Prime Minister's Office (Public Service Division)

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister-in-Charge of Public Service (Mr Teo Chee Hean): The Public Service Division (PSD) aims to build a first class Public Service that is efficient, empathetic and effective to help Singapore be a cohesive, vibrant and exceptional country.

Even as we tackle current challenges, we are keeping an eye on the future. The Centre for Strategic Futures, set up in 2009, conducts research on emerging risks and opportunities. This helps the Public Service think long-term and strategically, to respond quickly to fast changing circumstances.

The Public Service must remain open to ideas and our officers empowered to effect change and improvement. PSD is experimenting with new tools such as Design Thinking, to reframe issues and design policies and services from the perspective of citizens and customers.

The rapidly changing environment means that public officers need new competencies. PSD and the Civil Service College will systematically prepare our officers so that they possess the right experience, instincts and competencies to engage and build partnerships, in economic regulation and operating in the international environment. We will send more officers on attachments and secondments to community-based agencies such as the Community Development Councils so that they learn to develop and implement effective policies with both the head and the heart.

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PSD will work with MICA to prepare our officers to be more active and adept at understanding, engaging and connecting with a more active and engaged public to foster win-win partnerships.

PSD will strengthen our leadership development programmes to grow bold, inspiring and transformational public sector leaders to spearhead dynamic and effective organisations that are adaptable to changes in the local and global environment.

PSD will work with public sector agencies to attract and retain people with the passion to serve and build Singapore through a career in the Public Service. We will work with the Public Service Commission to attract and develop a fair share of the brightest and most committed young people through scholarships. Our internship programmes have grown in popularity, attracting Singaporeans studying locally and abroad.

Annually, about 1,200 officers will benefit from public sector re-employment guidelines, which have been in place since 1 July 2011 ahead of the national legislation.

We will continue to imbue in our officers a sense of pride in the Public Service so that they always serve with integrity, service and excellence. We will promote the formation of communities of practice, and a Service-wide Intranet to encourage our officers to better connect and share good practices.

PSD will help our public officers to work hand-in-glove with the community to harness their ideas for solutions, thereby creating greater public value and better outcomes. This will help develop a society with greater citizen and stakeholder ownership through a constructive partnership between the Public Service and the public we serve.