens.

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One e-service for all your business needs Say goodbye to long queues and copious paperwork. Wherever you are, as long as you have an Internet connection, you can register a company within minutes. And while you are at it, you can register for GST, reserve your web domain name, and activate your customs account, all on BizFile.

First launched in 2002, BizFile broke new ground in creating a more pro-business environment in Singapore, delivering unprecedented access and convenience with its one-stop, 24x7 services.

The system was spearheaded by the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) of Singapore who wanted to introduce a web-based electronics registration and filing system that would enable it to better serve its business partners and end-customers.

To address its requirements, NCS designed BizFile, a secure, flexible and scalable system with the ability to handle transactions ranging from the simple to the extremely complex.

As a paperless solution, BizFile paves the way for fast, easy and convenient retrieval of accurate information. At the same time, it provides savings on storage costs as physical warehouses are no longer required. The archival of electronic records also ensures business continuity.

Today, BizFile brings together close to 300 e-services, serving as a onestop facilitator for businesses. It integrates e-services from multiple agencies such as the Singapore Customs, Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, Spring Singapore and Singapore Government Network Information Centre.

It manages the end-to-end life-cycle of a company, business, limited liability partnership, limited partnership, public accountant and public accountant firm from name reservation to incorporation, to filing and finally to cessation or striking off.

As a result of streamlined and automated processes, what previously took days has now been reduced to just minutes.

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From SHINE to G-Cloud SHINE (Service-wide Hosting Environment) was a complete e-services environment that enabled public agencies to deploy their applications quickly and cost-effectively, without having to invest in their own infrastructure.

Implemented, maintained and operated by NCS since 2005, it provided a common services and hosting environment which encompassed the Public Service Infrastructure (PSi) in use at the time, and the Hub for Internet and Intranet Services which was the shared hosting platform for non-PSi e-services.

With a comprehensive suite of services which included secured web, application and database hosting, common gateway services for authentication and e-payment, content management, reporting, billing and other shared services, SHINE enabled agencies to reap the benefits of lower operating costs through economies of scale. It also provided the assurance of system availability with a resilient central infrastructure, and its utility model allowed agencies to pay only for the resources that they used.

In 2011, as part of a strategic thrust under the eGov2015 masterplan to catalyse whole-of-government transformation, the Singapore government announced that it was investing in a next-generation infrastructure to replace SHINE. This would take the form of a new private cloud infrastructure for the Singapore government, known as the G-Cloud.

To ensure a seamless transition to the new environment, we worked with multiple agencies to assess and manage the implementation risks as they moved their systems and e-services from SHINE to the new platform.

Today, G-Cloud provides a resilient and secure ICT environment where government agencies may purchase computing resources on demand and pay based on actual usage, allowing them to flexibly scale up or downsize operations based on changing needs. This will set the stage for a more responsive government as it further reduces the time and costs involved in rolling out new services or piloting innovations.

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Empowering consumers to say “no” Consumers and businesses in Singapore can finally say “no” – “no” to unwanted calls from telemarketers, “no” to unwanted SMSes, and “no” to unwanted faxes.

Under the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA), the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) set up a Do Not Call (DNC) Registry to give consumers greater flexibility to decide if and how they want to receive marketing messages.

With the launch of the DNC Registry System in January 2014, telephone subscribers can register their Singapore numbers if they do not wish to receive unsolicited marketing messages. The system provides consumers with an easy and effective way to opt out of unwanted voice calls, text messages or faxes using any of three channels – a phone call, text message, or over the web. Once a number is listed with the Registry, marketers can contact the consumer on that number only if they have received “clear and unambiguous consent” from him or her.

Under the requirements of the PDPA, organisations or individuals have to check with the DNC Registry to make sure that they do not contact Singapore telephone numbers that are listed there when they carry out their marketing campaigns.

They will have to set up an account with the Registry and submit their lists of telephone numbers for these checks.

Built and delivered by NCS, the DNC Registry System has more than 420,000 mobile numbers and over 980 organisations listed in its repository within a week of its launch in January 2014.

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