Dr. Goh Lay Beng, Director, School of Applied Science
Ms Farhana Nakhooda, Chair, Applied Science Advisory Committee
Students and alumni of Temasek Polytechnic
Parents
Industry partners
Ladies and gentlemen
Introduction
- A very good morning and first of all, I am delighted to be joining all of you this morning.
- Now first, let me thank Temasek Polytechnic (TP) for inviting me to be here with you this morning. Against the backdrop of disruptions, transformation and change in the global economy, the theme of today’s event, “Innovate to Elevate: Shaping the Future”, is relevant, now more than ever before. In unleashing human potential and creating a bright collective future for all of us, innovation is key.
Significance of the annual event
- Temasek Polytechnic’s Annual Applied Science Show is a celebration of innovation in multiple disciplines – developing students in different applied research areas, such as Applied Nutrition, Urban Sustainability, and many other topics.
- When preparing for today’s event, I was awestruck by the students’ ingenuity and the strong spirit of innovation. Kudos to all our students in the hall today. My heartiest congratulations also go to TP, parents, and industry partners for creating a very safe and collegiate space for our students to ideate for positive change.
- If you think about it, innovation is what binds all of us in this hall today, common ground between you and I. And I wish to share what the heart of innovation – and by that, I mean H.E.A.R.T. – means to us in the social sector.
The H.E.A.R.T of Innovation
Human-centred; Empathy-driven; Adaptive; Responsive; Transformative.
H – Human-centred
- I start with something close to my heart, our support - Singapore’s, society’s support – for rough sleepers. Some of them are homeless, but generally we call them rough sleepers in Singapore.
- Through my work in this sector, I have learnt first-hand about the importance of taking a human-centred approach to innovation through the PEERS Network (PEERS stands for Partners Engaging and Empowering Rough Sleepers). So that is the first letter, ‘H’, a human-centred approach. Now PEERS is essentially a collaboration between government, community partners, social service agencies who come together so that we can all collectively support our rough sleeping friends on the ground. PEERS befrienders spend countless evenings, week in, week out, walking the ground, getting to know the rough sleepers, so that there can be a relationship that’s built, and that they’ll be able to share with us their challenges, which can be complex and interlocking.
- The PEERS Network was a new approach to support rough sleepers. This was introduced in July 2019. At the height of the pandemic in 2020, we saw a sharp increase in the number of people looking for shelter, and as we battled the pandemic then, PEERS members banded together to reach out to rough sleepers, open up their premises to serve as Safe, Sound, Sleeping Places for rough sleepers, and came together, closer than ever before, even as COVID threatened to keep us apart.
- The work of the PEERS Network exemplifies how human-centred innovation can continue to make a difference to others.
E – Empathy-driven
- Related to this is how innovation is really empathy-driven. During one of my night walks with our PEERS friends, I had the opportunity to meet Mr Chee. He was a rough sleeper who had tried to apply for a rental flat some years ago, but was unsuccessful, unfortunately. He slept rough for several years, and with that earlier failure, he refused to work with the community agencies that tried to help him.
- But PEERS befrienders didn’t give up. They patiently engaged him, sought to understand his concerns, and when I met him, he shared with me about his challenges. With continued encouragement from his befrienders, he finally agreed to work with community agencies towards a stable housing plan.
- Things looked up for Mr Chee: with his agreement, a social worker from a Family Service Centre and an officer from a Social Service Office supported his appeal for a public rental flat. HDB approved his appeal in January this year, and I am happy to share that he has since moved into his rental flat.
- Examples like Mr Chee’s illustrate how a personal touch is actually crucial in ensuring that any innovative solutions reach those who need them. So empathy: that’s the currency of today and the future.
A – Adaptive; R – Responsive
- At the same time, innovation also needs to be adaptive and responsive to meet the needs of others. So we have the ‘A’ and the ‘R’ here – adaptive and responsive.
- Over the years, MSF’s approach to providing social support has evolved from one of merely giving assistance to one of empowerment. Many lower-income families in public rental flats work very hard to build better lives for themselves and their children. They also struggle to sustain progress that they have made.
- To better support these families, we introduced ComLink+ in 2019. Under ComLink+, we empower families by having family coaches journey with each family as they work through their daily challenges. Family coaches motivate and journey with families towards achieving their goals over the longer term, so it is not an endeavour that lasts a few weeks, a few months even. It goes years into each family’s future. Family coaches organise support across different agencies and programmes so that families can get the right support at the right time. This gives families good headspace, good bandwidth to calmly and logically deal with their future, and to plan for their future. And we have seen this in many literature out there, which shows that the bandwidth tax of having to deal with the many stressors, like making sure that food gets served on the table, poses complex challenges for many of these low-income families.
- Today, families that take concrete steps towards their longer-term goals may be offered ComLink+ Progress Packages. These support packages multiply the impact of each family’s efforts to build up resources, so that collectively they can have a better future, and it keeps them motivated at the same time as well. These ComLink+ Progress Packages are being rolled out progressively in the coming months.
- In ComLink+, we use a partnership approach to keep our support sustainable and encourage a whole-of-society approach. Apart from family coaches, ComLink+ families are also supported by volunteer befrienders and community organisations. Even corporates have also stepped up to create programmes for these families. With many partners contributing to uplifting our lower-income families, we stand a higher chance of responding to their diverse needs positively. I welcome all of you to share your time and expertise with ComLink+ families by volunteering with all of us, too.
T – Transformative
- Finally, the last letter in H.E.A.R.T – T for Transformative. Innovation is all about transforming lives. We innovate in the social sector to ensure that what we can do can keep up with evolving needs of those that we serve.
- At a fostering event that I attended last weekend, I shared about youths who need to be placed in alternative care because they have experienced abuse or neglect in their families. MSF works with these youths and their families, with the eventual aim of reunifying them after issues they face are adequately addressed.
- In some cases, reunification is not possible, simply because their parents may be deceased, mentally incapacitated, or incarcerated for the long term. But we recognise that these youths need additional support. These youths, too, have dreams, like many of you here in this hall today. And they have hopes for their future as well. So as they transit to adulthood, we have decided that we will enhance aftercare support for this group of young people, so that they need not be bogged down by worries about their ability to meet essential needs, and they too, can focus wholeheartedly on their studies.
Call to action
- So there you go, H.E.A.R.T. This really lies at the core of our attempts at innovation. But for Singapore to really thrive, we need to evolve this “little red dot’s” value proposition to the world. So for a better world, a better Singapore, we need innovators like many of you in this hall today.
- In fact, innovation has always been a part of our Singaporean DNA. To make our mark in the world, Singapore always had to work hard around our limitations, so that we can build a better future for our people in Singapore.
- For this improbable “red dot” to survive and thrive, collaboration is key. We have a better chance to tackle complex problems if we pull our diverse talents and ideas together, and learn from one another. Behind every successful innovator is an entire ecosystem of support. Our parents, alumni, industry partners, all of you play this crucial role.
Conclusion
- Innovation is about finding new ways to improve the lives of people around us. And each of us can do this, in our own unique ways, in building a more caring and inclusive Singapore.
- In this year 2024 that MSF has designated as the Year of Celebrating Volunteers, we also celebrate partnerships with volunteers from all walks of life, young and old alike. So if you would like to share your innovative spirit with us at MSF through any of our programmes that I’ve mentioned, please feel free to do so, and I’ll be very delighted to have you onboard!
- On that note I wish all of you a wonderful and fruitful day ahead. Thank you very much for your attention.