United Nations Public Service Awards Case Studies

Bridge the Digital Divide is a service initiative that harnesses technology beyond the internet to provide differentiated service to segmented customers. This initiative by the Singapore Central Provident Fund Board has enabled the development of innovative service delivery channels, winning the Board recognition both locally and overseas. Many of the innovative service delivery channels have enjoyed good coverage from the local media and have been shared in both local and overseas conferences in the last two years.

Biometric
Being one of the pioneers in using biometric authentication for service, the Board was invited to present at the Public Service Online Conference in March and April 2004. The Biometric project won Singapore’s Minister for Manpower Achievement Award in 2006. The Biometric e-Counter was also featured in the October 2005 issue of Challenge Magazine (a public service magazine), Digital Life (a supplement of The Straits Times, the major English news daily in Singapore) on 9 August 2005 and Lianhe Zaobao (the major Chinese news daily in Singapore) on 18 August 2005.
“…In addition, its highly popular biometric authentication system will be extended to their branch offices in Tampines, Bishan, Jurong and Woodlands next month.
Currently, the system, which uses an identity card and a thumbprint to authenticate the user instead of a SingPass, is only available at its Tanjong Pagar head office.”

- excerpt from Digital Life, 9 August 2005

“…From September 2005, Biometric e-counters will be installed in CPF Main Office and its four Branch Offices. The machine consists of scanners for the thumbprint and NRIC. Members can make transactions and print their CPF statements through the system when their fingerprints are verified to be identical with that on their NRICs.

About 25,000 members have used the Biometric e-counters since it was launched in CPF Main Office as a pilot project in March last year. About an average of 100 members a day use the Biometric system…”

– excerpt from translated copy of Lianhe Zaobao, 18 August 2005

Mobile service
The Board’s mobile service, mPAL - my cpf, was awarded the Minister for Manpower Achievement Award in 2006. The mPAL - my cpf has also been selected by Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) to represent Singapore for an international m-Government Best Practices Study Group. This project was also showcased in the e-Government Forum organised by IDA on 11 October 2005. The mPAL – my cpf was also featured in Digital Life on 9 August 2005 and Challenge Magazine in October 2005.

“… With m-PAL, CPF members can use the general packet radio service (GPRS) on their mobile phones to access their account statements. The moment they log-out or turn off their phones, the phone's memory is cleared, ensuring that others cannot view their personal accounts… ”
- excerpt from Digital Life, 9 August 2005

What is the initiative about? (the solution)
Leveraging Singapore’s high internet proliferation rate of 74%, the CPFB has successfully rolled out hundreds of online services progressively on its website to provide greater service convenience to the citizens. It is the leading agency in the e-government movement. While the online services are well-received, the Board acknowledges that some groups of citizens could not benefit from the convenience of online services. For these groups, they either do not have ready access to Internet or are not IT savvy. The groups identified are: Target group E: the elderly, many of whom are lowly educated Target group SE: self-employed persons who are not IT literate such as taxi drivers and hawkers Target group SB: traditional small businesses with no need for internet access in their line of business The challenge for the Board is to overcome the technological and psychological constraints faced by the various target groups and provide alternative service delivery channels. This sets the stage for the Board’s service initiative, Bridge the Digital Divide. To address the needs of the elderly as identified in target group E, the Board has implemented the following service delivery channels: • Biometric e-Counters: Elderly citizens can view and print their CPF statements by scanning their Identity Card and fingerprint. The easy-to-use Biometric e-Counters appeal to those who are not IT savvy. • e-Ambassadors: Elderly citizens who would like to learn how to transact online can seek onsite help from our e-Ambassadors who are stationed at the e-lobbies or call the Call Centre for assistance. • Club 55: Citizens above the age 55 are served in designated counters by Customer Service Officers who are able to communicate in the mother tongues of the different ethnic groups. This helps to ease the language barrier faced by some elderly citizens. • m-Ambassadors: The m-Ambassadors refer to the Customer Service Officers who each use a Personal Digital Assistant device to serve customers. This helps the Board to overcome the issue of limited counter capacity in times of government’s national exercise of giving top-ups to the elderly which tends to attract a large crowd to the service centres. Bridge the Digital Divide has led the Board to tap on the two electronic channels widely used by the target groups SE and SB - mobile phones and the AXS stations. • Mobile phones: Singapore has a high mobile penetration rate of 101.5%. Hence, this is an effective medium for the Board to push out its services. Self-employed persons could use their mobile phones to view their CPF account information. Owners of small businesses can submit the CPF contribution details for their employees using their mobile phones. • AXS stations: The AXS station is a commercial kiosk widely used by the population to pay bills and is conveniently located island-wide. They come with convenient e-payment channels and thus, self-employed persons could use the stations to make contributions to their CPF accounts. Likewise, small businesses could make CPF contribution for their employees via AXS stations.

Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
Date Activity Nov 2002 Pilot run of the Submit Employer Contribution Details Jan 2003 Implementation of the Submit Employer contribution Details service on mobile phones Dec 2003 Stationing of the first batch of e-Ambassadors at e-Lobby Mar 2004 Setting up of Biometric e-Counters with View and print CPF Account Balance service Sep 2005 Implementation of the View CPF Account Balance service on mobile phones Sep 2005 Implementation of the Submit and Pay Employer Contribution service on AXS Stations Sep 2005 Implementation of the View and Print CPF Account Balance service on AXS Stations Dec 2005 Implementation of the following services on AXS Stations : - Self-Employed Contribution E-submission - Top-Up For MediShield Cover Dec 2005 Implementation of the View service for more categories of CPF information Jan 2006 Implementation of the 2005 Statement Of Account service on Biometric e-Counters Jan 2006 Setting up of Club 55 Feb 2006 Implementation of application status notification on mobile phones for some CPF applications Feb 2006 Implementation of the Phone PIN Request service on Biometric e-Counters Mar 2006 Implementation of the following on mobile phones : • SSL Version • Employer Submission Template Apr 2006 Implementation of the Payment of Composition Offer” transaction for Self-employed & Employers service on AXS Stations Jul 2006 Implementation of the View my cpf Investment Statement service on mobile phones Jul 2006 Implementation of the Change of Phone PIN service on AXS Stations Sep 2006 Implementation of m-Ambassadors at main service centre October 2006 Implementation of more payment services on AXS Stations : - Domestic Foreign Worker Levy Payment - Top Up Dependants’ Protection Scheme Premium

Describe how and when the initiative was implemented by answering these questions
a. What were the strategies used to implement the initiative? In no more than 500 words, provide a summary of the main objectives and strategies of the initiative, how they were established and by whom.
The Central Provident Fund (CPF) is a fully funded social security savings scheme that helps Singaporeans save for their retirement. Working Singaporeans, together with their employers, contribute a percentage of their monthly income to their CPF accounts. When they retire, they would receive a monthly retirement income paid out from their accumulated CPF savings. Self-employed persons are required to contribute part of their income to their CPF accounts as savings for their healthcare needs. As at end 2005, CPFB had more than 3 million account holders with a total account balance of US$75 billion. A 2006 e-service study report by Accenture shows that Singapore is the only country with e-government services being more superior than the e-commerce in the private sector. The CPFB leads the e-government movement with the implementation of hundreds of online services on its website to allow customers to transact with the Board conveniently round the clock. In a survey by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore in March 2006, the Board came up top by providing three out of the five most popular online government services as indicated by the citizens. Today, the CPFB website is the most popularly accessed government website with 2.6 million online transactions performed monthly. In the Board’s 2006 annual Member Services Survey, 98.8% of the respondents indicated that they are pleased with the Board’s online services. The online service delivery channel has helped the Board reap huge cost savings as more citizens transact over the CPFB website rather than the counters, allowing the Board to reduce counter services. While the Board progressively made more transactions available online, we also recognise that there are some groups of citizens who cannot enjoy or benefit from the online services. They either do not have access to the internet readily or are not IT savvy. The groups identified are: Target group E: the elderly, many of whom are lowly educated Target group SE: self-employed persons who are not IT literate such as taxi drivers and hawkers Target group SB: traditional small businesses with no need for internet access in their line of business The challenge for the Board is to devise ways to deliver more convenient services to them even if they do not access online services.

b. What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
Bridge the Digital Divide aims to bring greater service convenience to those who could not benefit from online services. Our priority is to introduce alternative service delivery channels to the target groups identified. With retirement savings as our main focus, the elderly citizens as identified in target group E form our most concerned target group. While some elderly in Singapore are IT literate, there are many who are not and thus, could not enjoy the benefits of online services. Other than their inability to access the internet, this group of elderly generally holds the perception that the authenticity of CPF transactions is only assured when they are performed by a CPF officer within the Board’s premises. Some elderly also face a language barrier as they do not understand the English language which is the common workplace language used in the government agencies. Thus, it is imperative to introduce service initiatives which would reach out to the elderly effectively. The self-employed as identified in target group SE such as taxi drivers and hawkers are generally lowly educated and not IT savvy with no ready internet access. For them to perform any CPF transaction would mean taking time off from their work only to spend time travelling and queuing at the CPF service centres. Some small businesses as identified in target group SB also do not require internet access in their line of business. These businesses would usually submit CPF contribution details for their employees either over the counter or by post and are charged a processing fee. Being a socially responsible organization, CPF Board proactively explores new electronic channels and new ways of serving customers so that everyone can enjoy the advancement of the digital age.

c. What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
The overall strategy to Bridge the Digital Divide focuses on understanding the service needs of each target group and uses alternative delivery channels to provide them with more convenient services. c1) The tactics deployed to meet the service needs of target group E are: • provide easy-to-use electronic services for those who are able to communicate in English • provide differentiated service for those who are not able to communicate in English. The following new ways of service delivery have been implemented: (i) Biometric e-Counters Biometric e-Counters enable the elderly to access their CPF account information conveniently on their own with their identity card (with fingerprint impression) and fingerprint. ii) e-Ambassadors The Board started deploying officers as e-Ambassadors at all our e-Lobbies and the Call Centre to help and teach customers to transact online. ii) Club 55 In Singapore, citizens can first withdraw part of their CPF savings at age 55. CPF withdrawal transactions are usually complex in nature. Most customers would prefer to transact via the counter so that they can have a personal discussion with the Customer Service Officers on other CPF matters affected by their CPF withdrawal. As such, the Board has set up Club 55 to offer priority service for members above the age of 55. A team of Customer Service Officers proficient in the mother tongues of the different ethnic groups manages Club 55 to ease the language barrier faced by most elderly customers. iv) m-Ambassadors In September 2006, the Board launched the m-Ambassadors initiative on a pilot run in its main Service Centre. The m-Ambassadors are equipped with portable Personal Digital Assistants. Hence, they are able to roam around the service centres to help customers transact while they are waiting for their turn. c2) The tactic deployed to meet the service needs of target groups SE and SB is to leverage existing service platforms widely used in Singapore as shown below: i) AXS Stations The AXS Station is a multi-transactional terminal that comes with a debit card (NETS), stored value card (CashCard) and credit card payment facilities. Running on a high-speed ADSL broadband network, it operates 24 hours a day. More than 300 AXS Stations are installed at high traffic locations and are widely used by Singaporeans for bill payments. Tapping on existing AXS Stations would mean avoiding the need to re-train our citizens on the use of such stations to perform transactions. The public do not have to pay for the transactions performed on the AXS stations. Therefore, it is a favourable platform for the Board to push out its services. ii) Mobile phones Singapore has a high mobile penetration rate of 101.5%. Hence, this is another useful medium for the Board to push out our services, at no extra cost to the customers and no re-training on the interface experience. Customers such as self-employed persons who are constantly on the move, e.g. taxi drivers, will also benefit greatly from the mobile services.

d. What resources were used for the initiative and what were its key benefits? In no more than 500 words, specify what were the financial, technical and human resources’ costs associated with this initiative. Describe how resources were mobilized
The success of Bridge the Digital Divide has improved our member satisfaction from 98.5% in 2005 to 99.3% in 2006 (Source: CPFB Annual Member Services Survey). The implementation of the alternative service delivery channels has brought about the following benefits: d1) Added service convenience with shorter waiting time i) For target group E: The elderly can easily use the Biometric e-Counters to retrieve their statements even if they are not IT literate. A step-by-step guide with pictures on screen is provided at each Biometric e-Counter. e-Ambassadors are also available on site to guide the customers. With the implementation of Club 55, the waiting time for the elderly has improved by 200%. ii) For target groups SE and SB: In September 2005, the Board introduced two inaugural services on the AXS Stations - Submit and Pay Employer Contribution and View and Print CPF Account Balance. In 2006, the Board added more payment related services on AXS Stations to harness on its convenient e-payment channels. Small businesses and self-employed persons are now able to view their CPF information and make CPF contributions on the AXS stations without having to come down to the Board. In 2002, the Board implemented mPAL – Employer Submission which is a mobile service that enables employers to submit CPF contributions for their employees via their mobile phone. The project won the Singapore TEC (The Enterprise Challenge) awarded by the Prime Minister Office in the same year. In 2005, the Board extended the mPAL channel to members, called mPAL – my cpf, where they can view their CPF account information (eg. account balance, property and investment statements) via their mobile phones. d2) Service agility The m-Ambassadors initiative provides service agility as the service capacity could be increased quickly. This initiative cuts down the queuing time for the elderly who would flock to the service centres when the government provides top-ups to their CPF accounts. The operating cost of a transaction performed by the m-Ambassador is about US$1.89 while a counter transaction’s operating cost is US$5.06. Singapore has initiated the wireless infrastructure to be put in place islandwide. When wireless access is available island-wide, the m-Ambassador service would be extended beyond all CPF Service Centres to public places like community clubs, old folks’ homes and homes of immobile members, especially the old folks who are living on their own. d3) Cost effectiveness Since 2005, more than 1,300 small businesses have converted to submitting CPF contributions via mobile phones and AXS stations and enjoy substantial cost savings from the processing fees otherwise chargeable for hardcopy submission. The introduction of the alternative service delivery channels has also helped the Board to reduce overall operating costs. The cost of serving each customer at the counter has reduced from US$6.86 in 2005 to US$5.06 as at July 2006. The implementation of services through the AXS stations and mobile phones has enhanced the Board’s e-services effort. It helped to boost the monthly e-transactions to 2.6 million in 2006, as compared to 2 million monthly in 2005.

Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
The Board aims to introduce another 20 services through AXS stations and mobile phones by end 2007. It is also exploring ways to expand the scope of existing service delivery channels such as extending the service of m-Ambassadors to the immobile elderly residing in nursing homes. The Board continually gathers feedback from citizens for ideas of improvement through focus groups, surveys and various contact points with the public. A task force comprising various division representatives led by Customer Relations Division studies and maps out the future directions for the Board’s customer service. The Board regularly hosts the other government agencies who are interested to learn about its service culture and service delivery channels. In 2006, the Board has hosted 12 groups of visitors from both the public and private sector. Overseas organisations have also come to learn from the Board. For instance, in November, we hosted government officials from Brunei and Fiji National Provident Fund. The Board’s customer relations representative also speaks frequently at the events of various government agencies to share our success story on customer service excellence. In November 2005, the Board participated in a conference organised by the Dubai Institute of Human Resource and spoke on the topic of how to create a customer-centric culture. This was followed by other speaking engagements in Hong Kong and Malaysia. Following the success of the Board’s services through mobile phones, the Singapore government has started an m-government initiative which aims to roll out mobile services progressively in the public sector for the citizens. On a deeper level, Bridge the Digital Divide reflects the Board’s resolution to constantly come up with innovative ways to serve citizens better. It is this same resolution that has propelled the Board to be one of the pioneers in many new areas of service delivery and set the future service framework for all the Singapore government services.

What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
When the Board first embarked on the Bridge the Digital Divide, ideas were generated to modify behaviour such as suggestions to hold classroom training on using online services for the non IT literate, stop counter services to ‘force’ citizens to use online services. However, the task force soon realised through feedback from focus groups, customers and frontliners like Customer Service Officers that while modifying behaviour has its merits, it is a long process and at the end of the day, it may not be effective. It became clear to the Board that a more effective way is to know our target groups: gain insights into their lifestyle and their mindset. From there, tailor our services around their daily lives so that it would cause minimal disruption to the target groups and yet reap maximum convenience for them. The elderly as defined in target group E initially needed some persuasion to use the biometric counters or e-counters as they were used to the conventional way of taking a queue number and wait. The problem was resolved by the e-Ambassadors who are stationed at the e-lobby to explain and demonstrate the ease of using the e-counters for the elderly who could communicate in English. The transition for the elderly to start using the Club 55 service was seamless as the reception officers would direct the elderly to join the queue at Club 55. As for m-Ambassador, the project did not face any issues when it was first implemented as the elderly were glad to be served faster when there were crowds at the CPF service centres. The Board did encounter some obstacles in the implementation of providing services through mobile phones and AXS stations but managed to resolve the issues prior to the launch. The obstacles encountered were: iii) Restriction on the amount of CPF information to be displayed due to the screen size of mobile phones and AXS stations The CPF information was redesigned to be more concise with some information being displayed in bullet points. iv) Certain mobile phone models were not compatible to host the Board’s services Ongoing compatibility testing is conducted on the different phone models from popular brands in Singapore such as Nokia, Samsung, etc. A list of compatible phone models is published on the Board’s website or sent to anyone upon request. v) Designing the transaction flow on AXS stations to be user-friendly To design the transaction flow for the Board’s services in the AXS stations, focus groups comprising CPF staff were roped in to give their opinions as they, too, are users of AXS stations. An organisation should not blindly embrace technology. It should instead harness technology to serve the best interests of its customers. In its initiative to Bridge the Digital Divide, the Board has successfully garnered technology that cuts across the different segments of the population in providing a premium level of service.


Institution Name:		Central Provident Fund Board, Singapore
Institution Type:		Government Agency
Contact Person:		Hock Keong Ng
Title:		Director(Customer Relations)
Telephone/ Fax:		+6562293262
Institution's / Project's Website:		+6562245869
E-mail:		hock_keong.ng@cpf.gov.sg
Address:		79 Robinson Road CPF Building #41-00
Postal Code:		068897
City:		Singapore
State/Province:		Singapore
Country:		Singapore

The Problem

Solution and Key Benefits

Actors and Stakeholders

(a) Strategies

(b) Implementation

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

(d) Use of Resources

Sustainability and Transferability

Lessons Learned

Contact Information