Decoding your first month

To analyse an issue, coordinate inputs, recommend a course of action, prepare the submission or brief, and help translate the eventual decision into execution.

Also heard as: staff work, staffing an issue, staffing a paper

Context: The exact staff process and document format vary by agency.

Official written work submitted for information, consideration, clearance, endorsement or approval, such as a paper, report or proposal.

Also heard as: submission, sub paper

A review confirming that material is suitable to move forward; clearance does not always constitute final authority to implement.

Also heard as: clear, cleared, for clearance, For Clearance, Pls, for clearance pls

Context: Agency usage varies, so the approving authority and requested action should be stated explicitly.

A decision by the person or body holding the relevant authority to agree to a plan, request, commitment or expenditure.

Also heard as: approve, approved, for approval

To take responsibility for producing the working draft, incorporating inputs and moving it towards clearance or decision.

Also heard as: holding the pen, pen-holder, penholder

Government-style meeting minutes recording the key discussion, decisions and follow-up actions, often drafted by the meeting secretariat.

Also heard as: NOM, Notes of Meeting, meeting minutes

A senior committee that provides direction, resolves escalated issues and oversees a programme, project or workstream.

Also heard as: Steering Comm, Steering Com, Steer Comm, steering committee

A group formed to develop recommendations or deliver a defined piece of work, often reporting to a committee or sponsor.

Also heard as: Work Group, workgroup, working group

The agenda item near the end of a meeting for matters not listed as substantive items earlier in the agenda.

Also heard as: any other business

A specific follow-up task with an owner and, ideally, a due date arising from a discussion, decision or direction.

Also heard as: action point, follow-up action, AI

Context: AI is highly ambiguous and should only be used where the meeting context is clear.

The wider Singapore Public Service, comprising officers working in ministries and statutory boards.

Also heard as: Singapore Public Service, SPS

A public body established by legislation to perform specified functions, with its own legal identity and employment practices.

Also heard as: statutory board, SB

Context: SB is highly ambiguous and should be interpreted using the agency context.

Work, outcomes or arrangements that span multiple agencies and are pursued from the perspective of the Government as a whole.

Also heard as: whole of government, whole-of-govt

The most senior civil servant heading a ministry, accountable for its administration, policy support and organisational performance.

Also heard as: Perm Sec, PermSec, Permanent Sec

Context: PS is highly ambiguous and also commonly means Public Service.

A senior management appointment usually responsible for a division, directorate or major function.

Also heard as: D, Director-level

Context: D is highly ambiguous and grade structures differ across agencies.

The HR framework covering a category of public officers, including appointment, grades, progression and related employment arrangements.

Also heard as: service scheme, scheme

A development plan used to structure career and growth conversations between an officer and supervisor.

Also heard as: individual development planning

The exercise in which officers’ performance or readiness is reviewed comparatively by management panels using the agency’s framework and evidence.

Also heard as: ranking exercise, performance ranking

Context: The process, panel names and relationship to final ratings vary across agencies.

An individual variable payment linked to performance under the applicable public-service compensation framework.

Also heard as: performance bonus

Context: PB is highly ambiguous and can also mean Personnel Board.

An officer’s placement into a job, which may be within the same agency or part of a structured move across agencies or sectors.

Also heard as: job posting, posted

The Government financial year running from 1 April to 31 March of the following calendar year.

Also heard as: fiscal year, FY2026, FY26

The government budget category covering spending on public officers and other manpower costs.

Also heard as: Expenditure of Manpower

Context: Research-grant documents often expand EOM as “Expenditure of Manpower”; central Government Estimates use “Expenditure on Manpower”.

Singapore’s government electronic procurement portal for publishing opportunities and conducting procurement transactions.

Also heard as: Government e-Business, GeBIZ portal

The government procurement approach for purchases within the prevailing small-value threshold, subject to price-reasonableness requirements.

Also heard as: Small Value Purchases

A sourcing document inviting suppliers to submit quotations for a government procurement.

Also heard as: invite to quote, quotation exercise

The standard government work-device build; public officers also commonly use GSIB to refer to the work laptop running that build.

Also heard as: GSIB laptop, work laptop, government laptop

Microsoft's cloud productivity and collaboration suite, including services such as Outlook, Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive.

Also heard as: Microsoft365, Office 365, O365

Microsoft's cloud-hosted SharePoint service, commonly used for team sites, document libraries, archives and knowledge repositories.

Also heard as: SharePoint, SharePoint site, SPO site

Context: This intentionally collides with Senior Presiding Officer in the existing dataset.

The official directory for finding Singapore government organisations, public services and officers' contact details where published.

Also heard as: Government Directory, Singapore Government Directory Interactive

A government account used by public officers to access supported government technology services, generally based on the officer's official government email identity.

Also heard as: WOG account, government ID

Normal ongoing operations, as distinct from project, crisis, pilot or transformation work.

Also heard as: business-as-usual, steady state operations

To retain a matter for monitoring or later consideration without taking immediate action.

Also heard as: keep in view, KIV first

Context: KIV should not be used as a substitute for an owner, review date or explicit decision where follow-up is required.

An email or routing label indicating that the recipient is expected to take follow-up action.

Also heard as: for action, for your necessary action

Context: The required action and deadline should still be stated explicitly.

To discuss an emerging proposal informally with relevant stakeholders so concerns can be understood and surprises reduced before formal staffing.

Also heard as: socialise the idea, socialize

A working norm that material issues, risks or disagreements should be surfaced early rather than first appearing at a formal forum.

Also heard as: no-surprises principle