Institute of Policy Studies - IPS

🌿 Singapore is small — but could our impact on global biodiversity be far greater than we imagine?

Dr Shawn Lum, IPS’ 18th S R Nathan Fellow and Senior Lecturer at NTU Asian School of the Environment, delivers his final lecture, “Singapore, Nature and the Wider World”, in the series “Singapore, Nature and a World Reimagined”.

Home to species found nowhere else on Earth and among the last refuges for critically endangered animals, Singapore may hold more sway over the future of nature than we realise — within our shores and far beyond.

How can we help secure a future for wondrous biodiversity, life-giving ecosystems, and humanity itself?

Moderated by Dr Geh Min, Former President, Nature Society Singapore.

🎟️ Sign up: https://bit.ly/SL16JUNPHYSICAL
📺 Watch live on IPS’ Facebook: https://facebook.com/instituteofpolicystudies.sg/live
🌳 More on the series: https://tinyurl.com/45w4zccj

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

🏠 What does public housing really mean to Singaporeans?

At the IREUS Urban Housing Symposium 2026, IPS' Christopher Gee highlighted that HDB flats serve four roles for Singaporeans at once: a home, a citizenship milestone, a retirement safety net, and a financial asset.

But these intertwined goals will be severely tested when the Voluntary Early Redevelopment Scheme (VERS) begins its first exercises, calling for residents to reveal which objective they prioritise, and to reconcile tensions between objectives.

He added that the compensation frameworks and consent thresholds established in these first exercises will set precedents that shape subsequent redevelopment for decades, making it critical for the design of VERS be carefully thought through.

Read more here: tinyurl.com/3py45srj

NUS Institute of Real Estate and Urban Studies

Singapore has made remarkable progress, with income inequality declining to its lowest level in decades. Yet, wealth remains concentrated at the top. In this commentary for The Straits Times, IPS’ Wilson Goh and Wong Kang Li argue that it is time to explore “shared capitalism” — giving workers a greater stake in the businesses they help grow.

CPF savings and home equity have already provided a foundation for relatively stable wealth ownership. The next challenge is to build a nation of co-owners by doing what we do best: starting small, learning fast, and scaling what works.

Read more here: https://tinyurl.com/u3ebst94

♥️ Every household has a unique story to tell, and we want to hear yours.

🏠 We are inviting individuals and households across Singapore to take part in our research study. We welcome participants from all household types, backgrounds, races, and income groups.

📍 The Study: A one-time, 3-hour ethnographic interview in the comfort of your home.

💰 Participants will receive $150 as a token of appreciation for their time and insights.

Your story can shape future conversations and policies on households and caregiving in Singapore.

🔗 Learn more at tinyurl.com/54jezkmu

📝 Sign up at tinyurl.com/2emh2kzp or scan the QR code.

Screener Survey for Emerging Patterns of Household Formations Ethnographic Interviews Screener survey for ethnographic interviews with individuals and households in Emerging Household Formations in Singapore.

The second lecture of the 18th IPS-Nathan Lecture Series by Dr Shawn Lum, Senior Lecturer at the NTU Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, was held earlier today.

Titled “Singapore, Nature and Singaporeans”, the lecture explored the social dimension of nature, biodiversity and conservation. Dr Lum argued that while efforts to demonstrate nature's value have long relied on economic framing, there are other kinds of values and benefits that nature confers.
Moving beyond economic terms, he made the case for nature as a force for social good.

Dr Lum further proposed that policies could be designed to "teach people to love", drawing on precedents such as the Kindness Movement, National Education and as analogues for cultivating shared cultural norms.

The Question-and-Answer session, moderated by Associate Professor Teo You Yenn, Provost's Chair in Sociology and Director, Centre for the Study of Social Inequality, School of Social Sciences, NTU Singapore, discussed how climate anxiety manifests as a concern across all generations. The session also explored whether conversations on consciousness, prompted by advances in artificial intelligence, might extend to plant consciousness and in turn inspire greater nature protection. Participants also reflected on the role of education in Singapore in helping students experience nature and develop stewardship.

Can AI tell us what the public thinks without asking them? In this commentary for CNA, IPS’ Shane Pereira and Elvin Xing examine the rise of “silicon sampling” —the use of AI to simulate public opinion — which could make opinion gathering faster and cheaper.

However, they caution that AI cannot fully capture the emotions, context, and lived experience that shape public opinion. Used responsibly as a support tool rather than a replacement for real engagement, it could sharpen policymaking without weakening the human judgment that gives engagement its meaning.

Read the commentary here: https://tinyurl.com/yc6zu9a4

💬 Which languages are Singaporeans most comfortable with, and how has that changed over the past decade?

Drawing on a survey of 4,000 residents, the latest IPS working paper examines self-reported language proficiency, language use in social and workplace settings, the appropriateness of Singlish across contexts, language and identity, policy perceptions, and motivations to speak English well.

It finds that Singaporeans are more comfortable with English and Singlish than at any point in the past decade. Singlish is growing in use, acceptance and as an identity marker — while Mother Tongue proficiency stays broadly stable, especially for Mandarin and Malay.

Other key findings:
🗣️ More than 8 in 10 respondents report speaking English well or very well
🤙 More Singaporeans say they speak Singlish better, agree it gives Singaporeans a sense of identity, and use it more often among friends
👔 Singlish is embraced socially, but not in formal settings like classrooms or official speeches
♥️ Heritage language use and proficiency rebounded in 2024
🙌 Support for active Government promotion of all four official languages grew from 2018 to 2024

Want to find out more? Read IPS Working Paper No. 74 — Language, Identity & Management in Singapore: Updated Findings from the IPS Survey on Race, Religion and Language: tinyurl.com/mtev4tb5

At the UNESCO Digital Platform Governance Workshop hosted by Universitas Diponegoro in Semarang, Indonesia, IPS' Nicholas Thomas facilitated a session titled "Rights-Based and Adaptive Platform Governance", for civil society organisations and regulators, including senior public officials.

Run by the CivicTech Lab at the National University of Singapore, the session examined the evolving nature of platform regulation and the inherent tensions within the platform governance trilemma — balancing safety and security, economic opportunity and procedural fairness. It also emphasised the need for civil society organisations and policymakers to collaborate more closely, given their shared commitment to outcomes that serve the public good.

🪙💻 As a global hub for digital trade, Singapore continues to play a leading role in shaping frameworks that lower costs, enhance market access and provide legal certainty for businesses of all sizes.

At the 44th Singapore Economic Roundtable, speakers and participants examined the cyclical economic outlook for Singapore. They also discussed how stakeholders can capture digital trade gains while avoiding fragmentation, the advancement towards a more coherent environment through digital economy agreements and digital economy framework discussions, and practical cooperation on interoperable trade infrastructure.

Learn more about the 44th Singapore Economic Roundtable here: tinyurl.com/mrxwb4sb

🐒 What does nature mean to Singaporeans and how might we shape the future of nature?

Dr Shawn Lum, IPS’ 18th S R Nathan Fellow and Senior Lecturer at NTU Asian School of the Environment, will be delivering his second lecture as part of the series, "Singapore, Nature and a World Reimagined". In this lecture titled, "Singapore, Nature and Singaporeans", Dr Lum will explore the social dimension of nature and biodiversity conservation — moving beyond the language of "ecosystem services" to consider nature as a force for social good. Is there something about the natural world that makes it indispensable to a healthy and stable Singapore? And if so, what kind of relationship do we need to build with it?

Associate Professor Teo You Yenn, Provost's Chair in Sociology and Director, Centre for the Study of Social Inequality, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore will be moderating this lecture.

🎟️Sign up for his lecture here: https://bit.ly/IPSSL29MAY
📺Watch his lecture series live on IPS’ page: https://facebook.com/instituteofpolicystudies.sg/live
🌳Learn more about Dr Lum’s lectures: https://tinyurl.com/45w4zccj