Address by Mr Peter Ho, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Head, Civil Service at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Ideas and Innovation Day 2008 on 23 September 2008

I congratulate all the 13 participating WITS Teams for their contributions in making improvements in their various areas of work. I am heartened by the enthusiasm and effort of our people.

MFA Ideas & Innovation Day 2008

2 The MFA Ideas & Innovation Day is an opportunity to share how the improvements and innovations by our officers have made a difference to MFA. Indeed, the MFA Ideas & Innovation Day is an important event in the PS21 calendar in MFA. But sometimes, we may forget the reasons for having the PS21 movement in the Civil Service.

3 What is PS21? PS21 is about the need for the Public Service to be ready for change, and be ready to change. Let us put PS21 in the context of the changes we face as a country and as a Public Service. We are facing big changes that have huge implications for us as a nation and as a Public Service. You might have heard talk about the rise of China and India. It is not just rhetoric. The simultaneous rise of these two giants is reshaping the geo-politics and economics not just of Asia, but of the world. At the same time, climate change and demographic change are taking place within a timeframe and on a scale that is global in scope and its impact will be felt within our lifetime. These big strategic challenges have huge implications for us.

4 But there is a lot more to worry about these days. The contagion from the US financial crisis is spreading, and leading to a crisis of confidence in the financial markets. This is going to affect the real economy around the world. Already the Chinese economy is also showing clear signs of slowing down, so too is Japan, and the EU. Four of the main engines of global economic growth look like they are heading for troubled waters all at the same time.

5 There is also a crisis of leadership. The US will be distracted for perhaps another year because of the Presidential elections. The EU has not been able to deal with the challenge that Russia has thrown down over Georgia.

6 Closer to home, the situations in Malaysia and Thailand are worrying.

7 With all these troubles piled one on top of the other, it is hard to see the world coming together to coordinate and deal with the financial turmoil, let alone longer term issues like climate change. It looks like a perfect storm is gathering. And when the dust from the storm settles, will we be one of those still left standing? There are undoubtedly challenges, but there are also opportunities. Will we be quick enough to seize these opportunities, or will we be paralysed by fear?

8 How do we compete in this environment? We have to be quick and nimble, to have the mindset to look beyond the horizon, and be prepared to move very fast. That is what PS21 is about, to change before change is forced upon us. We have to be ahead of the game and not scramble with the rest. PS21 is about fostering the mindset in our people of being ready for change and ready to change.

9 PS21 is about people, and the belief that every individual is passionate about his work and can be an agent of change. People who join the Public Service want to do a good job; they want to make an impact to Singapore and Singaporeans. Nobody likes to be ignored by senior management, as if one has no ideas, no voice, and no contribution. Every officer, regardless of level or nature of work, wants to feel empowered to take responsibility for his or her work and think about how best to deal with challenges and unexpected situations that may arise.

10 We cannot rely on Cabinet or Senior Management to spot all the issues. We have to depend on every officer in the organisation to notice the signals and make the connections. When changes are needed, we have to depend on every officer to ensure that the changes are implemented efficiently and effectively.

11 We all know that our operating environment is characterised by constant and complex changes, sometimes big surprises. The PS21 movement helps MFA and its people deal with change by giving each of us the power to change things ourselves. We learn about change by doing, through WITS and the SSS.

12 The Civil Service and MFA are organisations that cannot leave the management of change to chance. We need to have empowered officers using WITS and the SSS to surface changes. The initiative for change can come from any direction - from top-down, and from Ground Up. Initiatives from the ground up must receive management support in terms of guidance and resources. But such leadership does not reside with PSes and DSes. We need good leadership at all levels. Change and improvement cannot happen without strong support at every level of management. We will need everyone who is a supervisor, including Directors, Deputy Directors and Assistant Directors to play their roles as leaders to empower their people.

13 This year's Ideas & Innovation Day's theme is on changes from Ground Up. All of you are familiar with WITS and SSS. These are the platforms for our people to be engaged and to produce these ideas from Ground Up. SSS is about recognising that everyone can contribute, and indeed has a right to do so. It is a platform for a person to make his point, to suggest a solution to a problem, to suggest an improvement to the way we do things. WITS is an avenue for a group of people to work together to identify the root cause of a complex problem and to propose a solution.

14 PS21 is not an Extra Curricular Activity. It is an integral part of our work. If you do it right, you will not see PS21 as a waste of time, but as an approach to doing your work better, exploiting change to improve things. When everyone believes and acts in the spirit of PS21, then MFA and the entire Public Service will be formidable, second to none.

15 I would like to acknowledge the Organising Committee for the Ideas & Innovation Day 2008 who have worked exceptionally hard to put this whole event together and to the participating teams this year for rising to the challenge of coming up with projects even they were faced with heavy workload and tight schedules.

16 Finally, the participation of teams and officers' contributions to PS21 could not have been possible without the encouragement and support by Directors and HOMs. Together both ground up and supervisor supports are critical elements for success in WITS.

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