GovTech’s new vodcast as a learning resource for the Singapore public sector

The Singapore Government Tech Stack (SG Tech Stack) is likened to building a build-to-order (BTO) flat.

The land, as the foundation upon which everything else is built, is analogous to the Government on Commercial Cloud (GCC), a government-compliant cloud platform.

Once the land is prepared, the essential utilities like piping and electrical trunking need to be laid down. Similarly, the tech stack includes essential tools and services like SHIP-HATS, a platform for source code management, testing, and deployment.

Finally, the individual flats themselves represent the diverse range of digital products and services built by GovTech Singapore.

The analogy of a SG Tech Stack to building a flat was mentioned in one of GovTech Decoded’s episodes, a video podcast launched by GovTech Singapore.

The episode brought forward the point that the SG Tech Stack allows developers to focus on the functionality of their products, rather than reinventing the wheel each time to build a product - allowing them to be more productive with time and cost savings.

“In our episodes, we simplify complex topics through everyday analogies in plain and relatable language,” said a spokesperson from GovTech’s Communications and Marketing Group to GovInsider.

“Through our transparent sharing of how things work and stories from our GovTechies, we aim to humanise the tech built and inspire a growth mindset,” the spokesperson added.

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Empowering non-technical public sector officers

Beyond helping non-technical users better understand technology, GovTech hopes to also encourage Singapore public sector employees to leverage technology in their work.

An example of a productivity tool developed by GovTech is LaunchPad, an artificial intelligence (AI) innovation platform that enables public officers to discover central tech products that they can immediately deploy, submit ideas, and access the necessary support to build a prototype.  

The spokesperson shared that other productivity tools like Pair and AIBots work like ChatGPT, except they are designed to work within the government environment and ensure that sensitive information is handled securely.

The abovementioned tools also offer features to support AI chatbot creation. AIBots, for one, was previously used for a prompt-engineering competition conducted at GovTech’s inaugural Innovation Day last November.

“It’s not just about explaining tech—it’s about empowering people to thrive in our digital world, in our Smart Nation,” said the spokesperson.

How Singapore officers can get involved in using tech for public good

There are multiple ways for Singapore public sector employees to better understand, use and even co-create digital solutions with citizens and fellow developers.

GovTech’s Digital Academy, for one, is open to all Singapore public officers. The academy contextualises tech skills for the public sector to support officers to leverage tools in their jobs and expand their opportunities within the sector.

Other initiatives where officers can get involved include joining GovTech’s Tech Kaki that promotes the co-creation of digital products between citizens and developers through engagement sessions, as well as the STACK Community that connects tech professionals and developers from public and private sectors for deeper technical discussions.

Recently, GovTech also introduced the LAUNCH! Hackathon and AI Incubator, in collaboration with the National AI Group, which provides opportunities for public officers to prototype and experiment with technologies.

For example, through the LAUNCH! Hackathon, in just two weeks, a team of officers from the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and GovTech’s data engineers built Fill.sg, a generative AI (GenAI) report toolkit that tackles tedious report generation – enabling social service officers to focus on supporting citizens.

GovTech shared that most tools and apps are designed to be user-friendly and have intuitive interfaces. The tools also come with communications materials with step-by-step guides on leveraging these tools to aid daily work.

“With these resources, technology is not a barrier but an enabler that enhances efficiency, supports decision-making, and empowers officers to excel in their roles rather than replace them.”

Ease into tech jargon and get the latest scoop on the tech happenings in GovTech! Find out more about GovTech Decoded, and watch the episodes here >>>