Lessons from AsiaIdeas You Can Use Today

By Joshua ChambersFounder

GovInsider

This presentation will discuss

How governments have successfully:

1. Improved the quality of their data2. Used data to improve efficiency3. Engaged citizens in the policymaking process

1. Gather Data: Feedback Apps and Offices

• Use Citizens to gather real-time data for you• Allows engagement with rural

areas• Builds an immediate picture of

problems in a community• Can track which departments

are most responsive to feedback

Examples of systems that are working well• Qlue, Jakarta

• Has a dashboard reporting results straight to the Governor• Part of a broader system tracking metrics across the city like transportation

• OneService, Singapore – an exemplar for response times• 8888, Philippines• Not an app, just a hotline

• 1823, Hong Kong• Combines phone line with an app

• Phones against Corruption, Papua New Guinea• Shows the potential for SMS reporting

Using Social Media to Gather Data• PetaBencana uses social media mentions

of flooding to track problems on an interactive map• At a time when the city experiences large-

scale flooding, this map is faster and more accurate than traditional reporting• People can share pictures using a hashtag,

but the system will also pick up other mentions of flooding• Social media posts are geolocated so it’s

possible to tell from tweets where flooding is most intense, and use this to scramble a response

2. How to use your data

• Philippines has a system that can predict which areas have been worst hit by a natural disaster by using Artificial Intelligence• Project was built by Netherlands Red Cross and pulls in weather data,

windspeeds, rainfall and past incident reports• Allows for much quicker assessment of damaged areas than

traditional measures – where houses are manually assessed• Quicker response times means quicker aid• This project is expanding overseas

Hong Kong SAR slashed public sector costs• Call centre data showed that one

government mailout was causing a huge number of complaints• When the team spotted this, they called

people who had complained and asked about the problem• They found that the message was

confusing, and a particular sentence was making people worried about their student loans• The mailout was rewritten so that it was

clearer and had precise instructions. This cut complaints by 47%.

3. How to engage citizens

• Clean India a great example• Celebrities, politicians, civil

servants all involved• Used social media to allow

ordinary people to join in• Like the Ice Bucket Challenge,

allowed personal shares, viral campaign• Shared an important message

- sanitation is everyone’s responsibility

Reaching rural communities - Bhutan

• Virtual Zomdu initiative has cameras installed in villages• This enables MPs to hold town hall

meetings with remote communities• Ensures regular sessions to connect,

and creates an event

Broader lessons from global leaders

1. Use what has worked elsewhere – many schemes can be copied2. Respond – feedback apps need quick responses3. Open up your data – let others use it too for transport apps or

tourism sites4. Be personal on social media – first person messages work best5. Build a brand by sharing videos about your country – show pictures,

videos of local athletes, make it like a news feed for citizens

Any questions?Contact:

Joshua ChambersFounder, GovInsider

joshua@govinsider.asia+65 8681 4957