SINGAPORE – A new office was launched on Jan 19 for those who have
ideas and want to work together with the Government, amid a push to
broaden and deepen partnerships between the Government and the people.
The Singapore Government Partnerships Office (SGPO), which will serve
as a first stop for such partnerships, will help connect people and
groups, direct them to funding sources, and work with government
agencies to identify more opportunities for collaboration.
The aim of the office is to make partnering the Government more
seamless and accessible, as Singapore confronts the new reality of a
more troubled world and girds itself against the impact of this on
social cohesion and solidarity.
In the next bound of nation building, the Government and people
working more closely together will help Singapore achieve more, said
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong.
Broadening and deepening such partnerships is a key plank of the
social compact set out in Forward Singapore, he noted, referring to the
exercise helmed by him and his fourth-generation leadership team. He
said the Government was “putting partnerships first on its agenda”.
“I believe we can do more to harness the expertise, the experience,
the passions of Singaporeans, towards our shared goals and towards the
Singapore that we all want for the future,” he said on Jan 19 at a
ceremony held at Tang Plaza to launch the office.
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“The bottom line is that we can achieve much more when we work together as partners.”
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While there are already various platforms for government agencies to
partner with community groups, it can be difficult for people to figure
out which agency to approach, said DPM Wong.
The SGPO will formalise the structure for people to collaborate with
the Government and is meant to strengthen such partnerships and
engagements, said Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong
during a panel session at the launch.
An example of past partnerships is the Housing Board working with residents to design and build playgrounds in housing estates.
Now, the new office will curate key government resources for partnership, funding and volunteering opportunities.
People can submit their ideas through the SGPO website’s Partners
Portal, and these submissions will be channelled to relevant agencies.
Support will also be provided to help people take things forward. The
new office will also help catalyse partnerships by connecting
like-minded people and organisations and directing them to resources.
In addition, it will advocate deeper citizen-government
collaboration, working closely with agencies to identify more areas
where citizens can play a meaningful role, and publicising these
opportunities.
Ms Dawn Yip, coordinating director of SGPO, who has been involved in
various public engagement efforts over the years, including the
Singapore 21 exercise in 1999, said Singaporeans “always show up no
matter what the issue is”, with many willing to give their time and
resources to achieve something bigger than themselves.
She added that she hoped the office will provide more opportunities and means for people to show up and take action.
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