United Nations Public Service Awards Case Studies

Fast Ageing Population
Singapore has one of the fastest ageing populations. By 2030, one in five residents will be 65 and above, from one in 12 today. And according to UN Population Division’s “World Population Prospects: The 2006 Revision”, by 2050 Singapore is projected to be the fourth oldest country in the world.

The Government has established the Committee on Ageing Issues in 2004 and Ministerial Committee on Ageing (MCA) in 2007 with the vision of achieving “Successful Ageing for Singapore”. MCA is committed to pursuing a whole-of-government response to ageing along the following 4 strategic thrusts:

1. Enhance Employability and Financial Security;
2. Provide Holistic and Affordable Healthcare and Eldercare;
3. Enable Ageing-in-Place; and
4. Promote Active Ageing.

Enable Ageing-in-Place
Ageing in one’s home and within the community is beneficial to the elderly person’s wellbeing. To enable ageing-in-place, the physical built environment must be made elder-friendly to provide safe and unhindered access from homes to public amenities, communal and recreational facilities as well as the public transport system. Therefore, accessibility is a key enabler for people to have more opportunities, be it with regard to social, cultural or economic participation.

An accessible built environment facilitates elderly and other wheelchair bound users in maintaining their independence. Singapore, unlike USA, UK and Australia, there is no anti-discrimination legislation which the public can depend to compel building owners to carry out accessibility upgrading.

To meet the key thrust ‘Enable Ageing-in-Place”, BCA has developed the Barrier-Free Accessibility (BFA) Masterplan in 2006.

Foster an Inclusive Society
As an island city with just a land area of about 700 square kilometer and with a growing population of 5 millions, residents and visitors have to contend in living, working and playing in a densely built environment. Singapore is also a multi-cultural and multi-races society. Beyond economic opportunity and a capable government, it is imperative to foster a cohesive, resilient and inclusive society to sustain the community living and economic growth.

To foster an inclusive society through the built environment, BCA is going beyond the requirements of the BFA Code by promoting Universal Design (UD). UD enhance the design of buildings and facilities such that they cater to all persons of different culture and races, persons with disability, seniors, mothers and children. UD which is part of the BFA Masterplan enables products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialised design.

What is the initiative about? (the solution)
(A) Empowering the Elderly and Physically Handicap The Barrier-Free Accessibility Masterplan is one of the key initiatives to fulfill the national vision of “Successful Ageing for Singapore” set by the Ministerial Committee on Ageing. A key feature of the BFA Masterplan is the Code on Barrier-Free Accessibility (BFA) in Buildings which ensures that all new buildings built from 1990 onwards conform to a minimum set of standards on barrier-free provisions. It also applies to existing buildings that undergo major refurbishment. An accessible built environment allows our seniors to maintain essential links to friends, family and the wider community. It facilitates seniors in maintaining their independence. The mandatory accessibility code was enhanced in 2008 which ensures that the wheelchair bound elderly is able to manoeuvre independently within functional spaces (including the use of toilets). The enhanced code also ensures interconnectivity between buildings and amenities such as nearby transport infrastructures like bus stops and taxi stands. Public places like parks must also be accessible to wheelchair users. (B) Promoting an Inclusive Society though Universal Design Through our promotional and raising awareness effort, many buildings have voluntarily adopted Universal Design (UD) concepts. While basic accessibility ensures that the built environment is barrier free for wheelchair users and the elderly, UD encourages the built environment to be designed for use by as many people as possible regardless of age, culture, sex or physical abilities. This will help to foster an inclusive society which is vital for harmonious community living and sustained economic growth. (C) Enhance Accessibility of Old Buildings As there is a huge stock of existing old buildings before 1990 that are not subjected to the accessibility code requirements, efforts have been made to encourage upgrading of these buildings. Government Taking the Lead. For public buildings frequented by the public, like polyclinics, community clubs and government offices, BCA works closely with the respective government agencies on their accessibility upgrading plans. As a result, more than 90% of these public buildings are currently accessible. Financial Incentive. For private sector, there is a need to provide incentives to encourage private owners to improve accessibility of existing buildings through upgrading. For privately owned buildings, the Accessibility Fund (AF) launched in 2007 will co-pay 80% of the cost for upgrading (up to a cap of $300,000). Since the launch, a large number of buildings have been upgraded with support from the fund. These are hotels, commercial buildings and especially for religious buildings like temples, mosque and churches of which there is a surge of applications for the fund. (D) Enhance Public Awareness through Online Portal One of the effective tools to raise public awareness on accessibility and universal design is through the BCA’s Friendly Built Environment on-line portal (http://www.friendlybuildings.sg) launched in 2008. To keep users better informed of the user friendliness of buildings and to build stronger demand for such facilities in buildings, the Accessibility Rating System (ARS) was launched together with the Friendly Building Portal. The ARS is a system to rate buildings according to the level of friendliness and ratings are published in the Friendly Built Environment Portal. Currently, close to 1000 buildings have been rated. Users can use the portal to plan their visit to buildings with BFA features and UD facilities that cater to their needs.

Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
The formulation and implementation of the Barrier-Free Accessibility Masterplan is championed by BCA in collaboration with other public sector agencies, private sector, Institutes of Higher Learning and non-government organizations (NGOs). Some of the key initiatives with the involvement of stakeholders are highlighted as follows: Formulation of Barrier-Free Accessibility (BFA) Masterplan The Barrier Free Accessibility Masterplan was developed by BCA with participation from stakeholders. The accessibility code enhancements were completed in 2008, as one of the key strategies of the Masterplan. The enhancement was carried out by a committee chaired by BCA with members from various stakeholders, including NGOs, developers, architects, academics, lift contractors and manufacturers and other public agencies to ensure all views were considered. The NGOs include: • Handicaps Welfare Association • Singapore Association for the Visually Handicapped • Society for the Physically Disabled • Asian Women Welfare Association • Singapore Action Group for the Elders. Comparisons with the codes of other countries like United Kingdom and Australia were also made to affirm changes to the code. The enhanced code was implemented by BCA in April 2008. Implementation of BFA Masterplan • To co-ordinate the whole-of-government response to ageing and to facilitate the implementation of the BFA Masterplan, BCA is co-chairing the Inter-Agency Barrier-Free Accessibility Co-ordination Committee comprising government agencies such as the Housing Development Board and Urban Redevelopment Authority to coordinate efforts for barrier-free accessibility, especially in the resolution of inter-connectivity issues. • BCA has also introduced new legislative measures to ensure continued compliance to the Code on Barrier-Free Accessibility and other building requirements so that building and facilities remain accessible and usable to seniors and persons with disabilities throughout the building life. • Buildings completed before the implementation of the accessibility code are generally inaccessible and there is no mandatory requirement for these buildings to be upgraded. To improve the accessibility of these existing buildings, BCA together with its parent Ministry of National Development and also Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports successfully secured a $40 million Accessibility Fund to co-pay the cost of upgrading. • For public buildings, BCA engages the Heads of the various agencies of the accessibility initiatives and conducted briefings for their officers. BCA then works closely with them on their upgrading plans and monitor the progress. Raising Awareness on Accessibility • The first Universal Design (UD) guide for commercial buildings was published in collaboration with the School of Architecture of the National University of Singapore in 2006. The second UD guide was published in 2007 to provide guidelines for all types of buildings. To avail the guides to all who are interested, efforts were made to allow soft copies of both UD guides to be downloaded free of charge from BCA’s portal. • BCA had also collaborated with the Singapore Institute of Architects and the Handicaps Welfare Association to roll out the inaugural Universal Design Awards. • The Friendly Built Environment on-line portal and Accessibility Rating System were initiated by BCA and developed through collaboration with Volunteer Welfare Organisations, Institutes of Higher Learning and building owners.

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.
BCA took the lead in the formulation and implementation of the BFA Masterplan which is done through collaborative effort with other government agencies, industry players and NGOs. BCA’s Barrier Free Accessibility (BFA) Master Plan is based on a four-pronged approach which is adopted to address barrier-free accessibility of the built environment in a holistic manner. The four-pronged approach is: 1. To ensure that new buildings are designed to meet the needs of more users by including new requirements in the accessibility code and promoting Universal Design; 2. To improve the accessibility of existing buildings by using the Accessibility Fund to encourage upgrading of private sector buildings and facilitating the upgrading of public sector buildings; 3. To prevent building owners from removing or altering accessible facilities like handicap car parking lots and wheelchair friendly toilets etc through legislation on continued compliance; and 4. To raise awareness among stakeholders and enhance industry capability through seminars, workshops, exhibitions and overseas study trips.

b. What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
The key development and steps for implementing the Barrier-Free Accessibility Masterplan are as follows: Key Development and Implementation – Timeframe Implementation of the Barrier Free Accessibility (BFA) Code - 1990 Formulation and Implementation of BFA Masterplan - 2005-2006 Government taking the lead in upgrading of public sector buildings - Since 2006 Inter-agency co-ordinating committee formed to resolve interconnectivity for areas that cross into jurisdictions of different government agencies. - Formed in Apr 2006 Launch of 1st Universal Design (UD) Guide - Sep 2006 Launch the $40 million Accessibility Fund to co-pay upgrading cost for incorporating BFA features for existing buildings. - 2007 (funds are available till 2011) Inaugural BCA Universal Design Award - 2007 (held annually) Enhancement to accessibility code with greater emphasis on inter-connectivity and elder-friendly built environment - Launched in Oct 2007 (Took effect in Apr 08) Launch of 2nd UD guide - Oct 2007 - Nurturing the Young through student attachments to BCA to work on accessibility initiatives - Since 2007 Target key leisure and commercial areas for upgrading of accessibility features eg. Orchard Road shopping malls etc. - Since 2007 Legislation for maintenance of accessible facilities to safeguard the facilities throughout the building life. - Incorporated in the Building Control Act in Sep 2007 (Took effect in Feb 2008) Roving exhibitions at the community to raise awareness on accessibility. - Since Jan 2008 Showcase of accessibility and UD features in the BCA Gallery - Apr 2008 Launch of the On-line Accessibility Rating System and Friendly Building Portal. - Oct 2008 Incorporate BFA as an integral part of the upgrading of private estates. - Since 2008 Learning of Best Practices through Study Trip with stakeholders led by BCA. - July 2009

c. What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
Upgrading of Existing Private Sector Buildings Issue • One of the key challenges is that many of the older existing buildings are constructed before the implementation of the Barrier Free Accessibility (BFA) Code in 1990. This has resulted in such buildings being inaccessible, unless major retrofitting works are carried out to implement BFA features. Besides the upgrading cost and inconvenience and disruption brought about by retrofitting works, the existing physical constraints around/within the buildings also discourage the building owners/managing agents from carrying out the necessary upgrading work to their buildings. Measures • To encourage the upgrading of these buildings with at least basic accessibility, there is the $40 million Accessibility Fund to co-pay the cost of upgrading of up to 80%. • BCA also set target for the key leisure and business areas in Singapore eg. Orchard Road (major shopping area) to be barrier-free by 2011. BCA has been working closely with building owners and managers and appealing to the social responsibility of building owners as corporate citizens to incorporate BFA features through our face to face interaction and persuasion with them. As a result of these efforts, more buildings have been upgraded with basic BFA. • BCA has formed an inter-agency committee with representatives from the relevant agencies to ensure that there is co-ordination between the upgrading of Orchard Mall and the buildings. Lack of Public Awareness on Accessibility and Universal Design Issue • The lack of public awareness on accessibility and Universal Design (UD) has resulted in weak demand for accessibility and UD features in buildings from the general public and building industry. Measures Raising Public Awareness • Showcasing accessibility and UD features at the BCA Gallery which has been effective in raising the awareness of the public especially for the young. • The Friendly Built Environment Portal and the Accessibility Rating System are implemented to reach out to the general public using the internet. • Roving exhibitions at the community places are organised to raise public awareness. Raising Technical Awareness and Capabilities of Industry • Courses and workshops on accessibility and UD are organised. International speakers are also invited to speak on best practices on UD at the seminar. • UD guides are disseminated to the industry and stakeholders. • UD Awards is given out to raise profile of good UD design buildings with the aim to promote UD and recognise buildings with accessibility features. • Study trip on UD with the industry was also organised not only to learn from the best practices of other country but also to strengthen relationship with the industry.

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
Implement BFA Masterplan • The formulation and implementation of the BFA Masterplan is carried out mainly by the Building Plan Department (BPD) of BCA involving about 40 officers and with support from other departments in BCA. The officers in BPD are mainly trained in architectural, engineering or building designs. Raise Public Awareness • The Friendly Built Environment Portal and the Accessibility Rating System (ARS) are developed and maintained in-house by BCA’s BPD and our Information Technology Department (ITD). Students from tertiary institutions are also enlisted to audit buildings and build up the database for the ARS. • Seminars, UD Guides, UD Awards, study trips, showcase at the Gallery and roving exhibitions are also organised or implemented by BPD with support from our BCA Academy and Communication Department. Incentives • The government has set aside $40 million Accessibility Fund as incentive for upgrading accessibility facilities in existing buildings by building owners. BPD is administering the application and use of the fund. In all, there are currently about 40 officers from Building Plan and Management (BPM) Division with support from 2 other divisions involved in the formulation and implementation of the BFA Masterplan. In addition, BCA’s Senior Management (i.e. our CEO, Deputy CEO (Building Control) and Director (BPM)) were also instrumental in providing leadership & guidance, as well as reach out to top management of private sector firms/other public agencies to obtain buy-in for our initiatives.

Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
Long Term Response to Ageing Issues The Government has established the Ministerial Committee on Ageing (MCA) in 2007 with the vision of achieving “Successful Ageing for Singapore” based on the unprecedented profound age shift in 2030 whereby those who are aged 65 years and older will multiply threefold. MCA is committed to pursuing a whole-of-government and long term response to ageing issues with some of the medium and long goals of the whole of government effort as follows: • For public housing whereby 80% of population is residing, the goal is to implement BFA in all housing estates by 2011. • As for public transport, most public train stations have been retrofitted since 2006 and are barrier-free today. By 2010, 40% of the public bus fleet will be wheelchair-accessible. Supporting the national thrust to “Enable Ageing-in-Place”, the BFA Masterplan has put in place the overarching strategies to enhance accessibility and interconnectivity for the built environment in Singapore. It has a framework that sets and reviews constantly the medium and long term goals for the built environment including the following targets: • Target for existing buildings in key leisure and business areas in Singapore to be barrier free by 2011 • Target for 55% of all commercial, institutional and industrial buildings to incorporate basic BFA features by 2015 To achieve the goals, BCA has put in place a comprehensive and sustainable program of initiatives which rely on robust building regulatory framework (through legislation), government take-the-lead approach (garner commitment from Heads of agencies) and effective outreach (through multi-channel including online portal, roving exhibition, seminar and BCA Gallery).

What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
1) Recognition at the Ministerial Level • The report card on the work accomplished by the Singapore Government on ageing issues for 2007 was released in January 2008 by the Ministerial Committee on Ageing (MCA). Good progress was reported and one of the major achievements highlighted in 2007 included effective measures that have been implemented under the BFA Masterplan. This acknowledgement and recognition at the Ministerial level is a strong endorsement that the BFA Masterplan has become a vital and integral part of the national vision in tackling the ageing population. 2) Success in Government take-the–lead Approach • One strong success factor for the BFA Masterplan is the Government take-the-lead approach whereby over 90% of public buildings frequented by the general public have been made accessible for the elderly and wheelchair bound users. 3) Comprehensive Building Regulatory Framework • There is a comprehensive and effective building regulatory framework to mandate BFA features for new buildings and major upgrading for existing ones. • Legislation is also to ensure the continued compliance to the Code on Barrier-Free Accessibility, so that facilities and access areas remain useable to the elderly and persons with disabilities throughout the building life. 4) Increased in Buy-In for Accessibility and UD • The increase in awareness for UD was seen through the increase of more than 40% of new UD awards given out this year as compared to the launch. • Through the multi-prone approach of the BFA Masterplan, there was a significant achievement of about 40% of all commercial, institutional and industrial buildings to incorporate basic BFA features (on track to reach long term goal of 55% by 2015). 5) Foster Inclusive Society • BCA is going beyond the requirements of the BFA Code by promoting Universal Design (UD) whereby buildings and facilities could be designed such that they cater to all persons of different culture and races, be they visitors or occupants, or persons with disability, seniors, mothers or children. UD promotes equity by bringing accessibility to all especially catering for those who are vulnerable.


Institution Name:		Building and Construction Authority
Institution Type:		Government Agency
Contact Person:		Tay Chiou Peng
Title:		Deputy Director of Managing for Excellence Office
Telephone/ Fax:		65 6325 5088
Institution's / Project's Website:		65 6325 4800
E-mail:		doreen_ng@bca.gov.sg
Address:		5 Maxwell Road, #17-00 Tower Block, MND Complex
Postal Code:		069110
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