Department of Information Technology

On June 15, the participants of 2023 GCTF International Workshop on Multi-stakeholder Engagement in Anti-corruption visited the Taipei Urban Intelligence Center arranged by the Agency Against Corruption under the Ministry of Justice. The group was welcomed by Commissioner Jack Chao from the Department of Information Technology.

During the meeting, the visitors learned about how the Department of Information Technology (DOIT)acquire insights on city issues with the help of data technology and assist city agencies in carrying out analysis using visualized data. This allows decisionmakers to find a balance between the “experience” and “data science,” and combine these elements to promote collaboration and innovation across various fields. Doing so will also open up new horizons for city administration.

To avoid tragedies like the Itaewon-dong accident in South Korea, DOIT worked with telecommunication companies to enable command centers to quickly access information on crowdedness level at major city events. With real-time data on crowd volume, the mechanism ensures timely response to minimize the possibility of stampedes, helping to boost public safety during events organized by the city government. In addition, the center also assists the COVID-19 decision-making task force to keep up to date with the latest development of the pandemic both in Taiwan and abroad via the COVID-19 Dashboard. With the tool city government officials can access important data such as relations between individual cases, identifying possible contagion chains, and gauging the amount of Taipei’s remaining medical resources. The information helps the team achieve precise management of pandemic prevention efforts.

DOIT proactively promotes the development of data science and administrative transparency. Commissioner Chao said, “Taipei City Government seeks to optimize applications of city administration database through to enhance data transparency and provide smarter services. This not only boosts public confidence for the city government’s capabilities to carry out its duties, but also helps city hall achieve better administrative efficiency, international recognition and more transparency, as well as adding more precision to policy-making. 

Notes: The 2023 GCTF International Workshop on Multi-stakeholder Engagement in Anti-corruption is cohosted by the US, Taiwan, the Australia Office Taipei, and the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association. It is a platform through which Taiwan and international partners share and exchange professional knowledge. Link:https://www.gctf.tw/tw/