Charmaine Lee, Senior Product Manager, Open Government Products (OGP), Singapore

1. How do you use technology/policy to improve citizens’ lives? Tell us about your role or organisation. 

As a product manager at Open Government Products (OGP), I've had the privilege of working on RedeemSG, the whole-of-government voucher system that is used for CDC Vouchers and NEA PUB Climate Vouchers. 

When we first launched RedeemSG, many people wondered why they couldn't spend exact amounts and were instead limited to fixed denominations of $2, $5, and $10.

This was actually due to a discovery during our initial exploration with elderly at hawker centres. We found that many aunties and uncles were worried about accidentally overpaying e.g. mistakenly paying $350 instead of $3.50.

This insight led our team to design digital vouchers that closely mimic physical ones, allowing users to select the number of 'pieces' they want to spend. 

This decision resonated with many households, including my own.

For my own parents, CDC Vouchers were their first means of digital spending, and this experience has now boosted their confidence to explore other digital payment methods like PayNow or PayLah, which previously seemed daunting. 

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2. What was the most impactful project you worked on this year? 

This year, I am working on a new project to rebuild a legacy referral platform for intermediate to long term care services.

We're working hand-in-hand with the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) to reimagine the entire landscape – from policy to product to operations. Our end goal is to improve patient outcomes and ensure they receive the care they need as swiftly as possible. 

The most rewarding aspect of this project has been the opportunity to collaborate with staff across the health and social sectors. Their passion is truly contagious, and I've been really thankful for their openness in sharing insights and experiences with us.

While the project hasn't gone live yet, I'm excited about bringing about positive changes to the intermediate and long-term care sector. 

3. What was one unexpected learning from 2024? 

I’ve had a surprising wake up call about how quickly our health can change.

Like many of us, I used to feel somewhat invincible and always thought serious health issues were far off in the future. However, I’ve seen several of my peers unexpectedly hospitalised and this has been a stark reminder that we can’t take our health for granted.

This experience has motivated me to prioritise self-care, and carve out time to look after my physical and mental well-being. 

4. What’s a tool or technique you’re excited to explore in 2025? 

In 2025, I'm keen to sharpen my prioritisation skills.

Our organisation is placing greater emphasis on defining clear success metrics and focusing our efforts on improving these key indicators.

The goal is to move away from simply churning out features and instead ensure that everything we do brings tangible benefits to our end users. 

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5. Everybody’s talking about AI today – give us your hot take on AI and what it means for the public sector.

I was initially skeptical about AI but it has been consistently proving me wrong.

I strongly encourage every public officer to give pair.gov.sg (our secure version of ChatGPT) a try if they haven't already.

While I don't rely on it for everything, it has significantly reduced the time I spend on tasks like crafting emails or write-ups. (I may or may not have used Pair for this response) 

Looking ahead, I'm excited about the potential of AI in citizen-facing applications, particularly in the health sector.

Health information can often be overwhelming and intimidating for the average person.

I believe AI could play a crucial role in making this information more accessible and easily digestible, thereby empowering citizens to make better-informed decisions about their health. 

6. What are your priorities for 2025? 

My top priority for 2025 is ensuring a smooth go-live for my current projects.

Beyond work, I'm committed to maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

This means continuing to make time for my family and friends, and prioritising my personal health through regular exercise. I am also trying to get my driver’s license (third try’s the charm). 

7. What advice do you have for public sector innovators? 

Don’t be afraid to question everything. I've found that asking lots of questions and talking to people from all corners of a project helps me understand the real issues at hand.

It's tempting to jump straight to tech solutions, but I've learned that technology works best when it's improving existing policies and processes, not papering over cracks. 

I've also realised it pays to be a bit skeptical about "the way things have always been done".

Some of our best ideas have come from questioning practices that everyone took for granted. Don't be afraid to suggest changes, even to long-standing systems. 

Lastly, I always try to keep the users as the top priority.

It's easy to get caught up in the excitement of new tech or the complexity of government processes, but at the end of the day, our job is to make life better for our users.  

8. Who inspires you today? 

I am continuously inspired by the team I work with.

Everyone is constantly stepping up beyond their job descriptions to do the best for our users - our engineers actively participate in user testing to gain direct insights into the pain points; designers delve into database constraints discussions to ensure their work is both usable and technically sound; operations specialists plan test cases to ensure that our deliverables are successfully met.

Their commitment in truly understanding and fighting for user needs inspires me to keep doing so.  

This feature was made possible in partnership with Open Government Products (OGP).