January 18, 2022

In ‘New policies should be tested on the most vulnerable to be more inclusive: NUS don’, The Straits Times reported that during the January 13th Institute of Policy Studies Singapore Perspectives 2022 forum, Associate Professor Irene Ng (NUS Department of Social Work) argued that for policies to be inclusive, they must first be tested out on the most vulnerable populations before being introduced to the rest of the public. In Singapore, digital inclusion programmes have been run for years, with the Government often holding focus group discussions to get feedback on their policy ideas. However, A/P Ng pointed out that the most vulnerable in society are often not confident enough to join or speak out at these focus group discussions, making these discussions insufficient in understanding the true sentiments of the most vulnerable.

Even as countries apply data analytics to investigate and plan for the needs of citizens, A/P Ng asserted that planners also need to remember that the data they are using represents the average citizen and leaves out other vulnerable groups who may not enjoy the same standard quality of life as others. Many of those from the most vulnerable segments of society have little to zero access to the digital world and are unaware of what they do not have. A/P Ng also mentioned that Singapore’s reliance on migrant workers should be reduced so that more resources can be focused on improving the living conditions and inclusiveness of these migrant workers in Singaporean society. Additionally, for greater inclusiveness in housing policies, beyond housing for the average citizen, the Government needs to plan for housing types for vulnerable groups such as the single elderly, migrant workers, and non-traditional families.

Read the article here.