The Public Service newbie guide

Example: Please send the pre-read by Tue so Wed’s meeting can start with the decision, not a tour of the slides.

Also heard as: pre read, preread, pre-reading material

Example: The submission is ready when the decision sought is clearer than the filename FINAL_v12_reallyfinal.docx.

Also heard as: paper, staff paper, submission paper, put up a paper, put up a submission

Context: Paper is the broader working term; not every paper is necessarily a formal submission. State the action or decision sought clearly.

Example: Please clear the figures with Finance before the paper goes up for approval.

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.

Example: Seek a steer before lovingly polishing the wrong option.

Also heard as: seek a steer, get a steer, management steer

Context: The strength of a steer depends on who gives it and the forum’s authority; do not assume it replaces the required clearance or approval.

Example: A first cut may be rough; it may not be a blank page sent at 5.59pm.

Also heard as: first-cut, first cut draft, first-cut response

Context: A first cut is meant to give reviewers something concrete to react to; it should not be treated as near-final.

Example: Action: Jon to confirm Legal’s view by Fri.

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.

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

Example: Please send the sub up once Finance has cleared the numbers.

Also heard as: sub paper

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

Example: Please circulate the NOM with the decisions, owners and deadlines while everyone still remembers the meeting.

Also heard as: NOMs, Notes of Meetings, Notes of Meeting, meeting minutes

Example: Pls see below — the action is in the last paragraph.

Also heard as: please see, pls refer

Example: Pls follow up with the other team and close the loop once they reply.

Also heard as: please follow up, pls f/u, please action

Example: The working team is aligned, but the proposal still needs formal approval before we proceed.

Also heard as: approve, approved, for approval

Example: Socialise the proposal with the affected agencies before the formal paper lands in their inboxes.

Also heard as: socialise the idea, socialize

MSF's three long-term outcomes for lower-income families, used to frame ComLink+ and related family-support measures.

Also heard as: actions tracker, action log

Context: Allotted Days are used for matters including the President's Address, the annual Budget Statement and the business of Supply.

An applied discipline that uses evidence about how people actually decide and behave to improve policy and service design.

Context: BI is highly ambiguous. This record covers Behavioural Insights; Business Insights and Behavioural Indicator remain separate meanings in the dataset.

Also heard as: don't boil the ocean, boiling the ocean

Context: Often used to push a team towards a bounded first step rather than a complete solution from the outset.

A decision-support method comparing the costs and benefits of an option, including wider effects on society where relevant.

Also heard as: Cost Benefit Analysis

Also heard as: by circulation, circulate, circulate for approval, circulate for clearance, paper circulation

Context: A circulation may be merely informational or may constitute a formal written resolution; the paper should state which is intended.

Also heard as: clean copy, clean draft

Context: This is a specialised parliamentary computation and should not be read as ordinary calendar days.

Context: A Member supported by at least four others may challenge the Speaker's view and claim a division.

Context: Examples include the Auditor-General's report and the annual Revenue and Expenditure Estimates.

Also heard as: concur, for concurrence

Context: Concurrence is stronger than merely having no objection, but may still be distinct from final approval.

A debate topic raised when an MP proposes a nominal reduction to a ministry’s estimates during the Committee of Supply proceedings.

Also heard as: cut, COS debate cut, cut motion

Context: The nominal reduction is a procedural peg for debate rather than ordinarily a request to remove that exact amount from the budget.

Also heard as: covering note, cover email

Example: Let’s de-risk the launch with 20 users before emailing all 150,000 of them.

Also heard as: derisk, de-risking, derisking

Context: De-risking reduces risk; it does not eliminate it. State which risk is being reduced and by what action.

Also heard as: dipstick test, dipstick survey, do a dipstick

Context: The method may be a quick survey, sample, trial or check depending on the context.

Also heard as: endorse, endorsed, for endorsement

Example: An evergreen FAQ should survive more than one reorganisation and at least three changes of logo.

Also heard as: evergreen content, evergreen issue, evergreen material, evergreen mission

Context: May describe an enduring priority or reusable content. It does not mean the material never needs review or updating.

Example: The exam question isn’t “Can we build an app?” It is “Why is anyone still faxing this form?”

Also heard as: what’s the exam question?, what is the exam question?, the exam question, answer the exam question

Context: Used to refocus a paper or discussion when the team may be answering adjacent questions instead of the main one.

Context: Only one exempted-business motion may be made at a sitting.

Also heard as: fair the draft, fairing

Context: Informal workplace usage; the expected depth of review depends on the team and document.

Also heard as: first-principles thinking, go back to first principles

Context: Starting from first principles does not mean ignoring evidence, history or implementation constraints.

Example: The spreadsheet is fit for purpose until six agencies edit row 37 at the same time.

Also heard as: fit-for-purpose, not fit for purpose

Context: The intended purpose, users, operating conditions and minimum acceptable standard should be explicit.

Example: Please see Folio 2 for the supporting correspondence.

Also heard as: folios, folio attachment, folio attachments

Context: Usage varies by agency. In some Singapore Government contexts, a folio is an individual supporting document in a numbered set rather than a general synonym for every attachment.

Also heard as: for views, for guidance

Also heard as: for information, for your information, FYI

A polite email shorthand indicating that information is being shared for the recipient’s awareness and ordinarily does not require action.

Also heard as: For Your Information, Please, for your info please

Context: Usually equivalent in intent to FYI. The final P adds politeness; it does not turn the message into an action request.

Also heard as: Grievance Debate

Context: The term does not refer to an employment grievance procedure.

Also heard as: ground reality, realities on the ground

Context: Understanding ground realities requires direct evidence and engagement, not only assumptions about frontline implementation.

MDDI’s repository of translations for Government policy-related terms in Singapore’s four official languages.

Also heard as: Government Terms Translated repository

Also heard as: Official Report, Parliamentary Debates

A government instruction manual setting service-wide or function-wide requirements and controls for public agencies.

Also heard as: Instruction Manuals, Government IM

Context: There are multiple Instruction Manuals; the applicable manual and provision should be identified.

Also heard as: implementation as policy

Context: It emphasises that policy design does not end when the broad direction is approved.

Also heard as: implementation plan paper

Example: KIV means revisit later, not place gently into permanent storage.

Also heard as: keep in view, KIV first, KIV this

Context: KIV may mean genuine monitoring or an indefinite deferral. State the review date or trigger where possible.

Also heard as: ministerial statement in Parliament

Context: No prior notice is required; it is distinct from a speech or media statement delivered outside Parliament.

Example: Good minutes record decisions and owners; they do not preserve every cough in the room.

Also heard as: meeting minutes, minutes of meeting, NOM, NOMs, Notes of Meeting, ROD, Record of Discussion

Context: Under the current Standing Orders, the moment of interruption is ordinarily 7.00 pm.

Example: A nil return still requires a reply; silence is not a filing format.

Also heard as: nil response, nil submission, submit nil

Context: Here, a return is the required response, declaration or report. A nil return is still a response and may be required even when there is nothing to report.

Also heard as: Parliament Notice Paper

Context: It is forward-looking and should not be confused with the Order Paper for the day's sitting.

Context: The phrase is a procedural means of rejecting the Bill rather than scheduling its Second Reading six months later.

The official agenda for a parliamentary sitting, listing questions, Bills, motions and other business scheduled to be taken.

Also heard as: Parliament Order Paper

Context: OP is highly ambiguous; use the parliamentary context to distinguish it from meanings such as operating procedure or original poster.

Singapore legislation governing the unauthorised communication, receipt and safeguarding of official information.

Also heard as: Official Secrets Act 1935

Also heard as: analysis paralysis

Context: The corrective is proportionate analysis and staged learning, not acting without evidence.

Context: The category includes command papers, subsidiary legislation, statute papers, miscellaneous papers and other formally presented documents.

A question filed by a Member of Parliament for oral or written answer, which may require agencies to prepare facts, lines and a draft reply.

Also heard as: parliament question, Parl Qn

A ministers-only discussion held before the formal Cabinet meeting, allowing issues to be discussed informally before the recorded Cabinet proceedings.

Also heard as: PreCab, Pre Cab, pre-Cabinet

Context: An official MFA interview described Pre-Cab as confined to ministers, without civil servants, records or minutes, followed by the formal Cabinet meeting. It is distinct from a staff pre-brief.

A polite email or note shorthand asking the recipient to read attached, linked or forwarded material for awareness rather than action.

Also heard as: pls see for information, please see for info, pls see for info

Context: A polite variant of SFI. It normally means “please read and note”; it does not by itself assign follow-up work.

Also heard as: push the paper up, push up for clearance, put up

Context: Informal workplace usage; the precise clearance chain varies by agency.

An evaluation design that uses random assignment to compare an intervention with a control or comparison condition.

Also heard as: RCTs

Also heard as: readback, meeting read-back, readout, meeting readout

Also heard as: regulatory sandboxes

Context: The applicable conditions, regulatory relief and safeguards depend on the responsible agency and sector.

Example: A robust process should still work when the only officer who understands it is on leave.

Also heard as: more robust, robust approach, robust process, robust analysis

Context: Often vague on its own. State what must be robust, what it must withstand and how that will be tested.

Example: The data pack has 47 charts; sense-making is deciding which three change the decision.

Also heard as: sensemaking, sense making, sense-make, sense make

Context: In Public Service usage, sense-making usually goes beyond summarising inputs. It involves connecting evidence, assumptions, stakeholder perspectives and implications so that judgement or action is possible.

An email or note shorthand asking the recipient to read attached, linked or forwarded material for awareness rather than action.

Also heard as: see for info

Context: Here, “see” means to read or refer to the material. Any follow-up required should be stated separately.

Also heard as: sign off, signed off, signoff

Context: In formal work, state the precise decision required because clearance, endorsement and approval are not interchangeable.

Example: Let's sit on this for now and see what comes out of the discussion on Thu.

Also heard as: sit on it, let's sit on this, let us sit on this

Context: Depending on context, the phrase can also imply that something is being delayed or suppressed, so the intended next step or review point may need to be clear.

Example: Let me sleep on this and come back to you tomorrow morning.

Also heard as: sleep on this, let me sleep on it, let me sleep on this

Context: ‘Sleep over this’ is not the usual expression for this meaning.

Example: Sound this out with Finance first before we put it into the paper.

Also heard as: sound this out, sound them out, sound out the issue

Context: Usage varies. It can mean sounding out a person or stakeholder to test their reaction, or informally raising an issue to see how it is received.

CSF's foresight approach retaining scenario planning as its core while adding tools for weak signals, discontinuities, black swans and wild cards.

Also heard as: S. Paper, S. Papers

Context: All subsidiary legislation made must be presented to Parliament.

Example: “Take a view” means recommend something; forwarding both email chains is not a view.

Also heard as: form a view, take a position

Context: The phrase often implies that the officer should exercise judgement and recommend a way forward, not merely list the available options.

The report documenting the evaluation of tender submissions and the recommendation put forward for approval.

Context: The required format, signatories and approval route depend on the procurement and agency.

Example: Write the ToR before the committee reaches meeting six and starts asking why it exists.

Also heard as: TOR, terms of ref

Example: Please do the needful to arrange access before the officer's start date.

Also heard as: do the needful, please do the needful, pls do the needful

Context: The phrase may leave the required action unclear. State the specific action and deadline where the recipient may not already know what is needed.

An explicit account of how activities and outputs are expected to lead to intended outcomes and impact.

Also heard as: tracked changes, turn on track changes, enable track changes

Also heard as: unknown-unknowns, we don't know what we don't know

Context: The phrase is a reminder to build resilience and learning capacity, not an excuse to avoid identifying foreseeable risks.

Also heard as: Votes & Proceedings

Context: This records what Parliament did; Hansard records the speeches and debates substantially verbatim.

Also heard as: government White Paper

Context: A White Paper generally presents a more developed government position than a Green Paper.