ETHOS Issue 04
April 2008
Last updated 30 July 2026
ETHOS Issue 04, April 2008
What is the next phase of development for public service delivery? What are the new key capabilities that the public service will have to develop, to thrive in a challenging operating environment? Featuring thought leaders such as Jocelyne Bourgon, B. Guy Peters, Peter Ho and Lam Chuan Leong.
Editorial
Dr Alvin Pang
Editor-in-Chief Ethos
Now that the low-hanging fruits of public service reform and efficiency gains have been mostly identified, if not harvested, is it enough to make public service delivery and government transactions ever faster, less onerous or more courteous?
Reclaiming Public Administration
Jocelyne Bourgon
After thirty years of reform and experimentation, it is now time to outline a new, integrated model of public administration more relevant to the complex challenges of today, argues Jocelyn Bourgon, President Emeritus of the Canada School of Public Service.
Not Just Service Delivery
B. Guy Peters
What does it really mean for public servants to improve their interactions with citizens and customers?
Creating and Measuring Public Service Value
Ng Wee Wei
How can we measure the public sector’s bottomline? Accenture’s Ng Wee Wei advocates an outcome-oriented approach based on the concept of public value.
Leveraging Networks for Public Service Delivery
Nicholas Mai, Tang Tee Sing and Yeo Yaw Shin
Are we on the brink of a golden age of public service delivery, rich in cross-sector partnerships and collaborative networks?
Reinventing Singapore’s Electronic Public Services
Karen Wong
Building on its acclaimed online public services, Singapore is developing the next generation of truly interactive government technologies.
Better, Faster, Cheaper: Service Transformation and Channel Migration at the Ministry of Manpower
Penny Han
A successful transition to new service channels has transformed this traditional regulatory agency into an award-winning service provider.
Ten Tips: How to Create a Next Generation Public Service Super-Portal
Rosina Howe-Teo
In order for public transport in Singapore to compete with the lure of private cars, a radical overhaul in regulation and organisation may be necessary.
Service Beyond Excellence
Interview with Ng Hock Keong
Singapore’s Central Provident Fund Board (CPFB) has won many accolades for its service excellence and innovations such as the groundbreaking my.cpf online portal. Ng Hock Keong, the Quality Service Manager (QSM) behind many of CPFB’s service initiatives, shares his views on the challenges of change in a mature service-oriented agency responsible for over three million members.
Integrated Service Delivery: The Australian Department of Human Services
Jeff Popple
Jeff Popple, from Australia’s Department of Human Services, discusses their experience in integrating service operations across different agencies, in order to achieve large-scale synergies.
What Does It Mean to Optimise Public Service Delivery?
Lee Chong Hock and John Lim
Lee Chong Hock and John Lim from the PS21 Office examine the challenges that face the Singapore Public Service, as it reaches beyond individual service excellence towards Whole-of-Government outcomes.
Book Review: Public Services at the Crossroads
Richard Brooks, Kay Withers, Miguel Castro Coelho, Tim Gosling, Guy Lodge, Sophie Moullin, Nick Pearce and Ben Rogers
Garvin Chow reviews the IPPR’s milestone report on contemporary public service delivery in the UK.
Governance at the Leading Edge: Black Swans, Wild Cards, and Wicked Problems
Peter Ho
At the 2008 Strategic Perspectives Conference, Head of Civil Service Peter Ho traced the evolution of contemporary public sector practice. He concludes that while the Public Service has successfully adopted best practices from the private sector and elsewhere in the past, these are not enough to ensure good governance as we move into an unpredictable and complex future. In the following excerpt, he highlights the nature of the challenges ahead and argues that Singapore must develop its own new brand of governance in order to manage these critical uncertainties and generate original solutions to the wicked problems of our time.
Managing Complexity and Uncertainties
Lam Chuan Leong
Governments should make provisions for increasingly unpredictable and disruptive outcomes in the future, argues Lam Chuan Leong, Senior Fellow at the Centre for Governance and Leadership.
The Challenge of Growth
Interview with Paul Romer
Noted economist Paul Romer, proponent of the New Growth Theory, assesses the role of the public sector in sustaining growth in Singapore and the wider Asian region.
The ETHOS Roundtable: The Changing Face of Government
Dr Ashraf Hassan Abdelwahab, Mr Mothusi Bruce Rabasha Palai & Mr Feng Tei
The ETHOS Roundtable brings together thought leaders and practitioners to discuss key issues of interest to the public service. In this session, three eminent participants in Singapore’s inaugural Leaders in Governance Programme reflect on the evolving challenges facing public sectors around the world today.
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