Future-Ready Society Conference 2024 – The Future of Citizen Participation and Collective Intelligence

Caption: Panel 1, titled “How Can Citizens Participate Meaningfully in Singapore?” explored how citizens can actively shape policy making in Singapore. Image by Jacky Ho.

The first panel focused on “How Can Citizens Participate Meaningfully in Singapore?” and moderated by Dr Harvey Neo, Professorial Research Fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities. The discussion opened with Ms Lim Weilin, Senior Director at REACH, who shared how the agency fosters two-way communication between the government and citizens. She highlighted engagement methods such as dialogue sessions, digital polls, and neighbourhood-centric conversations, designed to amplify under-represented voices.

Mr Adrian Liew, founder of OPPi, focused on how participatory polling can bridge opinion divides. He stressed the importance of making civic engagement tools user-friendly, allowing citizens to share their opinions transparently and building common ground across diverse viewpoints.

Dr Carol Soon, Principal Research Fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, introduced the concept of citizen panels. She explained how these diverse, structured discussions bring citizens together to deliberate on specific policy challenges. Dr Soon emphasized the importance of diversity, fairness, and knowledge exchange in fostering constructive citizen participation. She noted the empowering effect on participants, many of whom gained a deeper understanding of policymaking and felt more confident in their roles as active citizens.

The panel concluded with a lively Q&A session, where topics such as inclusivity, balancing diverse opinions, and building trust between citizens and government were discussed. Panellists shared practical strategies to address these challenges, underscoring the need for innovative tools and methods to enhance meaningful participation and prevent having participants walk out from engagements feeling more divided than ever.

Panel 2: Sharing Decisions on How to Spend Money

Caption: Panel 2, titled “Sharing Decisions on How to Spend Money”, explored how citizens can be involved in decisions regarding public spending. Image by Rachel Joan Koh.

The second panel focused on “Sharing Decisions on How to Spend Money” and was moderated by Dr Suhaila Zainal Shah, Research Fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities. Mr Vincent Ng, Founding Member of A Good Space, opened the session with reflections from his time in New York City, where he participated in a Participatory Budgeting exercise involving $5 million of the city’s budget. He shared key takeaways, such as the importance of scaffolding citizen engagement and the role of community-based organisations in empowering residents to shape local projects. Mr Ng underscored how PB can foster a greater sense of ownership among citizens, as seen in his experience with New York City’s People’s Money initiative.

Following this, Ms Karen Lee, Director of Partnership Lab at the National Youth Council, presented on Participatory Grantmaking with Youths in Singapore. Initiatives like the Youth Action Challenge and Young Changemakers empower youths to pitch ideas, receive grants, and lead projects that make a difference in their communities. Ms Lee underscored the need for inclusivity in grantmaking processes, reaching out to a broad spectrum of youth through both physical and online platforms.

Mr Wee Keng Boon, General Manager of EM Services and an Action Fellow at the Future-Ready Society programme, concluded the panel by outlining plans for Singapore’s first Participatory Budgeting project at a town council. He explained how the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme already engages residents in decisions about infrastructure upgrades and explored ways to expand this model through participatory budgeting. Mr Wee highlighted the challenges and opportunities of engaging a diverse range of residents in decision-making, particularly through door-to-door outreach and innovative voting mechanisms.

The panel session concluded with a Q&A segment. Topics such as the long-term sustainability of Participatory Budgeting and grantmaking projects, measures of project success, and the role of Participatory Budgeting in fostering community ownership were touched upon.

Panel 3: From Citizen Science to Citizen Social Science – Collective Mapping of Social Needs and Community Assets

Caption: Panel 3, titled “From Citizen Science to Citizen Social Science – Collective Mapping of Social Needs and Community Assets”, focused on how both approaches can map social needs and community assets, bridging the gap between grassroots knowledge and expert analysis. Image by Rachel Joan Koh.

The third panel focused on “From Citizen Science to Citizen Social Science – Collective Mapping of Social Needs and Community Assets” and was moderated by Dr Justin Lee, Head of Policy Lab at the Institute of Policy Studies. His session began with a demonstration of how technology and social design can mobilize diverse contributions to create a “Supermind” that exceeds individual capabilities. Comparing citizen and social science, he stressed the unique challenges posed by the latter’s value-driven nature.

Mr Lenard Pattiselanno, Senior Director of Community Leadership and Partnerships at the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre, reflected on collaborative networks like Colabs. He emphasized the role of early involvement of issue champions and community partners and shared that translating ideas into action remains the biggest challenge.

Associate Professor Natalie Pang, Head of the Department of Communications and New Media and University Librarian at the National University of Singapore, has similarly highlighted the balance between expert knowledge and mass participation, and the role of librarians in ensuring equitable access to information.

Mr Steve Loh, Executive Director of the Lien Centre for Social Innovation, emphasised the need to empower local communities through asset-based community development, ensuring they co-create solutions.

Mr Dominic Soon, Co-Founder of Better.sg, discussed the role of technology in mobilizing collective intelligence for public good. He highlighted the challenges of structuring collective efforts and the importance of curating the right volunteers and partners. He noted that open participation requires a balance between organic collaboration and organized processes.

The session concluded with a Q&A segment, where panellists discussed managing sensitive information, balancing expertise with community input, and the importance of trust and inclusivity.

Panel 4: Harnessing Collective Intelligence and Civic Participation

Caption: Panel 4, titled “Harnessing Collective Intelligence and Civic Participation”, focused on how collective intelligence can be harnessed to improve civic participation in Singapore. Image by Jacky Ho.

The final panel focused on “Harnessing Collective Intelligence and Civic Participation” and was moderated by Dr Dilum Wewalaarachchi, Research Fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies’ Policy Lab Ms Dawn Yip, Coordinating Director at the Singapore Government Partnerships Office (SGPO), Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, opened the session by highlighting the evolution of citizen participation in Singapore, noting key shifts from feedback to feedforward and pairing co-creation with consultation. She discussed the diverse ways citizens can engage with their communities and the government, including SGPO.

Ms Tan Li San, Chief Executive Officer of the National Council of Social Service, discussed how the social service sector must evolve to meet the changing needs of Singapore’s population. She highlighted the growing complexity of social issues, such as mental health and ageing, and the limitations of manpower in the sector. She shared how NCSS will focus on building a dynamic and sustainable social service ecosystem through strengthening service delivery.

Professor Zhang Weiyu, from the Department of Communications and New Media at the National University of Singapore, founder and director of CivicTech Lab, explored the role of technology in civic participation. While she acknowledged technology’s potential to scale up civic engagement, she cautioned that it cannot replace the human relationships and trust that are central to meaningful civic life. Prof Zhang also discussed how digital tools can sometimes exclude less digitally literate populations and suggested that Singapore focus on making technology more inclusive for broader citizen engagement.

The session concluded with a Q&A segment. Panelists discussed balancing top-down initiatives with ground-up citizen efforts, the importance of deliberate design in engagement strategies to maximise inclusivity, and the importance of building trust to foster sustainable civic participation.

Learn more about Future-Ready Society here.