ENG-2019 — Page 151

Innovation and Technology

Use of I&T in Government, Business and Community

Government bureaus and departments are releasing their data in machine-readable format on the data.gov.hk portal for free use by the public and enterprises, to provide raw material for research and innovative applications. The portal opened up about 700 new datasets in 2019, including real-time and geospatial data, bringing the number of available datasets to about 4,000 since the open data policy was announced in 2018. The portal introduced city dashboards at the end of 2019 to enable the public to understand the city-related open data more easily.

Application forms for various government services are being digitised to allow for online submission. As at end-2019, more than 1,700 types of forms could be submitted electronically. With the help of the upcoming 'iAM Smart, virtually all government forms, totalling about 3,000 types, will offer an e-submission option by mid-2021.

The GovHK portal introduced chatbot functions at the end of 2019 to help the public search and access e-government services.

Technology is also critical to the operation of the 1823 contact centre, a one-stop service for the public to lodge enquiries and complaints about government services. The contact centre deploys chatbots, speech recognition, voice analytics and robotic process automation, and provides data analytics to improve departments' services.

The Youth Portal is a citizen-centric, one-stop platform providing information on youth-related public services. Through the use of social media and multimedia content, the government connects with young people on their interests, such as entrepreneurship, career pursuit, and cultural and creative activities.

The Office of the Government Chief Information Officer established a Smart Government Innovation Lab in April to help government departments collaborate on formulating innovative measures that enhance the quality and efficiency of public services. The initiative also provides more business opportunities for SMEs and start-ups in the industry.

The government attaches great importance to cyber security and adopts a diversified strategy to respond to cyber threats and maintain a secure cyber environment for Hong Kong. The strategy involves enhancing the capacity of communities and industries to respond to cyber attacks, training professionals, engaging in international cooperation to combat cyber attacks and protecting government information systems. The Government Computer Emergency Response Team Hong Kong works with the police, the Hong Kong Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Centre and the Hong Kong Internet Registration Corporation Limited to deepen the community's understanding of cyber security.

The annual signature event, Internet Economy Summit, discusses the development and strategies of the internet-driven economy, while the Hong Kong ICT Awards, held jointly with the local industry, recognises outstanding inventions and applications.

Notable projects from the five R&D centres are showcased at Shenzhen's China Hi-Tech Fair and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council's SmartBiz Expo. The Innovation and Technology

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