Singapore has accepted the invitation to join Digital Public Goods Alliance (DPGA), a UN-endorsed initiative that facilitates the discovery and deployment of open-source technologies for the development of digital public goods.
Open Government Products (OGP), part of the Government Technology Agency and the developer of government products including FormSG and GoGovSG, has accepted the invitation on Singapore’s behalf to join the initiative.
Minister for communications and information and minister-in-charge of smart nation and cybersecurity, Josephine Teo, said the partnership aims to encourage the adoption of Singapore’s open-source products.
The Alliance will offer an opportunity to learn from global peers and experts, fostering innovation within the public service, she added.
The initiative focuses on three areas with priority to open-source Singapore government products as DPGs. It will also make public sector technology from Singapore accessible for government institutions and organisations.
It aims to address needs in areas of data collection (FormSG), information accessibility (Isomer, GoGovSG), and trustworthy communication (Isomer, Postman).
Help countries meet tech needs
The deal will also propagate local DPGs and open-sourced products to other countries to meet their government technology needs.
Singapore has collaborated with countries like Sri Lanka and Cambodia to deploy products including FormSG.
Current DPGA members include government agencies from Germany, Estonia, and India; United Nation (UN) entities such as the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and International Telecommunication Union (ITU); philanthropic foundations, funders, and think tanks; and technology companies.
This move is expected to share and train best practices around digital public infrastructure to support digital transformation.
The initiative further includes how to create bureaucratic space for digital innovation, build capacity and create a suite of minimalist, reusable products from scratch.