The government agency Singapore Land Authority launched OneMap – “Singapore’s very own version of Google Maps, but with a difference” – in April 2010. The platform was designed so that government agencies could share the locations of agencies and services with the public. Over time, the platform has been adapted for more diverse uses by NGOs and other government organizations.
Recently, for example, the Restroom Association in Singapore started Let’s Observe Ourselves, or LOO for short, Connect. LOO Connect uses the OneMap platform to let users search for nearby toilets. More than 200 “clean toilet locations” have been verified, and users can add new locations, noting where it is (e.g., coffee shop or bus interchange) and how clean (‘disgusting toilets’ and ‘certified restrooms’).
A FutureGov Asia Pacific journalist recently interviewed Wei Choong Lee, the Senior Manager of Geospatial Information Services for Singapore Land Authority (SLA), about the implementation of the award-winning platform. Lee cited several factors in the success of OneMap, including a simple user interface that uses flash so the platform can be viewed in any browser.
For those who wish to include a simple location map, we provide tools that enable them to publish maps with their location data overlayed onto the OneMap base-maps. For the more advanced users, we provide tools that enable them to mash up their own data and design more complex user interfaces to provide a better user experience for their users. The best part of this is these maps can run seamlessly on their own websites.
Because of these tools, private organisations [sic] can then use the wealth of authoritative data and base maps to complement their offering to their customers. Together with the Infocomm Development Authority, various call for collaborations are held with the industry to encourage them to adopt geospatial information and technology and OneMap is used as the conduit to achieve this.
Lee told FutureGov Asia Pacific that it was initially difficult getting other government agencies on board with OneMap. When SLA launched OneMap in 2010 they had 16 contributing agencies and five services; now SLA has 34 agencies and 37 services.
Personal Democracy Media is grateful to the Omidyar Network for its generous support of techPresident’s WeGov section.
In Singapore, OneMap is One Stop Shop for Public Services and Gov"t Agencies
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