eMPS

Idea

Overview

To solve resident's requests for help from their constituency's Ministers of Parliament (MPs), MPs regularly conduct Meet the People sessions (MPS) to hear their problems and offer help. These usually result in a letter written to the relevant government agencies to try and assist residents with their problems. These sessions can also provide applications for temporary financial aid through services like ComCare.

However, due to COVID-19, these face to face sessions had to stop. Yet, the problems of these residents still remain and they still need help. While individual government agencies might still be able to offer assistance online or over the phone, it is often the case where residents are unaware of where to get help from, or if they need MPs to write appeal letters for them. As such, this idea to provide a website where users can: a) Find out the different government schemes available to help them during this time and b) Contact their MPs through an online medium, allowing MPS to continue

This can continue to be useful even after we enter the later stages of Circuit Breaker as we still maintain social distancing. Such online services will be able to help remove the need to be physically present can help reduce numbers as MPS sessions.

Of course, it is acknowledged that some stakeholders such as the elderly and those without an internet connection will not be able to efficiently utilise such a solution. Thus, eMPS aims to help those who can access it online in order to free up space at MPS for such other stakeholders.

Considerations

I am unsure if GovTech will be able to push out such solutions to MPS considering the political nature of such events. However, a website featuring the different government schemes can still be considered in order to provide more self-help avenues. Despite this, I believe that such a project will inevitably involve the many different government agencies as after all, MPS is supposed to provide an avenue for the residents to them. Thus, I feel this project has significant meaning to it.

Details

Residents:

• Able to reach the website and scroll through different schemes from public agencies which they can apply for

• Links to take them directly to each agency's website to apply

• Login in via SingPass to access MPS request site

• Fill in the necessary details for an appeal letter: agency involved with the matter, supporting documents

• Receive a case number which can be used to get further updates on the matter

MPS Volunteers:

• Case management system
• Login to see the outstanding cases that people have submitted along with the necessary documents to write a letter
• Able to send a request to the resident to furnish other supporting documents that may be needed
• Send the letter/print it out to fax it to the relevant agency

Future Development

• Enable government agencies to utilise the same system to directly respond to residents appeals and queries