United Nations Public Service Awards Case Studies

In the past, the emphasis of the Government was simply soliciting and receiving feedback from citizens and citizens had to visit multiple government websites to air their views on policies. Citizens also need to know which government agencies they should direct their concerns to.

In order to explore new ways of engaging Singaporeans more deeply, a consultation exercise was embarked. The consultation exercise generated many ideas which include raising the level of public engagement, promote active citizenry and create more avenues for Singaporeans to involve in the issues that affect their lives. With this intention, the Feedback Unit was revamped to form the new REACH unit, Reaching Everyone for Active Citizenry @ Home. REACH signals the Government’s intention to be even more proactive and effective in reaching out to Singaporeans from all walks of life.

To support the objectives of the new REACH unit and in view of the need to enable Singaporeans to be able to give their opinions on issues conveniently and through a single gateway, the REACH Portal (www.reach.gov.sg) was implemented. The REACH Portal delivers value-added and integrated electronic services for citizens who want to give feedback. This is important in meeting the needs of a citizenry who is IT-savvy and increasingly interested in being involved in decisions that affect their lives.

What is the initiative about? (the solution)
REACH has now become the lead agency in engaging and connecting with all Singaporeans. It has moved the citizens beyond just giving feedback to being engaged. This has enabled Singaporeans, here and overseas to play a more active role in shaping government policies. The array of feedback channels has also provided Overseas Singaporeans an opportunity to air their views via the cyberspace. All the initiatives implemented on the REACH Portal have helped in enhancing consultation effectiveness and opportunities for citizen participation and involvement. Through public consultation, the process of policy formulation process in Government is now better known to the citizens and policies are further fine-tuned to address the needs of Singaporeans. This contributes towards a transparent and open policy-making process. Feedback is systematically solicited and drafts of policy papers and legislative changes are published on Reach Portal to allow the public and stakeholders to give their views before decisions on policies are made. Public attitudes and perceptions have also changed. People are aware that there are many ways through which they can give their views or suggestions to the Government. With the growing popularity of the internet, REACH has received a significant increase in the number of feedback since its revamp and many constructive suggestions and feedback were received. These contributions help the Government stays attuned to the ground sentiments. Increasingly, more Singaporeans are also becoming more open and vocal in expressing their views via dialogue and cyberspace. Being actively engaged gives them the opportunity to play a part in nation building and it also strengthens the sense of commitment and belonging to Singapore.

Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
The idea for REACH Portal was proposed by REACH Unit which was set up in October 2006 as part of the restructuring plans for the Feedback Unit to move beyond gathering public feedback and to become the lead agency in engaging and connecting with citizens. REACH comprises both a unit and a panel which set the direction for REACH’s roles and activities. The current panel comprises seven Members of Parliament (MPs) and 17 people-private sector representatives including grassroots leaders from Citizens Consultative Committees (CCCs). This representation underscores the important role that the people-private sector plays in helping to strengthen the public consultation process. The implementation of the REACH Portal was overseen by the Information Technology Division (ITD), also under MCYS. An external IT vendor was appointed to design and develop the system. Throughout the process, extensive requirement study and user acceptance testing were conducted with the REACH staff.

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.
REACH outlined the following strategies to achieve its objectives: a. Gathering and Gauging Ground Sentiments REACH will continue to feel the pulse of the ground. b. Reaching Out and Engaging Citizens REACH will work closely with community and grassroots organisations to reach out to more segments of the Singaporean society. Besides conducting dialogues and tea sessions, REACH will also work closely with the mainstream media to convey key issues, as well as tap on new media such as SMS and blogs to engage more Singaporeans. c. Promoting Active Citizenry through Citizen Participation and Involvement REACH will form ad hoc workgroups which will work with the relevant Ministries to develop the ideas into concrete proposals for the Government’s consideration.

b. What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
To facilitate e-participation, REACH leverages on different feedback channels. On 27 June 2008, REACH launched its first roving interactive exhibition to reach out to heartlanders to increase their awareness of REACH. Public consultation plays an important role in Singapore. Feedback is systematically solicited and drafts of policy papers and legislative changes are published in Reach Portal to allow the public and stakeholders to give their views before decisions on policies are made. The following new media channels were also used to engage the net-savvy Singaporeans: a. Discussion Forums REACH portal offers an interactive discussion forum where Singaporeans and permanent residents can contribute their views and comment on a wide range of topics. b. Blogs It allows Singaporeans to express their thoughts and share insights. c. E-Polls It allows public to take part in electronic polls on government policies. d. SMS feedback facility Due to the increasing popularity and convenience in using SMS as an effective channel of communication, multi-lingual SMS facility was introduced in 2006 as one of the channels to seek views from public. In 2007, REACH included Chinese SMS text capability to engage more heartlanders to give their views. e. Real-time web chats The e-Townhall meeting is a virtual meeting on Reach portal which allows net-savvy Singaporeans here and overseas to engage the Government interactively on pertinent issues through real-time web chats. This makes the Government more accessible to Singaporeans everywhere, strengthens citizen engagement and facilitates greater two-way communication. Apart from English, the e-Townhall meetings were also conducted in Chinese and Malay. f. REACH Singapore Facebook Group It was launched on 27 June 2008 to engage youth, net-savvy and overseas Singaporeans in giving their feedback to the Government through an interactive and informal platform. The following groups were formed to promote active citizenry through citizen participation and involvement: a. The People’s Forum was formed to build an extensive pool of Singaporeans and permanent residents who would like to contribute their views actively on national policies and issues to the Government. b. In September 2007, REACH formed five Policy Study Workgroups (PSWs) to foster greater citizen participation in policy formation process. These workgroups which focus on the five issues (ageing and health, education and human capital excellence, economic and employment opportunities, physical and environmental sustainability and population and integration) studied specific key issues and challenges facing Singapore and submit recommendations on how to help Singaporeans meet them. c. In February 2008, the ‘Junior REACH Ambassadors’ (JRA) programme was launched. This is an outreach initiative to raise the level of active citizenry among youth so that they are aware of the important role they can play in the feedback process and the platforms available for them to give their feedback. The JRAs will be the catalyst of change in their schools and to cultivate feedback culture among their peers, they will spearhead feedback activities in their schools to encourage youth engagement. All these engagement were facilitated and enabled by the REACH Portal.

c. What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
One of the concerns raised by the citizens was that their feedback was not heard by the Government and their feedback appeared to go into a “black hole”. To address this, REACH started an initiative called “Talk Abuzz” on 26 September 2008 when Singaporeans can get a snapshot of hot issues that are “buzzing” on the ground. Feedback were also quoted to give Singaporeans a better sense of the views received via the different feedback channels like discussion forum, SMSes, dialogue sessions and emails on the REACH Portal. Some of the Government agencies’ responses to the feedback were also published online on the REACH Portal for public reading.

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
A project team was formed to implement the REACH portal. In consultation with the Information Technology Division, the external vendor and REACH staff, the REACH website was conceived on 12 October 2006. The website hosts an array of online feedback channels which provide a convenient platform for Singaporeans to air their views. Dedicated budget was set aside for these initiatives.

Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
The government has required all government agencies to conduct public consultation when making new or reviewing policies. Government agencies have employed the REACH portal for their public consultation efforts. The Discussion Forum on the REACH website hosts a wide variety of topics such as finance, environmental and other bread-and-butter topics to gather views from Singaporeans. For topics that have received a significant number of feedbacks, the inputs are compiled and summarized. REACH would then share the summary with the various agencies. When embarking on major consultation exercises such as Budget and National Day Rally, REACH would invite Singaporeans to give their views. To raise awareness on the list of available feedback channels, this was done through publicity such as radio advertisement and online banners in the mainstream media. The inputs received via the various feedback channels have been increasing.

What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
Agencies’ participation is one of the factors for the Portal’s success as a one-stop portal for citizens to give feedback. Besides participating in consultation on REACH Portal, government agencies also adopt and learn to effectively engage the public using the different means available on the Portal. Open-ness to implement new feedback channels is another success factors. The REACH Unit has been open to explore and adopt new media technologies on its REACH Portal for engagement. It has deployed discussion forum, blogs, webchats, SMS, e-poll and has also created a feedback group in Facebook to extend its reach & richness in functionalities. Endorsement by the Government for REACH to be the one-stop engagement entity where Government agencies would engage citizens through REACH website is also a key success factor. This facilitates two-way interaction between the Government and Singaporeans over a single and consistent platform and encourages fruitful online exchanges. Moving forward, REACH would continue to explore new feedback channels and encourage online engagement with Singaporeans.


Institution Name:		REACH Unit, Ministry of Community Development, Youth & Sports
Institution Type:		Government Department
Contact Person:		Li Ling Ang
Title:		Consultant
Telephone/ Fax:		63548040
Institution's / Project's Website:
E-mail:		ang_li_ling@mcys.gov.sg
Address:		512 Thomson Road, #16-00 MCYS Building
Postal Code:		298136
City:		Singapore
State/Province:
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