Creating collective impact through public-private collaboration
Cross-sectoral collaboration has provided an enabling environment for youth-led startups to turn ideas into actionable solutions. Coronamap, a web-based map visualization service providing real-time contact tracing information across the country, utilizes public datasets supplied by the central and local governments. Alongside the government’s efforts to make data readily accessible to developers[1], private ICT companies have contributed their Application Program Interface (API) services and servers at no cost.
While in the past, it was conventional for government to take lead on the development of public services, the government now supports and relies on the technical expertise of the private sector, from startups to large corporations, to expedite the development and deployment of solutions for rapid crisis response. The formulation of relevant policies and regulations – providing R&D support, investing in enhanced testing capacities of private laboratories run by SMEs, and fast-track approval of diagnosis kits – was a positive contributing factor.[2]