United Nations Public Service Awards Case Studies

Before the implementation of the Unique Entity Number (UEN), there was no common identifier of entities in Singapore. Various public agencies and private sector organisations issued their own identifiers in order to identify and interact with their entities and these identifiers were of different formats. There were at least 20 identifier formats issued by 15 government agencies for more than 35 entity-types.

The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) issued the ACRA number to companies and businesses and it was the most widely-used entity identifier by both the public and private sectors. However, as there were various entity-types such as Societies, Schools and Healthcare Institutions that were without widely-recognised identifiers, some agencies would issue their own identifiers to these entities which they interact with, including the ACRA-registered companies and businesses. There are also other agencies which would use the ACRA number to interact with companies and businesses but issue their own identifiers to other entity-types. Private sector organisations also encountered similar challenges when they interact with their customers.

As a result, an entity would have various identifiers tagged to it. Depending on the number of government agencies that they interact with, some entities could have as many as 5 identifiers given to them. For example, entities would be given a “Tax Reference Number” to file corporate tax returns, a “Central Registration Number” to apply for import and export permits, an “Employer Reference Number” to submit their employees’ CPF contributions, an “ACRA number” to file annual corporate returns, and a “Vendor ID” to submit tender quotations to bid for government projects. Hence, when entities interact with different government agencies, they must remember and use the different identifiers, which could be cumbersome for entities.

For the government, with no common identifier for entities, it was difficult to match and identify the same entity across agencies. This hindered data-matching and information sharing for government agencies and made it difficult for the government to have a holistic view of the interactions it has with entities.

What is the initiative about? (the solution)
The UEN initiative involved the streamlining of processes and the development of a central IT system to facilitate the generation and issuance of the UEN - a standardised means of identifying entities (e.g. businesses, societies, schools, professional bodies) in Singapore. An UEN website, www.uen.gov.sg, was also created to allow real-time search for entities. The implementation of UEN has a) Brought about greater convenience to entities by streamlining more than 15 existing identifiers issued by 12 government agencies to bring about one standard identifier. With UEN, whether for filing corporate tax returns or applying for various permits, entities only need to use UEN and no longer need to use different identifiers to interact with different government agencies. b) Provided government agencies and the public with a standardized, error-free and instant means of identifying and verifying all 385,000 entities and more than 30 entity-types. With UEN, the government could match and identify the same entity across agencies efficiently and have a holistic view of the interactions it has with entities.

Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
A Ministry of Finance (MOF)-led study was conducted in 2005 to examine if and how an UEN could be issued to entities in Singapore. The study scope included background research on similar initiatives and consultations with public agencies and entities through focus groups, survey, and online consultation. Based on the positive findings from the study, the Committee of Permanent Secretaries endorsed the implementation of UEN and a multi-agency team was formed to implement the project. This multi-agency team was co-led by MOF and ACRA, and supported by the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) and the Attorney-General Chambers (AGC). 24 government agencies that interacted extensively with the public were part of the team as key governmental stakeholders, while representatives from more than 10 industry groups (such as the Association of Banks in Singapore, International Chambers of Commerce, Singapore Business Federation) were engaged and consulted as private sector stakeholders. The extensive inputs gathered from both the governmental and private sector stakeholders were incorporated into the implementation plans.

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.
Extensive consultation with stakeholders to obtain strong buy-in. For the UEN to be adopted widely and function as the universal identifier, it must be able to meet the needs of all stakeholders. As UEN affected many entities and diverse entity-types with different business needs, the project team conducted extensive consultations (e.g. briefings and focus group discussions) with various industry groups such as banks, telecommunications companies, logistics companies and freight companies to better understand their needs and concerns. Right from the beginning during the study phase in 2005, a Whole-of-Government survey was conducted with 71 government agencies, while an online public consultation was launched with the general public. More than 60 feedback were received from the general public and their feedback touched on areas such as the benefits of UEN, privacy concerns, coverage of UEN and measures to ease the adoption of UEN. The inputs from the survey and public consultation were invaluable and helped to shape the various parameters of the UEN project. For example, through the survey and consultation, it was found that most government agencies and the public did not see the need to identify sub-entities such as branches and divisions. Hence the eventual UEN format was kept simple and used solely for the purposes of identifying entities and not sub-entities. Working across agencies as one government to align interests and achieve shared outcome. To streamline the many identifiers to bring about one standard identifier, multiple regulatory agencies and public service delivery agencies must agree on the UEN format, the design of the UEN central system and the common processes to facilitate the generation and issuance of the UEN. Government agencies must be able to harmonise their requirements and work together as one to achieve the “one number for public convenience” vision. To this end, there was engagement with all levels of public officers to obtain buy-in for the vision and reconcile different requirements. At the highest level, the iGov Council, which comprises permanent secretaries from different ministries, set the strategic vision and deliverables. Following that, senior agency representatives (Director-level and above) were co-opted into the 24-agency UEN Project Steering Committee to spearhead the project. Between 2006 and 2008, more than 6 public-service wide seminars and a dedicated resource portal were set up to guide and assist agencies in their adoption of UEN. Task forces that consisted of experts in specific fields such as communications, IT system integration and data conversion were also formed to assist agencies that required guidance.

b. What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
In early 2005, a MOF-led project team was formed to examine if and how a UEN, similar to the identification number for individuals, could be issued to entities in Singapore. Public consultation and a Whole-of-Government survey were carried out. The study concluded that there was value in having a UEN. From mid-2006, the UEN project committee with more than 20 participating government agencies was formed to steer the project planning and implementation. In view of the multi-disciplinary nature of the UEN project, the project was organized and developed according to the following 6 tracks: a) Track 1 - Business Processes b) Track 2 - Technical Requirements c) Track 3 - Study into Conversion Of Existing Establishment Identifiers d) Track 4 - Policies & Legislation e) Track 5 - Funding & Business Model f) Track 6 - Communications For the whole of 2007, good progress was made in the various tracks and work started to develop the UEN system and the interfaces with agencies. Agencies also started work on data conversion and enhanced their IT systems for the adoption of UEN. In early 2008, another round of public consultation with selected industry groups took place to discuss and address implementation concerns. In August 2008, the UEN was announced to the media and the public and the UEN website was successfully launched. Entities were informed of their UEN through mailers sent out by various agencies. Agencies also trained their staff to understand the UEN initiative and handle public queries while ensuring that their processes and systems were ready for UEN. Data cleansing and conversion were ongoing and a system cut-over exercise was conducted during the last 2 weeks in Dec 08. The UEN initiative was finally launched on 1 Jan 09. 56 government agencies and 385,000 entities adopted UEN for interactions (both over-the-counter and online e-government interactions). All government agencies will use UEN from 1 July 2009.

c. What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
The transformational benefits of UEN could only be realised if it was widely adopted by all agencies. However, as agencies have their own identifiers, IT systems and registration processes, some agencies were initially resistant to adopt UEN. The key challenge of the project was to ensure wide adoption of the UEN by all agencies. To ensure that UEN adoption was prevalent, it was important to minimize disruption and cost incurred by agencies and the private sector. Hence, instead of coming up with an entirely new format, the existing ACRA number format was retained as one of the UEN formats, since it was issued to the majority of entities (i.e. 85%) and was the most widely used identification number. This helped to minimise disruption and cost incurred. The remaining 15% of entities which do not have ACRA registration numbers will adopt the main UEN format. All agencies were then engaged and informed at least a year ahead of the initiative so that they could make changes to their IT systems and registration processes. Tools and guides were also made readily available to government agencies and the private sector to facilitate their UEN adoption efforts. Finally, some central funding was provided to enable key agencies which have substantial interaction with entities to make system enhancements. With the key agencies committed to adopting UEN, the reality of UEN as the universal identifier was fulfilled and other agencies also decided to make UEN their identifier.

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 development of the central UEN system cost about USD 600,000. The UEN system allows both the public and government agencies to search for basic entity information, and agencies to issue UEN and update entity information. Agencies could also use this central system to maintain their registry of entities and thus derive cost savings by avoiding the need to maintain its own registration system. To defray some of the implementation cost at agencies’ end, MOF provided co-funding of about USD 1.1 million to assist 30 agencies to make incremental changes to their existing systems and perform data integration and conversion. In terms of manpower, while there were about 4 full-time staff working on the project, more than 30 officers were involved in the UEN Project Steering Committee. These officers provided inputs to define key project parameters and drove the project. More than 100 officers from 50 agencies were also involved to make changes to the agencies’ system and processes to ensure that they are UEN-ready.

Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
Sustainability With the streamlining of more than 20 existing identifiers issued by 15 government agencies to bring about UEN, the UEN has became one identifier used by all government agencies. As entities would interact with government agencies frequently for public services, it is very likely that the UEN would become their de facto identifier for both governmental and private sector interactions. With the completion of the project, a management committee, consisting of MOF and ACRA, would be formed to provide direction for subsequent UEN developments and explore the development of better services for the public by leveraging on the UEN. ACRA, as the UEN administrator, has been tasked to manage the UEN processes and system and it would ensure that they are kept up-to-date by improving on them where necessary. Transferability Already implemented government-wide in Singapore, the UEN could be replicated in other countries and at the international level. The key to a successful implementation would be to understand the registration framework of other countries, getting buy-in from key stakeholders and having strong and committed leadership to drive the initiative.

What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
UEN is a strategic building block to integrate public sector data and interaction with entities. It streamlined the different existing identification numbers, provided agencies and the public with a standardised means of identifying entities in Singapore and allowed the government to have a holistic view of all its interactions with entities. With the UEN as the enabler, government agencies and the private sector would be able to leverage on it to develop better and more personalized services, especially e-services. 1.Getting all agencies on board as one integrated government As this project involved many government agencies, much effort were required to forge consensus, align agencies’ policies and requirements, integrate the various existing IT systems, perform data conversion and coordinate the internal and external communication plans. To this end, senior leadership’s commitment to the project vision played a big part to ensure support from agencies. MOF and ACRA, as lead agencies for the project, helped agencies to reconcile differences and forged a cooperative and collaborative working relationship among agencies. 2. Getting experts from diverse fields to contribute in this multi-disciplinary project UEN was not merely an IT project. It involved a major change effort by many agencies and required the fusing of know-all from fields such as Government Regulation Policies and Legislation, Registration Processes, Change Management, IT and Corporate Communications. There was a need to integrate the various skill sets and know-all of different personnel so that the multi-disciplinary team could work together as one to achieve the UEN vision of “one number for public convenience”.


Institution Name:		Ministry of Finance
Institution Type:		Government Agency
Contact Person:		Ryan Ho
Title:		Senior Associate, Integrated Services
Telephone/ Fax:		63327111
Institution's / Project's Website:		63374134
E-mail:		ryan_ho@mof.gov.sg
Address:		100 High Street, #06-03, The Treasury
Postal Code:		179434
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