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| Attracting
ideas from everywhere |
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| TEC innovators explaining
their innovation to Dr Balaji (right). |
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The
Public Service wants to be a mighty magnet — attracting
good ideas to improve the delivery of public services
and bringing together innovators, venture capitalists
and potential adopters to launch innovations in the market.
Whenever he thinks a business policy can be
improved, Mr Xavier Hu, chief negotiator of a firm dealing
with business financing solutions, will share his suggestions
with the Pro-Enterprise Panel (PEP).
Simply knowing that his ideas are carefully considered
and adopted by government agencies brings him much satisfaction.
But last month, he felt even more encouraged to share
his ideas on how government policies can be improved.
That’s because one of his suggestions won him the Excellence
in Public Suggestions Award (EPSA).
Mr Hu had proposed that ex-offenders become qualifying
third-party investors under the Startup Enterprise Development
Scheme (SEEDS) after a time bar of a few years. Such a
move, he pointed out, would be “in line with the Yellow
Ribbon Project goals of inspiring community action supporting
the rehabilitation and reintegration of ex-offenders”.
After reviewing his suggestion, the Economic Development
Board informed him that his idea had been accepted with
some changes. The PEP Secretariat subsequently nominated
his suggestion for EPSA, the national award given out
yearly to recognise suggestions that are feasible, creative
and impactful to the Public Service.
Pleased with the outcome, Mr Hu, who has submitted
at least 10 suggestions to PEP in the last two years,
shared his motivation: “I believe that feedback is the
responsibility of every citizen. If you do not feedback
to the agencies, they will not realise the issues involved.”
Three other members of the public also received the EPSA
at the PS21 Innovative Ideas in the Public Sector event
held on 12 July 2006 at the Biopolis. (Read about the
winning suggestions below.)
Commending this year’s winners, who each received a plaque,
certificate and $500, guest of honour Dr Balaji Sadisivan
said: “We hope the award will encourage citizens to step
forward and do likewise — contribute their ideas and energy
towards improving the lives of their fellow citizens.”
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We welcome new ideas and innovations
from anywhere. The Public Service benefits
from suggestions made by members of
the public, as well as innovations pioneered
in
the private sector. |
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Dr
Balaji Sadisivan |
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The Senior Minister of State for Information, Communications
and the Arts and Foreign Affairs as well as Chairman of
the Service Improvement Unit also highlighted the importance
of innovation.
“In Singapore, our resources are
finite and our investment lies in our people,” he said.
“The public sector, the private sector and members of
the public in general must work together in partnership
and continue to provide innovative ideas
for all.”
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| Mr
Chow (right) and his assistant giving a live
demonstration of the multi-lingual, voice-enabled
system in use at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. |
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The event also saw The Enterprise Challenge (TEC) innovators
pitching their successfully trial-tested ideas to venture
capitalists and public agencies which could play the role
of potential investors and adopters of these innovative
ideas. (Learn about the TEC innovations below.)
The Enterprise Challenge was set up in March 2000 under
the auspices of the Prime Minister’s Office to help public
agencies to be more innovative. TEC provides funding to
test out risky but useful ideas that have the potential
to improve the delivery of public services.
One keen innovator was Mr Chow Yen Lou, who had developed
a multi-lingual, voice-enabled system and put it to the
test at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. He gave an impressive
live demonstration of how it handles appointment bookings
and call transfers in English and Mandarin.
Grateful for the help and funds (more than $500,000) he
had received from TEC, Mr Chow said: “We had a lot of
support and help from the TEC unit throughout. They were
resourceful and very supportive of our project from all
angles. Without TEC, this technology may never have seen
the light of day.”
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intelligent, interactive voice
response system that can handle
common telephone transactions
such as outpatient appointment
scheduling, call transfer,
paging of doctors and nurses
and common enquiries —
all without human intervention.
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A
homegrown technology called
“Crystallization Technology”
(CT) converts hazardous dredged
materials and industrial wastes
into environmentally friendly
products like bricks and paving
materials. Plans are underway
to open the first CT plant
in Singapore by
end-2007. |
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This new technology
for dehumidifying air for
air-conditioning in buildings
is powered by low temperature
waste heat. It can reduce
energy consumption by 30%
compared to conventional systems |
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Ballast water is discharged
when ships move from port
to port. This can result in
the transfer of harmful marine
organisms between ports. A
novel technology consisting
of a self-cleaning filtration
system and a chemical treatment
system has been proven to
remove the harmful organisms
found in the water. |
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Most commercial buildings
in Singapore use water-cooled
condensers in air-conditioning
systems. These condensers
need to be cleaned regularly.
A new, patented Singapore
technology uses sponge balls
to effectively clean the inner
surfaces of condenser tubes. |
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Mr
Xavier Hu wants to encourage
more ex-offenders to contribute
back to society. He suggested
allowing them to qualify as
third-party investors under
the Startup Enterprise Development
Scheme (SEEDS) after a reasonable
time bar. The Economic Development
Board implemented his suggestion
with some changes in May 2005. |
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Ms
Stephanie Brehm suggested
prominently displaying a timer
to help users track elapsed
time when using the free Internet
terminal. This way, users
will not be caught off-guard
when their applications are
terminated at the end of the
15 minutes allocated to each
user. |
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Mdm
Kong Siew Foong, a member
of Nan Hua High School’s Parent
Support Group, initiated a
student work attachment at
Hitachi GST Singapore Pte
Ltd, where she is working.
Subsequently, Mr Victor Tan,
a lecturer at Ngee Ann Polytechnic,
was roped in to design a training
programme to prepare the students.
The structured attachment,
held last October, was a valuable
learning experience for seven
students. It will be extended
to more students later this
year. |
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Ms
Tay Hwee Bin proposed organising
a festival to engage young
Singaporeans. The Ministry
of Community Development,
Youth and Sports took up her
suggestion and created SHINE
in June 2005. The event, which
has since become an annual
affair, showcases young talents,
celebrates their contributions
to the community and profiles
youth role models. |
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By Challenge Editorial
Team
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