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[FEATURED NEWS] Home Team achieves multiple wins at Digital Services Awards 2023

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Assistant Commissioner of Police (AC) Lee Chwee Huat, Director (Service Delivery) (right), receiving the Best Improvement Award from Dr Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information (left). (Photo: SPF)

The websites of the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA), which were enhanced by HTX’s Digital Services Programme Management Centre (DSPMC), won awards at the Digital Services Awards 2023, which was held on 24 November 2023.

The SPF website’s wins were for Best Improvement and Best Accessibility. The Best Improvement Award recognised the website with the highest overall improvement in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Accessibility, and Page Load Time; while the Best Accessibility Award recognised websites which can be accessed by as many people as possible, including people with disabilities, people accessing the internet on mobile devices, and people on slow internet connections.

DSA 23 2-minMr Charlie Choa, Head (Digital Services), DSPMC (right), receiving the Best Accessibility Award from Dr Puthucheary (left). (Photo: SPF)

Assistant Commissioner of Police (AC) Lee Chwee Huat, Director (Service Delivery), who received the Best Improvement Award on behalf of the SPF, shared that “The achievement of the awards is a testament to the resolve and tenacity of the staff and organisation in making our digital services easily accessible by citizens.”

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Assistant Commissioner Sharon Wong, Director (Corporate Communications & Service Division) (right), receiving the Best SEO Award from Dr Puthucheary (left). (Photo: GovTech)

The ICA website won the award for Best SEO. This award recognised the website which had achieved the most improved visibility on search engines such as Google. Assistant Commissioner Sharon Wong, Director (Corporate Communications & Service Division), who received the award on behalf of ICA, shared that “This achievement underscores the dedication and concerted efforts of both ICA and HTX teams. This has not only elevated the ICA website’s search optimisation but has also set a benchmark for excellence.”

DSA 23 4-minAmbrose Goh, Head (Digital Services), DSPMC, sharing how his team is improving the digital services of the Home Team and other public agencies through GovTech’s new Usability Community of Practice. (Photo: SPF)

These wins marked a significant milestone for the Home Team as this was the first year that Home Team websites had won at the Digital Services Awards.

The Digital Services Awards recognise outstanding achievements and excellence in delivering digital services to the public. Featuring the theme “Empathy at the Heart of Tech,” this year’s awards focused on the importance of co-creating digital services with users. As Victor Huang, the Director of DSPMC, shared, “By collaborating and learning together, we can all improve together.”