Types of electronic government applications

In Singapore’s context, e-government applications are considered prevalent. Each and every Singaporean has access to various e-services online through this integrated website, www.gov.sg. This website is actually an integration of 3 government websites – the e-citizen portal – single point of access to all government information and services online, SINGOV; a website which contains all relevant and latest government news, and lastly, business.gov.sg, a portal whereby new startups can have a ease of setting up their businesses online.

One of an example of an electronic government application would be the Online Business Licensing Services (OBLS) – one stop business license application service on www.business.gov.sg, aids to help potential businessmen register for their businesses. With OBLS, the user needs to submit only one application for multiple licenses. In today’s context, more than 80% of business start-ups in Singapore can go online to apply for all the required licenses as OBLS offers 68 different licenses offered by 19 government agencies. With this system, Singapore hopes to create a more encouraging and hassle free environment for new businesses.

Moving away from the corporate side, another feature of Singapore’s e government application would be the interactive Government Online Consultation portal (www.feedback.gov.sg). This initiative was started in 2003 for Singaporeans and people residing in Singapore to voice out the comments and views on national issues and policy proposals online. Users are also allowed to participate in online forum discussions with fellow citizens on a wide range of issues.

In addition to these, Singapore has taken a step to involve the private sector in public service. The Public-Private-People integration (3PI) was announced in 2004, with the mindset that integration within the government is not good enough, the e-government must be able to provide public users services which private sectors are offering to ensure integration across the 3 sectors.

Some applications which were developed under the 3PI approach are My.eCitizen, a user portal which provides personalized eCitizen e-services and alerts. This portal received huge in take-up from 2200 in June 2003 to an impressive amount of 36,000 in June 2005.

Next, another application constructed under 3PI is National e-Payment hub. This portal is a consolidation for payment and presentation of government bills and private sector bills through electronic means. Now, consumers would not have to go to different websites to make payment for different types of bills. National e-Payment hub congregates all billing organizations under a centralized hub that offers secure and trusted means of electronic payment modes to consumers.

Lastly, one of the significant projects in 3PI is the TradeXchange. This is an integrated Trade and Logistics IT platform that manages the flow of trade-related information. Having this platform would allow exchange of information between shippers, freight forwarders, carriers and financial institutions to facilitate the flow of goods in Singapore. The creation and exchange of commercial and regulatory documentation necessary for trade is automated through the integrated platform. By providing a single web interface for all trade related IT systems, it will actually help logistics players cut down on multiple data entry steps. This would mean lesser duplication of efforts and reduction in human errors, which will ultimately help to improve overall efficiency and time to market.