Assessing Effectiveness of Foreign Policy Public Education Efforts in Understanding Singapore's Strategic Interests

Ms Eileen Chong Pei Shan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs (a) what specific outcome metrics does the Ministry use to assess whether its foreign policy public education engagements have improved participants' understanding of Singapore's strategic interests; (b) whether any longitudinal tracking of comprehension or attitude change has been conducted; and (c) if not, whether the Ministry intends to establish such metrics.

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan: The Government has stepped up public engagement to explain our foreign policy fundamentals and responses to key international developments to Singaporeans and to hear their views. We do this through dialogue sessions across segments of society, including students, youths, businesses and community leaders. We collect post-engagement feedback to ensure our content remains current and relevant and to improve our engagement methods. Responses from the public engagement sessions have been positive, with an overwhelming majority of participants indicating that the sessions enhanced their understanding of Singapore's foreign policy.