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Introduction
Public Service for the 21st Century or PS21 is a major change movement started in the Singapore Public Service in 1995. The change movement is led by Public Service leaders and impacts all public officers. A PS21 Office (PSO) was established under the Public Service Division (PSD) in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to spearhead the movement.
Rationale for PS21
The pace of change in the world has been increasing and will continue to increase. This brings with it both opportunities and threats. In the 1990s, the Singapore Public Service was keenly aware of the need to change and position itself to be ready for the challenges in the 21st Century. Although the future will always be uncertain, there are many things that the Public Service can do to ensure that it is always ‘in time for the future’. It was in this context that PS21 was launched. PS21 is a movement to inculcate an attitude of continuous improvement in the Public Service.
PS21 aims to build the capacity of the public service to anticipate change, welcome change and execute change efficiently and effectively. The success of PS21 lies not with the number of projects it has spawned, the cost savings it has achieved, or the impact of its various initiatives, but in the extent to which an attitude of excellence and a culture of being prepared continuously for change has been internalised in the public service.
Focus Areas of PS21
4 focal areas were identified - Staff Wellbeing, ExCEL (Excellence Through Continuous Enterprise and Learning), Organisational Review and Service Quality. Staff Wellbeing is about taking care of the morale, welfare, development and engagement of public officers. ExCEL is about tapping on the creativity of each public officer, fostering teamwork and institutionalizing training and development. Organisational Review is about having robust systems and processes within organizations to ensure efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability. Service Quality is about delivering excellent customer service to members of the public – services that are responsive, efficient and courteous.
Each of these areas is driven by a steering committee chaired by a permanent secretary with representatives of all ministries as members. While central steering committees are set up to drive PS21 at the public service level, the actual practice and pursuit of PS21 are grounded at the individual public agency level. Hence each public agency has its own internal PS21 Committees to drive PS21. |
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