PM Wong: Policymaking and technology must work together

SINGAPORE – For decades, policymakers would decide what needed to be done before getting tech teams involved to build the systems to implement the policies. Now, the Singapore Government is changing its approach.

Calling for a mindset shift across the public service, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Nov 5 that policymakers and technologists need to work together much earlier and more closely.

“Changing established habits and ways of working will take time. But the direction is clear,” he said, outlining the next phase of the Singapore government’s digital transformation.

“Technology cannot be an afterthought in policymaking. It must be part of the process from the very beginning.”

PM Wong was speaking at the Government Technology Agency’s (GovTech) 10th anniversary dinner held at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre.

This transformation, in which GovTech will play a critical role, can also be taken further with artificial intelligence to empower officers across the public service to develop better solutions, said PM Wong.

“Sometimes, the best solution is not more sophisticated technology, but a simpler policy,” he said, adding that this mindset shift will deliver better outcomes for Singaporeans.

“Instead of saying: ‘This is the policy – how do we get IT to implement it.’ We should ask: ‘This is what we are trying to achieve; how can we design policy and technology together to deliver it in the best possible way?’ ” he added.

He noted that the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority used to have 33 different combinations of penalties for late filings. Instead of building a tech system around this complex policy, the 33 combinations were reduced to four.

“The result was a simpler policy, a simpler system and better outcomes,” said PM Wong.

So, policymakers – including Cabinet Ministers – need to develop a better understanding of technology so that they can take it into consideration when designing policies.

“It is to develop the instincts to ask the right questions, appreciate the possibilities and constraints, and understand how technology can help shape better policy choices,” said PM Wong.

At the same time, GovTech officers need to actively participate to solve public policy problems, he added. This includes challenging established assumptions and questioning requirements that create unnecessary complexity.

The next phase of Singapore’s digital transformation also requires tech teams to work differently.

Traditionally, many government information technology projects follow a waterfall approach, said PM Wong. This involves gathering the project requirements, seeking approval, procuring a vendor, building the entire system, launching it, and then maintaining it.

While this works for infrastructure projects, applying this to software development will be hard because technology evolves quickly and users’ needs change.

GovTech’s approach is different. Its officers build iteratively, by putting products in the hands of users early, learning from their feedback and improving continuously.

“We need to make it easier for teams across Government to work in this manner,” said PM Wong. “It means changing not just our technology practices, but also the processes that govern how projects are delivered – how we scope projects, fund them, procure them, and hold teams accountable for outcomes.”

When systems are launched, they also need teams to continue improving them over time, keeping them secure and reliable, and making sure they continue to deliver value.

And instead of having each government agency build their own systems from scratch, the Government should use more common platforms and components, such as those that GovTech has developed, said PM Wong.

Beyond just using AI chatbots or using AI for drafting and editing documents, the Government also wants to empower officers to use AI tools and agents – bots that can take actions with minimum human supervision – to solve problems and improve the way work gets done.

However, PM Wong said the Government needs to strengthen public data infrastructure, equip officers with the right skills and tools, and put in place the necessary safeguards.

“But this is the direction we must move towards. To bring technology, operations and policy even closer together, and enable officers across Government to take the initiative, develop solutions, and continuously improve the way we work and serve Singaporeans,” he said.

Even as the Government builds new tech systems, existing ones need to be modernised because ageing systems have become harder to maintain. New features for them take longer to add and vulnerabilities are becoming harder to patch. Seemingly simple policy changes can also take months to implement, he noted.

PM Wong added that security and resilience cannot be an afterthought and “must be designed for our systems from the outset, and continually strengthened as threats evolve”.

This is because a serious disruption to government digital systems can affect essential public services.

Ultimately, the changes needed to transform Singapore digitally will depend on people, said PM Wong.

“We need people with deep expertise and a strong sense of public purpose. People who understand technology, but also understand policy and operations. And people who keep learning, because the technologies and skills we need will continue to change,” he said.

Adding that GovTech must also continually renew its capabilities and remain as a place where people with deep expertise can deepen their craft, PM Wong acknowledged the agency’s recent restructuring exercise.

Since July, GovTech has retrenched 131 people out of its 3,900-strong team over two rounds of layoffs, with one more round of layoffs to come. It expects a total of 7% to 9% of its workforce to be affected over the next two years, including the third round.

PM Wong said on Nov 5: “I know it has been a difficult period for some officers. And we will continue to support the affected officers as they acquire new skills and prepare for new opportunities, whether within GovTech or outside.”

Besides building technological capabilities within GovTech, he said that the Government also needs to deeply embed tech expertise across the public service.

“And that is also why, over the past year, GovTech has been bringing its product and engineering capabilities closer to frontline agencies,” he said, referring to GovTech’s employees deployed to other agencies. “And we will be building on these efforts, to extend GovTech’s expertise and capabilities across the whole of Government.”

“Our goal is not simply to have a strong tech agency. It is to have a technologically strong Government,” said PM Wong.

“A Government where technology is integral to policymaking; where policymakers understand what technology can enable; where technologists understand the policy objectives and operational realities; and where both can work together to deliver better outcomes for Singaporeans.”