Agencies sign memorandum of understanding to share knowledge and personnel
Credit: Maliz Ong/PublicDomainPictures
The Government Digital Service has signed an agreement with Singapore’s Government Technology Agency that will see the two entities work together to share expertise.
A memorandum of understanding was today signed by GDS director general Kevin Cunnington and Kok Ping Soon, chief executive of GovTech Singapore. The MoU commits the two parties to share expertise on the design and delivery of digital services.
GDS and its Singaporean equivalent will also seek to mutually implement open standards for data and technology. The agreement will also enable employees of the two agencies to spend time embedded overseas.
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Cunnington added: “GDS is delighted to have signed this MoU with our colleagues in Singapore. By sharing knowledge and working together, we can ensure that government works better for everyone by leading the digital transformation of public services both here in the UK and in Singapore.”
In the most recent edition of the global digital government rankings published biennially by the UN, Singapore ranked seventh, three places below the UK.
The island republic also took top spot in the recently published second edition of the Government AI Readiness Index co-authored by tech consultancy Oxford Insights. In doing so, Singapore knocked previous leader the UK into second spot.
The GovTech agency was founded in October 2016 with the remit of creating and improving digital citizen services, driving forward the use of smart-city technologies, and promoting innovation in the technology sector.
Kok Ping Soon said: “GovTech is delighted to sign our first MoU with GDS, a leader in the use of digital, technology and data to transform government. The MoU will facilitate greater sharing of experiences and expertise in the development of digital platforms and services to better serve our citizens and businesses. It will also allow mutual exchange of officers to build capabilities and explore opportunities for collaboration to strengthen the digital partnership between the two organisations.”
