Government Technology Agency

Government Technology Agency
Agency overview
Formed1 October 2016; 8 years ago (2016-10-01)
Preceding agency
  • National Computer Board (NCB)
    Telecommunication Authority of Singapore (TAS)
    Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA)
JurisdictionGovernment of Singapore
Headquarters10 Pasir Panjang Road, #10-01 Mapletree Business City, Singapore 117438
Annual budgetS$238.93 million (2017) [1]
Minister responsible
Agency executives
  • Joseph Leong, Chairman
  • Goh Wei Boon, CEO
  • Chang Sau Sheong, Deputy Chief Executive (Product and Engineering, TMO / CODE)
  • Henry Chang, Deputy Chief Executive (Services, Governance and Cybersecurity)
Parent agencyPrime Minister's Office
Websitewww.tech.gov.sg
Agency IDT16GB0002G

The Government Technology Agency (GovTech) is a statutory board of the Government of Singapore, under the Prime Minister's Office. It was restructured from Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA) in 2016,[2][3] and officially legislated in Parliament on 18 August that year.[4]

Overview

GovTech is responsible for the delivery of the Singapore government's digital services to the public. It is the agency that provides the infrastructure to support the implementation of the country's Smart Nation initiative to utilise infocomm technologies, networks and big data to create tech-enabled solutions.[5][6]

The Government Chief Information Office (GCIO) is under GovTech.

Its sub-unit Open Government Products (OGP) develops pieces of software for the government. As of 2022, Lee Hsien Loong's son Li Hongyi serves as the director of OGP.[7]

History

On 1 May 2017, GovTech was moved from the Ministry of Communications and Information to the Prime Minister's Office (Singapore) (PMO). It is now the implementing agency of PMO's Smart Nation and Digital Government Office (SNDGO).[8]

On 1 June 2023, Goh Wei Boon replaced Kok Ping Soon as the chief executive of GovTech. Goh was previously the CEO of the Centre for Strategic Infocomm Technologies.[9][10]

In September 2023, following claims on Reddit that GovTech had made offers of employment to about 60 former Indeed employees who had recently been laid off at "inflated" salaries and that the new hires had "no deliverables", GovTech confirmed that it had hired 60 former employees of Indeed. It explained that it had taken "a more agile hiring approach that balances speed with responsible hiring" and that every candidate had been interviewed as part of the hiring process and the remuneration offered took into consideration the candidates' equivalent grades within Indeed.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Head Q: MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION" (PDF). Budget 2017: Revenue and Expenditure Estimates. Ministry of Finance. February 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  2. ^ "IDA, MDA to be restructured to capitalise on converging media and ICT landscape". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  3. ^ "GovTech about using technology to create citizen-centric solutions: CEO". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 12 June 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  4. ^ "Parliament passes Info-communications Media Development Authority Bill". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  5. ^ "National Digital Identity system to be cornerstone of Singapore's Smart Nation vision". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 25 August 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  6. ^ "Bills passed for establishment of IMDA, GovTech". TODAY. 17 August 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  7. ^ "How the Singapore Government turned to its experimental tech team to solve COVID-19 problems quickly". CNA. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  8. ^ Singapore, Prime Minister's Office (24 December 2018). "PMO | Formation of The Smart Nation and Digital Government Group in the Prime Minister's Office". Prime Minister's Office Singapore.
  9. ^ "GovTech to get new CEO from June 1". The Straits Times. 30 March 2023. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  10. ^ "Leadership Change in GovTech". www.tech.gov.sg. 30 March 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  11. ^ "GovTech addresses online claims about hiring, salaries of former Indeed staff". CNA. Retrieved 4 November 2023.