PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE (PUBLIC SERVICE DIVISION)

MR LEE HSIEN LOONG Deputy Prime Minister & Minister for Finance

Serving the Nation

1. A capable, forward looking and effective public service, working together with the elected government, is crucial for a dynamic, innovative and successful nation. To fulfil this vision, public officers must have the desire and capacity to contribute to and shape our society. They must be prepared to continuously improve, constantly change and be open to innovation. We will adapt our style and approaches to a better educated and better informed generation of Singaporeans, while meeting the expectations and needs of the older generation.

Managing Talent

2. Managing talent in the Public Service remains our key priority. We will continue to review and improve the scholarship system to make full use of scarce resources to nurture fresh talent for the Public Service.

3. We will implement effective, rigorous and enlightened personnel management practices to attract and retain talent in the Public Service. Our officers should have an abiding sense of purpose and a fulfilling career serving the nation.

4. We will develop and stretch civil servants in challenging assignments to maximise their potential. We will set up an internal job market in the Civil Service to match the job interests of civil servants and the needs of the Public Service. We will progressively devolve responsibility for personnel management to Ministries to give them greater flexibility to better motivate their officers to achieve their specific missions.

5. We will continue to keep civil service compensation competitive with the private sector, and refine compensation policies to motivate excellent performance.

6. We have also introduced a new framework to manage Public Service Leadership (PSL) talent by identifying PSL positions to be filled by the most able and committed officers. Under the framework, a "flow-through" mechanism ensures constant talent renewal.

7. To provide better training for public officers, the Civil Service College (CSC) was restructured into a Statutory Board. The CSC now provides an integrated range of services spanning assessment, selection, training and organisational development. The CSC will continue to improve the quality of people in the public service, strengthen teamwork and esprit de corps, and improve the performance of our agencies for a first class public service.

Innovation and Responsiveness

8. The Public Service will constantly seek new and better ways of doing things to remain relevant and improve its service delivery. We will continue to evolve to meet future challenges. We will ensure better and more comprehensive public services, especially through the use of technology. We will raise the efficiency and effectiveness of the Public Sector, by integrating different services and making them more accessible to the public. We will monitor expectations and tap new ideas to improve service to the public. We will also actively review rules and regulations to reduce red tape and speed up service delivery to create a more business-friendly environment, thereby enhancing Singapore's competitiveness.

9. To nurture an innovative culture in the Public Service, the Enterprise Challenge (TEC) provides a platform for promising ideas to be funded for trial testing. These projects will then be implemented by the relevant public sector agencies. We will expand the network under TEC to encourage greater collaboration between the private and public sectors.