EventsGoWhere

Project Description

Navigating government-organized events used to feel like an elusive quest, but EventsGoWhere changes the game. By harnessing the power of the GoWhere platform, it gathers all events into one easy-to-access hub, turning the challenge into a delightful and straightforward adventure.

The Team

• Shondy ANG (GDP/CEP)
• Sathiyamoorthi CHINNASAMY (GDP/CEP)
• Soon Teck KO (GDP/CEP)
• Sam LOH (GDP/CEP)
• Wen Sheng LIU (TIS/GPE)
• Guiyuan YE (TIS/GPE)

What is the problem today?

Currently, there is no centralized platform consolidating all government-organized events, creating significant challenges for citizens to stay informed about events hosted by different government agencies. As a result:

• Fragmented Experiences: Each government agency publicizes their events on separate websites, causing fragmented experiences for users.
• Inconsistent Interfaces: The varying user interfaces across different websites add friction to the search process.
• Low Participation Rates: Citizens often miss out on events because they are unaware of them, leading to low participation rates.

These fragmented and inconsistent experiences hinder community engagement and restrict broader public participation in government-hosted events.

Research and Approach

Events consolidation is a significant issue, as evidenced by the efforts of two predecessor projects/products that attempted to address this challenge. We tested their products and spoke with their teams to understand the shortcomings. This informed our approach to not only navigate existing obstacles but also to enhance and build upon their mission. Instead of viewing this as a competition, we see it as a coordinated relay—receiving the baton from earlier accomplishments and improving to achieve our shared goal. Namely, LifeSG and Wah! from the OGP Hackathon served as our predecessors. From LifeSG, we learned that one of the key problems was the timely update of event information. From Wah!, we understood their manpower constraints in maintaining the product, as they developed both the frontend and backend.

Results of the Survey

Our decision to leverage the GoWhere platform for EventsGoWhere was strongly influenced by the insightful results of our citizen survey and on-ground interviews. The survey revealed a significant preference for accessing information through websites, as opposed to mobile apps and social media channels. This preference, coupled with GoWhere's valued attributes such as ease of use, easy navigation, and clear information presentation, made it an ideal foundation for our prototype. Moreover, geolocation emerged as a key factor for attending government events, reinforcing our choice to focus on location-based features. Our on-ground interviews further revealed that our target audience is primarily digitally savvy individuals, rather than senior citizens. Senior citizens are well-connected within their communities and typically obtain event information through notice boards or group chats.

Our Solution

To address the current lack of a centralized platform for government-organized events, our solution aims to overcome the challenges faced by citizens. By learning from the experiences of our predecessors, LifeSG and Wah!, we developed a comprehensive approach that combines their strengths and addresses their shortcomings.

• Integration with Agency Websites: We gather existing event information from agency websites using APIs or web-crawling techniques if APIs are unavailable. This ensures timely updates and a consolidated source of information.
• Leveraging GoWhere: By utilizing the existing GovTech product GoWhere, we reduce the manpower required for maintaining the platform. GoWhere is known for its positive user experience and ease of use, making it an ideal foundation for our solution.
• Unified User Interface: Our platform offers a consistent and user-friendly interface, eliminating the fragmented experiences caused by separate government websites.
• Enhanced Event Discovery: By consolidating event information, we help citizens stay informed and prevent them from missing out on events due to a lack of awareness. This, in turn, boosts participation rates.

Our EventsGoWhere product incorporates both the ability to pull current agency information and the functionality to post new events to the website. By building on the accomplishments of LifeSG and Wah!, we provide a comprehensive and accessible solution to the problem of event consolidation, fostering greater community engagement and public participation in government-hosted events.

Next Steps and Future Vision

We aim to establish EventsGoWhere as the primary platform for all government-organized events. By positioning EventsGoWhere as the go-to resource for event information, we strive to build a strong association in citizens' minds: just as they think of GoWhere for any geolocation needs, they will think of EventsGoWhere when looking for event information.

• Onboard Active Agencies: Identify and onboard agencies with active event pages to our platform, increasing the number of available events.
• Encourage Participation: Motivate agencies without a current platform to publicize their events by using and posting directly on EventsGoWhere.
• Enhance User Experience: As we attract more events, focus on enhancing user experience by refining the provided information, filters, and categories.

Our future vision for EventsGoWhere includes support for major languages spoken in Singapore, enhancing accessibility with read-aloud options, and making our platform more inclusive. By leveraging OneMap, we aim to provide intuitive navigation to events, meeting accessibility standards including wheelchair routes. Additionally, introducing user authentication and payment systems will enable the creation of user profiles, personalized user experiences, and verification of event over-registration.