Source : The Straits Times, Aug 10, 2007
US varsity scores Govt's online services highly for security, comprehensiveness
THE Government's push to offer more of its services online has won it international kudos.
In a study by Brown University's Taubman Centre for Public Policy, Singapore ranked second among the 198 countries the university looked at.
The Brown University survey looks very specifically at e-government. It ranks the websites of countries as well as states within the United States and is often cited when agencies need to know how they are faring.
Asian governments dominated the rankings: South Korea came first, Singapore second and Taiwan third. The US and Britain were ranked fourth and fifth respectively.
Others in the top 10 included Australia, Turkey and Germany.
The study was the seventh update on e-government from the American university in Providence, Rhode Island, which looked at 1,687 government websites.
Singapore earned second spot largely because of the availability of online services, the comprehensive range of information offered, and privacy and security policies on government websites, the study said.
The researchers singled out the Singov website at www.gov.sg in particular for being well organised.
The site gives access to information via tabs such as 'Citizens and Residents' and 'Businesses', provides useful links, and includes an advanced site search engine. 'They aim for citizen-centric services that target what people need and how to provide these easily online. The portal lives true to this service goal,' said the report.
Brown's researchers looked at 32 websites from Singapore for the study, which was conducted in June and July this year.
According to Professor Darrell West, author of the study and professor of public policy and political science at the university, Singapore scored because its online services were easily accessible.
More than seven in 10 government websites allowed people to transact with them - and that helped Singapore clinch the second-place ranking. South Korea won top spot as all its government websites provide online services.
However, Singapore, along with countries around the world, could do more to help the disabled - especially the visually handicapped - access government services, said Prof West in an e-mail interview.
The Government offers more than 1,600 services online.
Among the most heavily used e-government services are the Central Provident Fund's online services, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore's tax filing service, and the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority's website for businesses.
The Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) found in a survey that almost nine out of 10 people who carried out transactions with the Government in the past 12 months had done so online at least once.
The Government plans to add more interactive features to its websites. These include video and sound clips, to make information easier to understand and access, said IDA's senior director (Government Chief Information Officer), Ms Pauline Tan.
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