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In the digital age, accessibility and convenience are paramount, and this principle extends to government services. Singapore’s SupportGoWhere platform is a testament to this, offering citizens and residents a user-friendly gateway to navigate a myriad of government support schemes and services with ease.
Launched as an initiative by LifeSG, GovTech, this platform was conceived to simplify the often-convoluted process of discovering and accessing government offerings. By simply answering a few questions, users are guided through a personalised journey, gaining insights into their eligibility for specific schemes and services.
One of the platform’s notable features is the Care Services Recommender, tailor-made to assist caregivers. It provides recommendations on government schemes related to physical and mental healthcare, social support, financial assistance, future planning, and other caregiving resources. This level of specificity ensures that users find the exact support they need.
SupportGoWhere doesn’t just stop at recommendations; it empowers Singaporeans to act. For instance, citizens can apply for the ComCare Short-to-Medium-Term Assistance (SMTA) scheme, which offers financial aid for essential needs. The platform streamlines the application process, allowing users to submit documents and track their application status conveniently. Additionally, a digital calculator integrated into the website helps citizens gauge their eligibility for various government benefits accurately.
One of the platform’s remarkable aspects is its commitment to transparency and user empowerment. Users can delve into the details of each scheme and service. They can access information such as the target beneficiaries, eligible assistance amounts, and the locations of service providers. Armed with this knowledge, they can make informed decisions and proceed with online applications confidently.
The genesis of SupportGoWhere coincided with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This period brought widespread job losses and income reductions, necessitating swift and effective government assistance. However, many individuals found themselves grappling with confusion about the eligibility criteria, assistance amounts, and the application process for various schemes. In response to this pressing need, the SupportGoWhere team leveraged their experience with the MaskGoWhere initiative, a COVID-19-related project, to rapidly launch SupportGoWhere within a week.
Recognising Singapore’s linguistic diversity, the team made SupportGoWhere accessible to all by integrating Chinese, Malay, and Tamil translations into the platform. What began as a COVID-19-focused endeavour expanded its scope to encompass all government schemes and services, transcending pandemic-related assistance.
The relentless pursuit of improvement is embedded in the platform’s DNA. To enhance user experience further, the team is harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) to refine their recommendations, ensuring users receive tailored suggestions that precisely match their needs and circumstances.
Behind the user-friendly facade lies a robust technological foundation. SupportGoWhere was meticulously crafted with ReactJS, Koa, and TypeScript. TypeScript’s static typing minimises potential bugs, bolsters code readability and fosters an exceptional development experience, resulting in high-quality software.
For hosting, the platform relies on the AWS Cloud, following a three-tier architecture design pattern. This architectural choice empowers decoupled and microservices components to be developed and managed independently, driving efficiency. The system is also equipped with auto-scaling capabilities, ensuring it can seamlessly handle sudden surges in traffic, thereby guaranteeing uninterrupted service availability.
The success of SupportGoWhere hinges on user and stakeholder satisfaction. Citizen satisfaction is gauged through various metrics, including page or feature views and User Satisfaction scores. These metrics shed light on how users interact with the website and whether they find the content valuable. The smiley face in the bottom left corner, known as the Whole-of-Government Application Analytics (WOGAA) sentiments widget, allows users to provide qualitative feedback, offering valuable insights into their experiences.
Stakeholder satisfaction varies depending on the nature of their collaboration with the platform. Metrics range from page views to operational efficiency and cost savings. The SupportGoWhere team collaborates closely with stakeholders, setting clear targets and collecting pertinent data to assess performance.
Since its inception, SupportGoWhere has amassed over six million total visits and attracted more than three million unique visitors. Positive sentiments abound, with many users lauding the platform’s role in facilitating access to financial assistance during challenging times.
The Support For You Calculator, a recent addition, garnered praise for simplifying the estimation of Budget 2023 benefits for users and their households. Stakeholders have also reaped the rewards of their collaboration with SupportGoWhere, particularly through the Care Services Recommender, where healthcare institutions display publicity materials.
