Lessons Learned from Singapore’s Transformation Toward Digital Government

Authors

  • Chatcharin Thongmomram Graduate School of Public Administration, National Institute of Development Administration, Thailand

Keywords:

new public management, digital government, economic digital, social digital

Abstract

Information technology has become increasingly integral to government operations, driving public sector reforms aimed at improving efficiency and enhancing responsiveness to citizens in the digital era. This transformation is commonly described as the emergence of digital government. This article pursues two objectives: (1) to examine Singapore’s approach to public sector reform toward digital government, and (2) to identify lessons from Singapore’s successful digital transformation. Employing a qualitative research design, the study relies on documentary analysis and literature review. The findings indicate that Singapore’s transformation was guided by three key frameworks: the Digital Economy Framework, the Digital Government Framework, and the Digital Society Framework. These initiatives have contributed to notable success and offer valuable insights for other countries, particularly Thailand, as they pursue comparable reform efforts.

References

Aucoin, P., Turnbull, L., & Jarvis, M. D. (2011). Democratizing the constitution: Reforming responsible government. Emond Montgomery Publications.

Castelnovo, W., Misuraca, G., & Savoldelli, A. (2016). Smart cities governance: The need for a holistic approach to assessing urban participatory policy making. Social Science Computer Review, 34(6), 724-739.

De Vries, M., & Nemec, J. (2013). Public sector reform: an overview of recent literature and research on NPM and alternative paths. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 26(1), 4-16.

Dunleavy, P., Margetts, H., Tinkler, J., & Bastow, S. (2006). Digital era governance: IT corporations, the state, and e-government. Oxford University Press.

Dutil, P. A., Howard, C., Langford, J., & Roy, J. (2010). The service state: rhetoric, reality and promise (Vol. 25). University of Ottawa Press.

Fang, Z. (2002). E-government in digital era: concept, practice, and development. International journal of the Computer, the Internet and management, 10(2), 1-22.

Fountain, J. E., Bertucci, G., Curtin, G. G., Hohlov, Y. E., Holkeri, K., Jarrar, Y., ... & Fayad, R. (2011, January). The future of government: Lessons learned from around the world. In Proceedings of the World Economic Forum: Global Agenda Council on the Future of Government, Davos, Switzerland.

Gascó-Hernández, M. (Ed.). (2014). Open government: Opportunities and challenges for public governance (Vol. 4). Springer Science & Business Media.

Gil-Garcia, J. R., Dawes, S. S., & Pardo, T. A. (2018). Digital government and public management research: finding the crossroads. Public Management review, 20(5), 633-646.

Harrison, T. M., Guerrero, S., Burke, G. B., Cook, M., Cresswell, A., Helbig, N., ... & Pardo, T. (2012). Open government and e-government: Democratic challenges from a public value perspective. Information Polity, 17(2), 83-97.

Kuljittree,S., & Khumsamart, S. (2020). Small and medium business management innovation for society in the era of digital economy. Journal of Educational Innovation and Research, 4(3), 217-232. (In Thai)

Lei, T., & Yuwei, T. (2019). Digital governance model for big data era-based on typical practices in Singapore. Humanities and Social Sciences, 7(2), 76-82.

Lim, C., Kim, K. J., & Maglio, P. P. (2018). Smart cities with big data: Reference models, challenges, and considerations. Cities, 82, 86-99.

McCann, E. (2017). Governing urbanism: Urban governance studies 1.0, 2.0 and beyond. Urban Studies, 54(2), 312-326.

Meijer, A. J., Gil-Garcia, J. R., & Bolívar, M. P. R. (2016). Smart city research: Contextual conditions, governance models, and public value assessment. Social Science Computer Review, 34(6), 647-656.

Mhuentoei, T. (2020). Thailand’s e-government: Changing definition and development. Intianin Thaksin Journal, 15(2), 129-152. (In Thai)

Nam, T. (2014). Determining the type of e-government use. Government information quarterly, 31(2), 211-220.

Pathranarakul, P. (2020). Digital government and case studies in ASEAN. Bangkok: Rattana Tri. (In Thai)

Reddick, C. G., & Aikins, S. K. (2012). Web 2.0 technologies and democratic governance. In Web 2.0 technologies and democratic governance (pp. 1-7). Springer, New York, NY.

Rose, J., Persson, J. S., & Heeager, L. T. (2015). How e-government managers prioritise rival value positions: The efficiency imperative. Information polity, 20(1), 35-59.

Roy, J. (2001). e-Governance & digital government in Canada. In Towards the E-Society (pp. 845-856). Springer, Boston, MA.

Roy, J. (2008). Beyond Westminster governance: Bringing politics and public service into the networked era. Canadian Public Administration, 51(4), 541-568.

Roy, J. (2013). From machinery to mobility: Government and democracy in a participative age (Vol. 2). Springer Science & Business Media.

Ruhlandt, R. W. S. (2018). The governance of smart cities: A systematic literature review. Cities, 81, 1-23.

Sangsuriyong, R. (2017). Journey of e-Government in Thai Society: Public Sector Reform Era. Academic Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Burapha University, 25(47), 43-63. (In Thai)

Sapsanguanboon, W., & Faijaidee, W. (2020). Digital transformation for government agencies to enhance Thailand’s competitiveness. Modern Management Frontier Journal, 18(1), 15-22.

Stoker, G. (2006). Public value management: a new narrative for networked governance?. The American review of public administration, 36(1), 41-57.

Thongsuk, K. (2019). Performance resulting from knowledge and understanding of digital organization to digital government policy case study of the Office of the Civil Service Commission. SSRU Journal of Public Administration, 2(2), 39-49. (In Thai)

UNESCO. (2011). ICTs as tools for improving local governance; Accessed March 2021. from http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=3038&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201. Html

Yigitcanlar, T., & Kamruzzaman, M. (2018). Does smart city policy lead to sustainability of cities?. Land use policy, 73, 49-58.

Downloads

Published

2025-09-30

How to Cite

Thongmomram, C. . (2025). Lessons Learned from Singapore’s Transformation Toward Digital Government. Local Administration Journal, 18(3), 331–348. retrieved from https://so04.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/colakkujournals/article/view/253014