As Singapore’s Chief Statistician, Dr. Koh Eng Chuan has steered the Department of Statistics (DOS) on its transformation journey to be the first stop for data and data services for Whole-of-Government (WOG), national, and international users. DOS is the Capability Centre of Individual and Business Data, and continuously benchmark against best practices of the advanced and reputable national statistical organizations as well as leading companies in the private sector.

Dr. Koh has also established the Digital Transformation Unit to drive innovations in Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning, scaling applications to benefit WOG. One such example is the development of the DOS Intelligent Classification Engine (DICE) for statistical classifications which leverages large-language model.

Under Dr. Koh’s guidance, DOS tailored demand-driven data products for specific user groups, including enabling data access through the Anonymised Microdata Access Programme for in-depth analyses of socio-economic issues by researchers, providing businesses with data tools with curated and contextualized content for data-driven decision-making, and enhancing DOS’s digital services for the general public.

In efforts to uplift the competency of the statistical community, Dr. Koh drives the centralisation of the Statistician Scheme of Service to strengthen the career branding of government statisticians and recognise the technical and specialized data skills of government statisticians. With the establishment of the DOS Academy, DOS aims to grow and widen the career opportunities for Statistician and equipping and upskilling WOG officers in the data capabilities.

At the international level, Dr. Koh is a member of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific Committee on Statistics and contributes to the High-level Group for Partnership, Coordination, and Capacity-Building for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.