Open government, closer ties, and digital uplift: Insights from South Korea and Singapore​

My time away provided a fundamental reminder of connecting with neighbours, both within our region and further abroad. 

While in South Korea, I attended two sessions organised by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD): the Global Symposium on Open Government and the Innovative, Digital, Open Government Network Forum. These sessions highlighted key initiatives already underway that Australia can join to strengthen local ties and reaffirm our place as a technical leader. The sessions presented several opportunities to partner with others undertaking vital work uplifting their public services and ensuring that democracies are open, trustworthy, and inclusive. 

In Singapore, as part of the Digital Government Exchange, 14 nations shared a global recognition of the fragmentation of data, digital, and cyber across economies. This presented a vital need to bring disparate initiatives back together under a coordinated function to ensure leadership has a focus on digital. 

Open government 

Part of my time was spent at the 7th OECD Open Government Working Party Meeting, hosted in Seoul. 

I’ve spoken and written about the importance of governments being uniquely placed for digital uplift. This is because everything we do ought to increase the amenity of society. As governments around the world continue to face ever-growing challenges, we are seeing them transformed into problem-solving innovators. 

In addressing a raft of challenges, faced both in day-to-day life and on a global scale, it is indispensable for governments to engage diverse stakeholders from various sectors and backgrounds. International speakers delivered insights on some key values and principles of open government. These include: 

• Transparency: Open governments should be willing to share information and resources. This transparency provides insight into unique or trending challenges, as well as potential processes that can help solve these problems.
• Integrity and Accountability: Open government promotes ethical and responsible governance, ensuring that public officials are held accountable for their actions.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Collaboration with diverse stakeholders, including civil society, academia, youth, and international organisations, is crucial for effective open government. This engagement allows for a wider range of perspectives and solutions.
• Public Participation: Giving citizens and residents a voice in government decisions strengthens trust in institutions and helps identify and implement effective solutions to societal challenges. 

The dialogues offered an opportunity for governments, civil society, youth, and international partnerships to share their successes, challenges, and lessons learnt in co-creation processes. If you have the time, I would highly recommend watching the recording from the day (available below). 

Closer ties 

Australia is actively seeking opportunities to build ties across the Indo-Pacific region. Australia and the DTA, have recently undertaken information exchanges with Indonesia, Vietnam, Tonga, Samoa, and Fiji. 

The Republic of Korea (South Korea) is very active in developing digital government maturity across South-East Asia. I attended their first sponsored and hosted Innovative, Digital, and Open Government (INDIGO) Network Forum. 

During my time in Seoul, colleagues from South Korea and Australia reiterated strategic ties between our two nations. 

From a trade and investment perspective, South Korea is our fourth-largest trading partner. The nature of our trade is complementary, with Australia exporting iron ore, coal, natural gas and beef. Imports from South Korea include refined petroleum and cars. 

The forum presented several opportunities in how Australia and South Korea could link our initiatives in developing digital government competency, particularly through use of our mutual link to the OECD, such as: 

• The OECD Trust Survey which highlights the importance of citizen participation in strengthening trust in government. The OECD also promotes inclusive and meaningful participation, emphasizing the need for tailored approaches and impact on policies.
• The Open Government Partnership (OGP) which is a global platform for promoting key principles and facilitating collaboration among countries. 

Digital government 

I participated in Singapore’s annual Digital Government Exchange (DGX). The 2-day discourse covered some fascinating material. 

One session dove into leading digital change within the public sector, expanding on findings from the World Bank Group’s Tech Savvy report. With insights on how to foster innovative climates, through to establishing foundational pillars for effective government technology (govtech) Change Management, it ticked a lot of boxes for how the DTA and Australian Government sets out to achieve greater efficiency through innovation.  

DGX also highlighted the growing need for increasing digital oversight on investment and spending. Many of the participating countries are facing increasing budget pressure and structural deficits and this is impacting on the appetite and ability to continue to invest in digital government transformation. This is no different in Australia. Rather than halting progress, they have concentrated on gaps in staff uptake of existing solutions. Where legislation stood in the way of citizens and residents using digital services, governments are focusing on legislative reforms to maximise the impact of existing digital investments in services.  

And finally, several speakers shared their exploration of safe and responsible implementations government-based use of AI. Examples included the Generative AI Framework for His Majesty's Government, The Danish National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence, and Australia’s policy for the responsible use of AI in government.  

For anyone interested: I, and a few of my international colleagues from the UK and Singapore, tackled the challenges surrounding legacy digital technology debt across government. 

The Digital Transformation Agency is the Australian Government's adviser for the development, delivery, and monitoring of whole-of-government strategies, policies, and standards for digital and ICT investments, including ICT procurement.