Transformational Shifts in Government and Public Sector Institutions

Beyond a doubt, the pandemic has hastened digital transformation and opened up a myriad of opportunities. Implementation of tech-enabled platforms and solutions is taking place across industries, and they are no less critical to healthcare. The ongoing crisis is prompting digital leaders in the health sector to reconsider how to best leverage technology to serve the pressing current need as well as future requirements.

In a normal year, healthcare institutions around the world spend trillions of dollars to address growing healthcare challenges. With the unprecedented numbers of patients seeking care, as outpatients or admissions, health systems in hard-hit areas have been put under even more strain – with demands for space, supplies and staff far outstripping supply.

Moreover, as health services crumble under the number, patients reach out to other peripheral agencies and institutions looking for help anywhere they think they can get it. Facilities, systems, infrastructure, providers, paramedical staff and patients have been overwhelmed across the board, but far more so in areas that have poor or limited access to healthcare.

1516334892820 OpenGov Asia — Peter Moore Regional Managing Director for Asia Pacific and Japan Worldwide Public Sector Amazon Web Services

Against this backdrop, Amazon and Amazon Web Services (AWS) introduced a new global programme to support organisations working to improve health outcomes for underserved or underrepresented communities. They provided funding and technical expertise, committing $40 million over three years to assist in developing solutions to improve health outcomes.

OpenGov Asia had the opportunity to speak with Peter Moore, Regional Managing Director for Asia Pacific and Japan, Worldwide Public Sector, Amazon Web Services, to gain deeper insights into their accelerated transformation initiatives as well as to discuss projects and initiatives implemented by AWS that assist governments and the public sector to leverage AWS technologies in support of their missions and mandates.

Technology has accelerated transformation in the health sector

COVID-19 has created unprecedented challenges for healthcare across the board while also inspiring and driving innovation at an unprecedented rate. Without a doubt, the use of technology in healthcare has resulted in better patient diagnosis and treatment, as well as improved quality of life and the saving of many lives.

It is universally acknowledged that the pandemic has accelerated digital transformation and across the board, things have shifted entirely to a digital or hybrid mode. As things sort of settle, the question is, would these methods continue even after physical routines resume. “From a technology perspective, what does the future look like?”

Peter agree that the world is experiencing turbulence and churning; the key question that needs to be addressed is “how do government and public agencies respond?”.

According to Peter, COVID-19 has forced significant changes that have impacted many lives and marginalised large swathes of populations. Governments throughout the region are grappling with the ‘have nots’ rather than the ‘haves,’ which Peter feels, is rooted in politics and policies. The focus now has to be on equitable solutions for all citizens – students, employees and patients; urban or rural; low or high resource.

The fact is, even though the public sector was well on the path of digitisation and moving to the cloud before COVID-19, the pandemic has forced governments to rethink their cloud strategy. Peter believes that the primary driver behind this shift in the pre-COVID era was citizen demand for effective service delivery. Education, healthcare and civil service institutions started putting a web backend to enhance citizen service delivery and better capabilities for government employees.

As countries grappled with the challenge of scaling COVID-19 testing, they launched the AWS Diagnostic Development Initiative to help organisations around the world apply the power of the cloud to accelerate diagnostics research and development. Through this initiative, AWS committed $20 million in computing credits and customised expertise from the AWS Professional Services team to support customers using AWS to drive diagnostic innovations.

In February this year, AWS released the report, “Unlocking APAC’s Digital Potential: Changing Digital Skill Needs and Policy Approaches.” Prepared by strategy and economics consulting firm AlphaBeta and commissioned by AWS, the report analyses the digital skills applied by workers in their jobs today and the digital skills required by workforces over the next five years. The report focuses on six Asia Pacific countries: Singapore, Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, and South Korea.”

Telehealth and telemedicine, two of the fastest-growing areas of healthcare, have proven to be lifesaving, facilitating safe and effective patient care from a distance and assisting physicians in pooling their resources when the virus was straining the healthcare system.

To strengthen such health care systems that show promise, AWS has launched new initiatives and a global programme focusing on health equity. “I find a lot of benefit in advising governments where I see things working well and where they can improve,” says Peter.

AWS global programme assists customers in developing solutions to improve health outcomes and equity.

Max Peterson, Vice President for AWS Worldwide Public Sector, says healthcare has changed at an astounding rate, as have the ways people work, live, learn and serve. In his opinion, governments and non-profits have, for the most part, done things in person. While many were working in the cloud to digitise and transform the delivery of their services, the pandemic has shown that digital solutions may well become the only interface with citizens customers and citizens in the future.

In such a rapidly evolving digital world, data, Peter firmly believes, plays one of the important roles for technological development. It must be better leveraged to promote more equitable and inclusive systems of care. Agencies must create more robust and informative datasets or clean existing datasets to improve accuracy about race, ethnicity, gender, disability, or other data points that will help to advance health equity for all. AWS is keen to support this capability delivery.

“What I have alluded to so far is that there’s going to be a huge demand on new capabilities and that demand is going to come from those who are currently underserved. So, we want to focus on giving access to health services for the underserved communities,” Peter confirms emphatically.

Roughly half of the world’s population lacks access to basic healthcare. The proposed projects will focus on underserved populations all over the world and will include the development of tools like telehealth and telemedicine to reach secluded and marginalised communities, remote patient monitoring, increasing the availability and impact of health workers and more. Promising Initiatives will get credit and technical assistance so that they can be brought to market.

The project’s second focus, Peter elaborated, is addressing social determinants of health (SDoH) – the environmental conditions in which people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship and age, these aspects hugely influence a wide range of health outcomes and risks. Safe housing, transportation, education, access to nutritious foods, clean air and water and other services are examples.

Across the world, AWS’ new global programme builds on its work with current customers who are harnessing AWS technologies to support their health equity programmes, which include:

National Health IT Collaborative for the Underserved (NHIT): Earlier this year, the non-profit debuted the cloud-powered Data Fusion Centre on AWS to assist in addressing intergovernmental data challenges and translating Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) data into actionable insights. Industry, academia, and communities can use the Centre to discover, explore, and visualise SDoH and health equity-related factors and their impact.

HealthImpact’s Trust a Nurse, Ask A Nurse: This non-profit is collaborating with community-based organisations throughout California to make registered nurses available for free, particularly in underserved and minority communities. A new telehealth service that provides education and support about COVID-19 and vaccine options is now available. Hippo Health, which runs on AWS, powers the telehealth platform, and Telehealth Consulting Services provide subject matter expertise.

Rush University Medical Centre Population Health Analytics Hub: The Chicago-based medical centre, which is a nationally recognised leader in quality and health equity, is establishing an analytics hub to address the clinical and social determinants of health that contribute to premature cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Rush set up the COVID-19 analytic hub on AWS during the pandemic to integrate patient and operational data for rapid, targeted intervention.

As an example, Peter refers to India. It has a large population where all of SDoH issues are of vital importance. While those with resources in the country have access to doctors and excellent healthcare, many economically weaker sections cannot access those services. “Vaccinating the population in India has been a huge task. And we’ve been very involved in that through an application called CoWIN – a country-wide vaccine registration and scheduling management system.”

To address the need for health improvement in India, AWS is broadening this platform, which has been thus far focused on COVID-19, to include other diseases as well so that vaccinations can be provided to everyone in the country.

Making the world a better place with AWS Start-up Ramp

In line with its mission to make the world a better place, AWS recently expanded its Start-up Ramp programme in Southeast Asia. This new programme for early-stage start-ups developing solutions in health, digital government, smart cities, agriculture and space technology is committed to assisting entrepreneurs as they build, launch and grow their businesses.

It works to remove barriers for entrepreneurs who want to make an impact in the public sector by providing technical design and architecture reviews, mentorship, credit and assistance with go-to-market plans to successfully direct the public sector’s complex regulatory and security requirements.

Start-ups in their early stages that are focused on finding product-market fit and meeting their first customers can apply to become Start-up Ramp Innovators. Those with already paying customers who are focused on growth and scale can apply to become Start-up Ramp Members and gain access to programme benefits. Customers in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam can now apply for the programme.

Conclusion

Peter recognises that health authorities around the world are at varying levels of readiness since the pandemic began and no one can predict what the future holds.

People have witnessed the rampant spread of COVID-19 across the globe and seen how it has ravaged economies, healthcare systems and taken far too many lives. As a result, the public and private sectors must develop faster solutions and respond in a more innovative, agile and equitable manner.

AWS will be deeply involved with helping to securely store, manage and analyse large amounts of health data as it is critical for advancing medical research and meeting the growing demand for high-quality health analytics.

Ultimately, AWS will continue to help to power and empower public health innovation!

About Peter James Moore

Peter James Moore is the Regional Managing Director for Amazon Web Services, Global Public Sector, where he is responsible for building and growing the public sector business (Government, Education, Healthcare, and Non-Profit Organisations) in Australia and New Zealand, India, Southeast Asia, Japan, and Korea.

He previously established Inventus Pte Ltd to provide strategic advice to foreign companies looking to enter the Asian market. Peter has been hired by Intellectual Ventures as a Strategic Business Consultant in the Office of the Chief Technology Officer, where he identifies and cultivates opportunities and potential partners for programmes in Asia and other international markets.

Before that, he was an experienced Microsoft General Manager with 25 years of IT Sales and Marketing experience (15 years at Microsoft) across all of Asia Pacific, having worked and lived in Australia, Singapore, and China. Product Marketing, Technology Evangelism, Sales Management, and complete Business Function and P&L Management have all been the roles he served at Microsoft. The last eight years have been focused on the Public Sector in Asia.

Prior to joining Microsoft, Peter worked for Intergraph for over 9 years in a variety of senior management positions covering Australia and New Zealand. He also had consulting assignments in South Africa and Hong Kong during this time. And before joining Intergraph, Peter was a Radio Technician in the Royal Australian Air Force, where he spent 9 years in Australia and Malaysia.

EXCLUSIVE! Chatbot Development for Public Service

OpenGov Asia has recognised GovTech for the public sector’s evolving digital use. The agency has streamlined government operations and broken new ground with its Virtual Intelligent Chat Assistant (VICA). The project is part of GovTech’s ongoing efforts to develop and deploy chatbots to fill gaps in government services and enhance the lives of citizens.

VICA is the most recent citizen assistant platform from GovTech, utilising Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create more efficient and beneficial chatbots for government agencies to manage and for end users. The ‘Ask Jamie’ Virtual Assistant will eventually be replaced by VICA.

The engine-neutral platform employs cutting-edge tech to enhance performance and precision. VICA utilises natural language processing engines, machine learning and AI to enhance virtual and phone interactions between Singapore government institutions and residents or businesses.

This platform not only learns and interprets conversations but also offers businesses the ability to design and train chatbots, features that Ask Jamie did not provide. The automated processes provided by VICA make it easier for agencies to onboard and “train” their chatbots.

This accomplishment earned GovTech the prestigious OpenGov Asia Recognition of Excellence Award, which will be presented at the 8th Annual Singapore OpenGov Leadership Forum 2023.

Chatbot advancement to improve citizen experience

In addition to providing a simple FAQ, VICA improves transactional services in numerous other ways. Streamlining transactions provides greater convenience and access to government services and information, as well as quicker and more direct responses to user inquiries.

Taxi drivers and hawker stall owners, for instance, can use the IRAS chatbot to request assistance with tax filing. The Municipal Services Office’s OneService Chatbot, Kaki, which allows residents to easily report municipal issues via WhatsApp and Telegram, is also powered by VICA.

VICA-powered chatbots provide the public with timely updates, such as the Gov.sg chatbot, which provides COVID-19 updates and disseminates important government announcements in English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil.

Using NLP technology has allowed VICA-powered chatbots to better understand and interpret human language, particularly in the context of Singaporean English, thereby improving overall user experience. It is possible to create more structured conversational flows by defining intents, entities and context management – the building blocks that provide directions to chatbots and allow them to meet the needs of users.

VICA provides detailed analytics and insights into the performance of the chatbot as well as user conversations. With this information, the team can identify areas for improvement to enhance performance and accuracy.

Technology is constantly evolving, and the team is continuously on the lookout for and learning about new AI trends. Hence, VICA has been experimenting with a Generative AI programme that can understand written prompts and respond with helpful assistance in real-time since mid-2022.

VICA’s development involves the gradual integration of cutting-edge technology that meets the requirements of the entire government. These technological upgrades will include a unified chat frontend to ensure consistent branding across all government ministries and agencies – Singpass Integration, Live Chat Escalation, and support for various chat platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram.

As part of the closed beta programme with internal testers, the VICA team has been utilising these technologies to improve the quality and efficacy of the chatbots with citizens.

Developers also want to reduce the time and effort that their agency partners have to invest in training and maintaining their chatbots. While the team has always been receptive to new technologies, they take a measured approach, through progressive internal testing phases with the selected partner agencies before launching to the public.

The strategy is to determine how technological advancements can benefit not only the agency partners but also citizen users.

VICA intends to surpass FAQ-style chatbots with near-human conversation capabilities in the long run. It intends to combine services and transactional capabilities so that chatbots can assist users with their inquiries and complete transactions.

Given the potential risks and shortcomings associated with the development of intelligent development of platforms, it is vital to have an ethics framework in place. This will allow developers to plan for and be aware of the pitfalls and limitations of AI, which include:

Accuracy: Models can give false responses that sound convincing
Bias: Inherent biases may exist in the training dataset, which can be difficult to pre-empt due to the lack of information. This could then manifest in the model’s responses;
Harmful content: To create a safe and healthy environment for users’ interaction with chat apps, chat moderation is important to monitor and regulate user input messages against inappropriate and offensive content;
Data governance: When interacting with chatbots, users may inadvertently volunteer personal and confidential data through the chatbot’s prompts.

It is essential to encourage interactions with them and provide feedback to ensure that chatbots are performing as intended and to improve their overall performance.

Despite the functionality and enormous potential of generative AI, VICA has placed a high priority on governing its use to ensure that such technology is employed in an ethical manner benefitting both end users and society.

To mitigate the risk of unintended prejudices and ensure adherence to data governance rules, it is crucial to adopt an intentional strategy for the collection and transformation of raw data into useful and insightful outputs. Such a strategy can help ensure that the data is handled fairly and responsibly and that any potential risks are addressed pre-emptively or proactively. Moreover, this approach ensures that the resulting outputs are accurate, reliable and trustworthy.

About the team

The organisation recognises the importance of aligning team members towards a shared vision and objective, regardless of their diverse backgrounds. With a diverse team, each member can bring their unique perspectives and expertise to the table. Working collaboratively, the team can leverage these diverse perspectives to generate innovative problem-solving strategies.

The VICA team fosters an atmosphere of open communication and encourages feedback, creating a cooperative environment where team members feel heard and valued. This establishes a safe place where everyone feels comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas.

They frequently organise team-building activities outside of work to foster camaraderie, build stronger relationships and create a more cohesive team dynamic. They believe this approach can lead to more innovative solutions and better decision-making.

Defining clear objectives and goals is crucial for the success of the VICA team. Every team member understands that they are working towards a common objective, providing a sense of purpose and direction.

Clear missions and defined tasks allow the team to stay on track and ensure that their efforts are moving the project forward in the right manner. This approach helps ensure that everyone is aligned and focused on achieving the same goals, which ultimately contributes to the success of the project.

The VICA team has implemented a robust project management framework that outlines the roles and responsibilities of team members at each project stage. They adhere to budget planning procedures to manage costs effectively. This framework helps ensure that everyone is clear on their responsibilities and contributes effectively to the project’s success within the specified budget.

The VICA team has adopted an agile approach that emphasises adaptability, speed and continuous quality improvement. The team uses retrospectives to evaluate what works well and what doesn’t, identifying opportunities for future improvement. This enables the team to quickly make adjustments and continuously improve the project’s quality, resulting in a more successful outcome.

EKSKLUSIF! Pemerintah Singapura Pakai AI dan ML untuk Bikin Chatbot Cerdas

Proyek VICA (Virtual Intelligence Chat Assistant) adalah platform layanan chatbot yang bisa digunakan sebagai dasar pengembangan berbagai layanan chatbot di berbagai instansi pemerintahan Singapura. Platform ini ditenagai dengan Kecerdasan Buatan (Artificial Intelligence/ AI) dan pembelajaran mesin (Machine Learning/ ML) agar chatbot yang dikembangkan oleh berbagai instansi pemerintahan bisa memberikan respons yang lebih ‘manusiawi’ kepada warga dan berbagai perusahaan di Singapura.

Layanan platform chatbot VICA dikembangkan oleh GovTech, yaitu Badan Teknologi Pemerintah (Government Technology) yang mendorong transformasi digital ke berbagai instansi pemerintah di Singapura. GovTech mengembangkan VICA sebagai perbaikan dari layanan chatbot sebelumnya; Ask Jamie.

Untuk membantu VICA memberikan jawaban yang lebih natural dan akurat, GovTech memanfaatkan teknologi NLP (natural language processing) terbaru dengan platform mesin-agnostik. Menerapkan kecerdasan buatan dan pembelajaran mesin membuat VICA mampu mempelajari dan menafsirkan percakapan dan meningkatkan interaksi ketika ‘diajak bicara’ secara virtual maupun lewat telepon. Sebagai sebuah platform, VICA juga digunakan oleh berbagai instansi pemerintah lain untuk melatih chatbot yang mereka kembangkan. Fitur ini sebelumnya tak ada di platform chatbot Ask Jamie.

VICA merupakan bagian dari upaya GovTech untuk membangun dan menggunakan chatbot guna menjembatani pemerintah dengan warga dan swasta. Kepiawaian dan inovasi GovTech ini mendapat atensi dari OpenGov Asia untuk mendapatkan penghargaan OpenGov Asia Recognition of Excellence Award yang akan diberikan pada Singapore OpenGov Leadership Forum 2023 tahunan ke-8.

Chatbot pintar

Dalam wawancara dengan CEO dan Pemimpin Redaksi OpenGov Asia, tim pengembang VICA menyebut mereka telah meningkatkan berbagai fitur untuk memperbaiki cara chatbot anyar ini dalam melayani pengguna. VICA bisa memberi jawaban lebih cepat dan sesuai konteks sehingga ia tak hanya menjawab pertanyaan berdasarkan jawaban yang sering ditanyakan atau sesuai template semata. Hal ini membuat pengguna merasa lebih nyaman ketika berinteraksi dengan VICA.

Sebagai sebuah platform, VICA juga digunakan untuk mengembangkan chatbot instansi pemerintah lain. Contohnya adalah chatbot IRAS yang digunakan wiraswasta seperti supir taksi atau pemilik kios jajanan untuk meminta bantuan dalam pengajuan pajak. Kaki, chatbot layanan terpadu dari Kantor Layanan Kota bisa yang akan menampung laporan dan keluhan warga soal masalah kota lewat WhatsApp dan Telegram.

Selain itu, platform chatbot VICA juga bisa memberikan informasi terbaru secara real-time kepada warga. Contohnya, chatbot Gov.sg yang memberikan pembaruan status COVID-19 dan pengumuman pemerintah dalam bahasa Inggris, Mandarin, Melayu, dan Tamil.

Agar interaksi dengan VICA lebih ramah pengguna, tim memanfaatkan teknologi NLP untuk bisa memahami dan menginterpretasikan bahasa manusia. Namun, bahasa utama yang paling baik diinterpretasikan VICA saat ini adalah bahasa Inggris Singapura.

“Dengan memahami maksud pertanyaan, siapa yang menanyakan, dan konteks pertanyaan, ini akan jadi bahan arahan bagi chatbot untuk memberikan jawaban yang memuaskan kebutuhan pengguna, sehingga alur percakapan bisa lebih terstruktur,” jelas tim VICA.

Agar performa VICA makin bagus, tim juga melengkapi platform ini dengan analisis data. Hasil analisis itu memberikan gambaran terperinci tentang kinerja chatbot serta bagaimana kinerjanya atas percakapan pengguna. Hal ini membuat tim VICA bisa mengidentifikasi hal yang bisa diperbaiki untuk meningkatkan akurasi VICA.

Ketika memanfaatkan AI, terdapat kekhawatiran masalah etika dari kecerdasan buatan yang digunakan. Sebab, pada beberapa kasus, AI kerap memberi jawaban yang menyesatkan atau tidak sesuai etika. Tim VICA menyadari hal dan sepakat kalau model AI bisa memberikan respons yang salah namun terdengar meyakinkan.

Jawaban yang keluar dari model AI juga bisa terkontaminasi oleh bias. Bias bawaan ini mungkin terjadi imbas dari kumpulan data yang digunakan untuk melatih model AI itu. Namun hal ini bisa jadi sulit dicegah karena kekurangan informasi yang dimasukkan dalam data latihan AI tersebut. Bias dan jawaban menyesatkan tadi kemudian nampak dalam respons AI atas pertanyaan pengguna.

Untuk menjaga pembicaraan yang sehat, model AI juga perlu menyaring konten yang ditanyakan pengguna. “Moderasi obrolan diperlukan untuk memantau dan menyaring pesan yang dimasukkan pengguna untuk mengatur respons AI terhadap konten yang tidak pantas dan menyinggung.”

Etika lain yang dipertimbangkan tim pengembang VICA adalah soal tata kelola data. Saat berinteraksi dengan chatbot, pengguna mungkin secara tidak sengaja memberikan data pribadi dan rahasia secara sukarela akibat perintah chatbot.

“Terlepas dari fungsi dan potensi AI generatif yang sangat besar, kami memastikan teknologi ini digunakan dengan cara yang etis dan menguntungkan pengguna dan masyarakat,” tegas tim VICA.

Untuk mengurangi berbagai risiko disinformasi, misinformasi, bias, dan masalah etis lain, tim memastikan efisiensi dan kegunaan tiap informasi yang dikumpulkan dan ditransformasi sebagai bahan data mentah pelatihan model AI yang mereka kembangkan. Hal ini juga dilakukan agar mereka mematuhi aturan tata kelola data yang berlaku. Selain itu, mereka pun senantiasa memeriksa umpan balik pengguna agar chatbot yang dikembangkan berfungsi semestinya.

Ketika ditanya soal pengembangan VICA ke depan, sejak pertengahan 2022, tim pengembang telah mulai bereksperimen dengan program AI Generatif. Program ini bisa memahami petunjuk tertulis dan merespons dengan bantuan yang bermanfaat secara real-time.

Dalam jangka Panjang, VICA akan terus disempurnakan dengan teknologi terkini yang paling sesuai dengan kebutuhan Whole-Of-Government. Mereka akan mengembangkan antarmuka obrolan terpadu sehingga branding pada chatbot pemerintah lebih seragam di semua kementerian dan lembaga. Selain itu, mereka juga berencana melakukan integrasi VICA dengan Singpass, memperbanyak fitur Live Chat, serta integrasi dengan platform chat seperti Whatsapp dan Telegram.

Selain itu, tim VICA juga telah menjajaki teknologi kemampuan percakapan tingkat lanjut seperti yang digunakan oleh ChatGPT. Mereka tengah menelisik teknologi ini dalam program beta tertutup dan tengah melakukan pengujian internal untuk meningkatkan kualitas dan kenyamanan pemakaian chatbot. Langkah selanjutnya adalah menerapkan cara yang dapat mempermudah para mitra GovTech ketika mengadopsi platform VICA ketika mereka ingin membuat chatbot sendiri. Dengan VICA, mereka bisa mempersingkat waktu dan mengurangi kerumitan dalam melatih serta memelihara chatbot mereka.

“Kemajuan teknologi apa pun harus bisa memberikan pelayanan yang lebih baik bagi mitra instansi dan warga, itu sudah menjadi DNA kami,” tegas tim VICA

Cita-cita jangka panjang lain adalah membuat chatbot VICA bisa digunakan sebagai media transaksi. Jadi, chatbot ini tak sekedar bisa menjawab pertanyaan saja, tapi juga bisa terintegrasi dengan operasional layanan pemerintah. “Kami juga selalu terbuka untuk teknologi baru dan siap melakukan kalibrasi melalui fase pengujian internal, sebelum meluncurkan layanan itu kepada warga.”

Membangun tim inovatif

Tim VICA lantas membeberkan sejumlah cara yang mereka lakukan untuk memastikan inovasi berkelanjutan dan keberhasilan program.

“Dengan menetapkan tujuan dan sasaran yang jelas, setiap anggota tim akan terbantu untuk memahami bahwa mereka memiliki tujuan bersama yang jelas, sehingga setiap orang memahami tugas dan tanggung jawab masing-masing.”

Di tahap awal, tim membangun kerangka kerja manajemen proyek. Kerangka ini membantu peran dan tanggung jawab anggota tim untuk pembagian beban kerja yang sehat di setiap tahap proyek. Kerangka ini juga berguna untuk penentuan perencanaan anggaran agar biaya bisa dikelola secara efektif. Tim juga menciptakan suasana yang terbuka terhadap berbagai umpan balik, sehingga setiap anggota tim bisa dengan bebas dan merasa aman dan didengar ketika mengajukan pendapat.

Untuk mengukur dan mengevaluasi keefektifan kerja, tim VICA mengadopsi metodologi Agile. Metode ini dianggap lebih fleksibel, cepat, dan bisa membantu tim untuk meningkatkan kualitas kerja mereka. Sementara dalam proses pengembangan produk, mereka mendapat manfaat dari metode Scrum dan Kanban. Sebagai bahan evaluasi, tim juga mengandalkan retrospektif untuk mempelajari kembali apa yang berhasil dan apa yang tidak. Bahan ini lantas digunakan untuk perbaikan produk di masa mendatang.

Ketika berinteraksi dengan tim yang berbeda latar belakang, tim VICA memulai proyek dengan membangun rasa saling percaya dan menyelaraskan visi dan tujuan bersama. Sehingga, tiap anggota bisa memiliki cara masing-masing untuk berkontribusi dengan caranya yang unik. Dengan menyatukan semua pendapat berbeda ini, mereka dapat menciptakan dan menemukan solusi inovatif untuk berbagai masalah.

Sementara untuk menjaga kebersamaan dan kolaborasi yang efektif dalam tim, mereka memperbanyak waktu bersama lewat sesi curah pendapat (brainstorming), proyek bersama, hingga kegiatan team bonding. Mereka pun mengembangkan budaya untuk menghargai kontribusi dan menghormati pendapat setiap anggota tim. Inisiatif ini menjamin tiap pendapat didengar serta memberikan lingkungan yang aman bagi tiap anggota untuk berbagi pandangan yang berbeda.

Indian Council of Medical Research Releases Ethical Guidelines for AI

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has released Ethical Guidelines for Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Biomedical Research. These guidelines apply to AI-based tools for all biomedical and health research and applications involving human participants and/or their biological data.

The recognised applications of AI in healthcare include diagnosis and screening, therapeutics, preventive treatments, clinical decision-making, public health surveillance, complex data analysis, predicting disease outcomes, and health management systems.

To ensure the responsible development and use of AI in healthcare, it is crucial to establish an ethical policy framework that guides decision-making. The ICMR guiding document stated that as AI technologies evolve and are increasingly applied in the healthcare sector, there must be processes that discuss accountability in case of errors.

The document outlined ten ethical principles based on the well-being of patients that must be considered when applying AI technology. These principles include accountability and liability for decisions made, respecting patient autonomy, ensuring data privacy, promoting collaboration, minimising risk, and ensuring safety, striving for accessibility and equity, optimising data quality, preventing discrimination and promoting fairness, and ensuring validity and trustworthiness of AI applications.

The principle of autonomy emphasises the importance of obtaining informed consent from patients, who should also be fully informed of the potential physical, psychological, and social risks associated with AI applications. On the other hand, the principle of safety and risk minimisation aims to prevent any unintended or intentional misuse of AI technology.

The body is responsible for assessing the scientific rigor and ethical aspects of all health research. It will ensure that the proposal is scientifically sound and weigh all potential risks and benefits for the population where the research is being carried out. Informed consent and governance of AI tools in the health sector are other critical areas highlighted in the guidelines. The latter is still in the preliminary stages, even in developed countries.

India has made significant strides in increasing the use of AI and other technologies in healthcare. Emerging technologies are being used to track citizens’ health statuses as well as to monitor health outcomes and identify areas for improvement. Last August, the National Health Authority (NHA) issued hardware guidelines for state and union territory hospitals, clinics, and wellness centres. The aim was to promote digitsation in healthcare institutions. The guidelines briefly describe the required infrastructure for the efficient implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), with a particular focus on quality patient care and the adoption of digital initiatives.

As OpenGov Asia reported, the guidelines provide a basic framework for the planning, assessment, and procurement of the IT hardware (including IT specifications of various hardware equipment) based on the size of the healthcare facility. It enables healthcare providers to operate applications compliant with the ABDM. The document includes guidelines for desktops and laptops; printers; QR code readers; QR code printers; fingerprint scanners; uninterrupted power supply (UPS); and web cameras.

ABDM is a national-level digital health ecosystem that intends to support universal health coverage (UHC) in an accessible, inclusive, and affordable manner, through the provision of big data and infrastructure services, and by leveraging open, interoperable, standards-based digital systems. At the same time, the government is keen on ensuring the security, confidentiality, and privacy of health-related personal information.

Indonesia Collaborates to Boost Connectivity for Digitalisation

Director General of Resources and Equipment of Post and Information Technology (SDPPI) at the Ministry of Communication and Informatics, Ismail, revealed that Indonesia is optimising technology by ensuring sufficient digital connection and working in concert with the private sector and the community. For its citizens to make the most of this technology, the government of the Republic of Indonesia is investing heavily in its development.

According to Ismail, Indonesia has a well-balanced strategy of infrastructure development and radio frequency spectrum management in place, which would speed up the nationwide rollout of digital infrastructure. However, Indonesia needs to harness an IoT-based platform that uses the country’s digital infrastructure to speed up digital transformation and promote innovation in day-to-day living.

“The Indonesian government has invested much in expanding access to the internet throughout the country, particularly in rural and isolated areas. While this is happening, the Indonesian government is working to speed up the spread of ICT applications and services across many sectors,” Ismail mentioned in an online session for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Prizes 2023 titled “High-Level Policy Session 7: Ethical Dimensions of Information and Knowledge Societies/Bridging Digital Divides”.

The event attended by ministerial representatives from the European Union, Pakistan, Iran, Cambodia, India and the United Arab Emirates were in attendance. In addition, academics and representatives from foreign organisations were also in attendance.

Ismail points out that the government and the private sector need to collaborate with other actors as the infrastructure network expanded. As seen by the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak in Indonesia, the business sector was spurred to develop and implement several digitisation programmes in the education, healthcare, and SME support sectors.

“Such as student e-book libraries and e-chat programmes. The programme was designed to help educators and students in their academic pursuits. In addition, there is a database of digital web pages, including about 7,500 pieces of digital information. Using digital technology, they hope to create a more accessible education system for all members of our community, he explained.

Ismail said the programme has the potential to benefit over 40,000 educators and over 600 institutions this academic year through enhanced professional development opportunities. Over 20,000 educators and 16,000 pupils have benefited from private sector capacity development programmes.

The private sector in Indonesia has launched several programmes to aid the growth of SMEs. These programmes provide SMEs with resources, including startup funding, digital marketing courses, and more.

Several private sector personnel and over 16,000 partners began the programme to digitalise small and medium-sized businesses. From this, we can infer that the government is trying to promote the availability of digital services and apps,” he said.

Meanwhile, in the healthcare sector, the private sector helps to produce the PeduliLindungi health app during the recent Covid-19 outbreak. The collaboration from a local developer’s team, the Indonesian government’s Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Communication and Informatics have sped up the development and improvement of the app.

During the pandemic “this application provides information about health and other relevant information,” the Director General of SDPPI of the Ministry of Communication and Informatics pointed out.

With over 100 million users, the software has been downloaded and is now used as an Indonesian Health Service Platform known as Satu Sehat Platform. The Platform is a unified health record system for locals. Director General Ismail cited that app as an example of one that is crucial to Indonesia’s healthcare system.

Indonesia’s government is constantly improving its public services to make them more effective and accessible to the people. Efforts to manage Indonesia’s National Public Service Innovation Network have officially commenced. (JIPPNas). The JIPPNas website has become a clearinghouse for innovative methods in public service throughout the country.

The website was created to compile all accessible statistics and information on the best public services and help Indonesia’s public and private sectors better understand how to develop innovation. The JIPPNas website is a hub for promoting innovation, especially in public services, thanks to the collaborative efforts of several different organisations.

HKUST Releases Regtech Study

The HKUST Business School conducted a comprehensive research study aimed at guiding policy and strategy development for Hong Kong’s regtech sector. The study highlights the pain points currently facing the industry and proposes measures that could strengthen its growth.

To create a more vibrant and innovation-friendly regtech ecosystem, regulators should consider leading in technology development, providing incentives for technology use, and issuing clear guidelines to facilitate technology adoption.

Regtech is a subsector of fintech that adds value to financial institutions and end-users of financial services by automating compliance processes and facilitating innovative customer services such as remote bank account opening. The Hong Kong Government recognises the significance of regtech as part of its fintech strategy and promotes its growth in the city.

To conduct the study, the research team collected insights from regtech solution providers and users, including senior management from banks, payment service providers, and asset management companies. The team used an online survey and focus group discussions to gather this information. Based on their findings, the team developed two reports that summarise their key observations and recommendations.

The research team identified the potential of regtech in automating financial institutions’ know-your-customer (KYC) processes and recommended establishing clear protocols for releasing government data for document verification purposes.

Additionally, the team proposed several solutions to address Hong Kong’s regtech talent shortage, including allocating more resources for on-the-job training, mandating IT courses for finance majors, and establishing an accredited regtech program that is widely recognised.

The Dean of HKUST Business School expressed that financial institutions are turning towards regtech to stay competitive and provide consistent value to customers amid a rapidly changing market with numerous regulatory requirements.

He hopes that this study will help policymakers, regulators, and industry participants to enhance the regtech capabilities of the city and accelerate industry growth. Additionally, the school plans to allocate more resources and focus on regtech research in the future.

The following are the recommendations provided by the HKUST Business School’s study on promoting regtech development in Hong Kong:

Creating a Friendly Regulatory Environment that Encourages Innovation:

Establish clear guidelines with notes on interpretation and provide prompt feedback
Provide incentives to the industry, startups, and academics to facilitate regtech innovation

Building a Connected, Inclusive, and Vibrant Regtech Ecosystem:

Regulators to take lead in technology solutions to address pain points of the industry
Build an inclusive regtech network through the facilitators
Accreditation of regtech solution providers

Facilitating the Sharing of Data & Technology in the Regtech Community:

Standardise the APIs for different banks to share data
Provide shared databases and platforms to be accessed by different regtech stakeholders
Allow successful sandbox projects to share solutions

Facilitating KYC Processes and Cross-Border Data Access:

Establish protocols for verification of documents and identities (individuals and corporates)
Collaborate with Mainland China to offer standardised procedures and data access

Solving Hong Kong’s Regtech Talent Shortage:

Government and regulators to allocate more resources for on-the-job training
Government to sponsor more internships, as firms may not have the resources to support student internships
Government could provide living allowance to expatriates, or subsidise the companies that offer housing benefits to expatriates to increase their willingness to relocate to Hong Kong
Higher education providers to include mandatory IT courses in the curriculum for finance majors
Establish a widely accepted accredited program with regtech as a specialisation for graduates and practitioners to certify fintech and regtech talent
Provide a clear path for the regtech profession and offer a more rewarding scheme and more interesting future prospects to attract students into the field.

The Policy Innovation and Coordination Office (PICO) and the Research Grants Council (RGC) funded the study.

Drones Help Thailand’s Smart Agricultural Efforts

Drones are being used in a Thai farm to spread biochemicals. Preesarn Rakwatin, Executive Vice President, Digital Application Promotion Group Team Digital Economy Promotion Agency (depa) conducted an inspection of the project during a follow-up visit to Sujaritchai Farm.

The farm received funding from depa’s Digital Transformation Fund, which subsidises the use of digital technologies and new ideas in manufacturing. Biochemicals derived from pigs on the farm were employed to boost the nutritional content of rubber and palm trees.

This approach is based on the same research findings that guide agriculture in the areas surrounding Chiang Khan. Data will be taken from the follow-up visit and the depa will be updated on the project’s progress.

Farmers, the Agri-Industrial Business Operators Academy, and agricultural extension and support organisations may work together more effectively and optimise their operations using digital technology. The initiative will serve as a blueprint to improve the agricultural industry in the region.

Meanwhile, the Department of Experimental Science and Engineering (DES) has previously suggested that farmers in the Pin Fah Farm region of Pathum Thani Province, Thailand, use more drones as part of a new smart farm initiative. The Pinfah Farm in Thailand’s Pathum Thani Province is an innovative model farm designed with eco-tourism in mind.

Drones in Pin Fah farms are used to apply fertiliser, pesticides, and other chemicals to their fields to save money and boost farmer health. The Minister of Digital Economy and Society, Chaiwut Thanakmanusorn, visited the new farm and donated capital.

In recent years, the concept of “smart agriculture” has been gaining popularity worldwide. It increases productivity, solves problems unique to farms (such as meeting rising food demands), and connects and improves the intelligence of farms. Intelligent agricultural systems that utilise the Internet of Things (IoT) include precision farming; variable rate technology; smart irrigation; and intelligent greenhouses.

Thailand is devoted to digitalising agriculture and enhancing the quality and effectiveness of the state’s public digital services. The Cabinet of Thailand recently adopted the “Digital Government Development Plan 2023-2027.” The plan’s goals were to usher in a more responsive government that caters to its citizens’ wants and needs, lessen service gap disparities, boost the economy’s productive capacity and competitiveness, and improve the public’s understanding of how things work.

The plan’s goals also included creating a more transparent government and closing the digital divide across all departments. To reap the full benefits of data, the government organised a centralised system to ensure that all data is linked according to the same standards and analysed using the same technologies.

Over the next five years, this strategy will guide government agencies using digital technology to serve the public better and improve administration. Don Pramudwinai, the Thai government’s Deputy Prime Minister, said that the strategy “powered up” the government’s transition to a digital form of administration.

The Digital Government Agency (DGA) noted that the digital government development strategy included the following four critical methods:

Promote the digital transformation of the public sector for flexible, agile administration and extend it to local government agencies;
Create services that are convenient and easy to access;
Create value and facilitate the business sector; and
Encourage public participation and make publicly available the results of the project’s success as documented by the digital government strategy

The approach integrates information and communication channels to provide openness and accountability and improve access to justice. The Thai government hopes implementing this strategy will help the country move up the E-Government Development Index (EGDI) rankings to somewhere above the 40th position.

To better prepare its public servants for the digital age, Thailand introduced an e-Learning system and an electronic certificate. More than a million users are enrolled in 32 different classes on the DGA website. In addition to providing digital job skills relevant to today’s global setting, the website will provide easy access to fundamental data needed by each agency. Developing digital competence will bolster the confidence and preparedness to transition towards a fully digital administration.

EXCLUSIVE! Selecting Startups to Fund with Kei Furukawa

Venture Capital (VC) has played a significant role in driving innovation and economic growth by providing essential financing for startups and early-stage enterprises. With rising interest rates and complicated loan approval processes, many entrepreneurs are turning to VC financing opportunities to bridge the gap between funding sources for innovation and traditional, lower-cost forms of finance available to existing businesses.

To attract private equity funds and entice entrepreneurs with high-return ideas, the VC industry must offer a satisfactory return on capital, provide appealing returns for its members, and demonstrate promising upside potential. However, consistently outperforming investments in inherently risky business operations remains a significant challenge

Despite not being long-term ventures, the goal of VC investments is to provide financial support to a company’s balance sheet and infrastructure until it achieves a certain size and level of credibility that makes it attractive for acquisition by a corporation or provides the opportunity for liquidity in the institutional public equity markets.

Due to the saturation of the startup market and ongoing inflation concerns, many investors are opting for a more conservative approach. Venture capitalists today are adopting a more cautious, long-term strategy, departing from the previously prevalent aggressive, short-term investment approach.

Venture Capitalists Measure When Funding a Startup

Kei Furukawa, a Partner in Investment & Business Development at the UTokyo Innovation Platform Co (UTokyoIPC), presents the Innovative Platform as the entity in charge of enhancing the University of Tokyo (UTokyo)’s innovation ecosystem. It is tasked with ensuring returns on its investments as a funding corporation as well as disseminating academic research outcomes from the world-leading university in Japan to society as a whole.

“UTokyo IPC aims to accelerate innovation on a global scale that leveraged the University of Tokyo through three key activities: supporting entrepreneurs, facilitating corporate innovation, and investing in startups,” Kei reveals.

The company’s primary activity is Venture Capital (VC), which consists of meaningful investments and the exiting of those portfolios. A concurrent objective is to apply UTokyo’s research, intellectual assets and other resources to businesses.

While the ultimate goal is to make investments, Kei shared that they also conduct extensive research and academic work, that can be commercialised.

The company has invested in around 60 companies or portfolios that are primarily focused on various fields including biotech (drug discovery, medical devices, agriculture), robotics, aerospace, IT and AI (mainly enterprise solutions).

“It is pertinent that our company was established as a result of a political decision, indicating that the government is currently experiencing a period of uncertainty,” Kei explains. “Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)made a joint decision to increase funding for startups emerging from universities, to explore ways to transform research into viable business ventures. This decision ultimately led to the creation of our company.”

Typically, national universities in Japan are not permitted to invest in companies, but an exception was made in this case. As a result, the VC firm is deeply invested in the growth of startups and takes a deep interest in their success.

Kei explained that the national budget was used to establish our funds. It is noteworthy that the funds comprise public and private sources, with a government disbursement allowing it to undertake investments with significantly greater risk.

He acknowledges that the company employs a matrix to evaluate the success of its investments. However, due to their focus on early-stage deep tech investments, it can be extremely challenging to conduct such measurements, particularly at an early stage. Nonetheless, his team closely monitors the progress of each investment and ensures that the milestones established for both business and technology are met.

The company operates an incubation and accelerator programme called “1st Round” (https://www.1stround.jp/) that serves as a bridge between academia and business. It is a programme co-hosted by 13 Top national and private universities from Japan. To participate in the initiative, start-ups are not required to be incorporated but must do so if chosen. If already incorporated, they must be under 3 years, and must not be funded by a VC at application timing.

He notes that they have numerous corporate sponsors, consisting of major Japanese corporations of a wide spectrum of industry fields. They strongly encourage partnerships between the startups and the sponsoring companies to conduct proof of concept (POC) projects together. This safe and close-knit community has resulted in many successful ventures between companies and startups.

The venture capitalist arm has a follow-on investment strategy aimed at providing support to the companies they invest in, particularly during challenging times. They take a hands-on approach by having members sit or observe boards meeting of portfolio companies to offer guidance and mentorship for business development, HR support (has own recruitment platform “Deep tech Dive” (https://www.utokyo-ipc.co.jp/dive/), and public relations. Also since their fund terms are 15 years, relatively longer than other VC funds, which helps deep tech startups to firmly bring technology to the market.

The VC strongly believes in the value of persistence and is committed to not giving up on its investments. They are determined to work tirelessly until the very end to revitalise the company, a trait they consider critical of a successful investor.

As a university subsidiary, they do not limit themselves to any particular investment areas and remain open to various types of startups. While there may be some sectors that are more attractive to non-tech venture capital, they generally favour startups that may be complex to comprehend but possess the potential to bring about transformative changes in the world.

They take a long-term investment approach and have transitioned from short-term rapid investment to supporting social impact and sustainability, particularly in healthcare startups. However, they also must balance this with the need for financial returns.

When making investments, financial returns are undoubtedly important, but they are not the sole factor that should be taken into account. The overall impact of the investment, including its social, environmental and ethical implications, should also be carefully considered.

Startups have several options for obtaining capital, such as crowdfunding, venture loans, and revenue-based finance. Each strategy has its own advantages and disadvantages, and therefore, entrepreneurs must have a deep understanding of these options.

Having multiple funding options can be advantageous, provided that entrepreneurs and shareholders are well-informed about the pros and cons of each. A thorough understanding of the funding options can help them make an informed decision that aligns with their business goals and objectives.

Urban Ideas and Solutions Through LKYGBPC

The Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition (LKYGBPC), which began in 2001, is a biennial global university start-up competition hosted in Singapore. Organised by Singapore Management University’s Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, focuses on urban ideas and solutions developed by student founders and early-stage start-ups.

According to Kei, as an entrepreneur, it is essential to have the appropriate capacity and seek guidance from knowledgeable individuals, particularly in the early stages of the business. As a university subsidiary, UTokyoIPC is well-equipped to assist entrepreneurs and help prevent them from making fatal mistakes out of ignorance.

The success of promoting entrepreneurship in culture depends on the ecosystem and environment that encourages and supports it. Singapore has a strong entrepreneurial environment, with universities such as SMU and NUS emphasising entrepreneurship. In contrast, Japan has a larger economy but tends to be more conservative.

The University of Tokyo has been actively fostering entrepreneurship by offering courses to students, which has led to the creation of numerous companies. The critical factor behind this success is the creation of an environment that supports entrepreneurship and motivates people to pursue it. Marketing and promoting the benefits of entrepreneurship are also vital to its success.

“The programme is expanding and involving many other universities beyond Singapore. This makes LKYGBPC an excellent platform for startups or the venture capital industry, as it is close to many countries in the region.” Kei believes.

Since joining the company in 2019, Kei has been actively involved in supporting startups, professors, and students through various initiatives. His passion is on deep tech startups or those with the potential to bring about positive changes in the world. He has invested in a diverse range of fields, including IT, robotics, AI and agritech.

Many successful entrepreneurs come from different backgrounds, such as business, engineering, finance, marketing and more. While having a technical background can be advantageous in some industries, it is not always necessary for achieving business success, Kei opines.

“Ultimately, having a strong business sense is more crucial than any specific technical background. What truly matters is possessing a good grasp of business and the necessary skills to succeed in it. This entails competencies such as strategic thinking, financial management, leadership, communication, and problem-solving,” Kei concludes.

March 25, 2023

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