To advance the integration of public good initiatives and digital technology, the Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) held its annual "Data Empowerment, Public Good Innovation" project results sharing and exchange forum today (the 26th), showcasing data transformation outcomes involving over a thousand nonprofit partners and more than 300 organizations. The event invited 10 nonprofit organizations (NPOs), social innovation organizations (NGOs), and 5 government agencies to share innovative applications and success stories from their transformation journeys.
Among the highlights, the Angel Heart Foundation and the Faith, Hope & Love Foundation demonstrated how data analytics can be used to deliver more precisely targeted respite care services for families with children with disabilities. By introducing a flexible database system, social workers were freed from the time-consuming task of duplicating case record entries. The AI Ocean database, which combines ocean exploration with sustainable tourism, also drew considerable attention from attendees. In addition, government agencies actively applied AI tools to improve operational efficiency and reduce waiting times for public services.
MODA Minister Huang Yen-nan delivers remarks at the forum
MODA Minister Huang Yen-nan stated that the "Data Empowerment, Public Good Innovation" project has yielded impressive results, having been honored with the Social Impact Project Award at the 2024 IT Matters Awards. To continue expanding its reach, MODA will keep providing new pathways and new tools to amplify the impact of data for the public good. The forum's three themes — "Data Illuminates Love," "The Power of Digital Transformation," and "Navigating with Data" — revealed to all sectors how the smart use of data can not only overcome existing challenges but also drive cultural innovation.
Institutions from diverse fields shared concrete transformation outcomes. The Angel Heart Family Social Welfare Foundation and the Children's Welfare League Foundation used "data analysis" to organize member databases and activity questionnaires, analyze the needs of children with disabilities and vulnerable families, and provide more refined respite services — a development warmly welcomed by parents. The Lichsin Charity Foundation, by establishing a unified data management platform, successfully reduced the time social workers spend drawing family genograms by 58 hours. The Faith, Hope & Love Foundation adopted a digitized, standardized, and visualized management approach to build a Ragic system for managing ISPs (Individual Support Plans), cutting document processing time per case by 3.5 hours and making organizational management more real-time and comprehensive.
Director-General Chuang Ming-fen of the Data Innovation Division added that this year marked the first time social innovation organizations participated in the mentorship program, with co-creation and sharing outcomes for ocean data also on display. Diving into the Deep Blue (躍入深藍) combined ocean data with generative AI to connect marine tourism with a biodiversity database, building a comprehensive picture of Taiwan's ocean data that holds significant environmental diplomacy value. Yikang Biomedical (益康生醫) worked with coaches to implement process automation using a variety of digital tools, dramatically reducing document processing time by 75%. Government agencies also actively explored AI applications: the Taitung County Fire Bureau used AI to assist in reviewing fire safety inspection drawings, cutting review time by 90%; the National Taxation Bureau of the Ministry of Finance employed web scraping, automation tools, and generative AI to collect and cross-reference regulatory data, achieving automated verification of tax regulations and report reconciliation, saving an average of 60% in manual processing time and improving both efficiency and accuracy.
To help build a data innovation ecosystem, the forum also invited more than 20 public good organizations and information service providers to set up booths, facilitating resource matching. Fu Jen Catholic University and National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, both partners of MODA, designed public good innovation talent development programs making their public debut at the event, showcasing interdisciplinary work that combines the creativity of digital natives with the needs of local organizations. Médecins Sans Frontières and World Vision also shared their data transformation journeys at the forum, blending Taiwan's distinctive characteristics with an international perspective.
MODA stated that it will continue to work hand in hand with NGO/NPO partners to realize the vision of a thriving, co-created digital new society — ensuring that every act of goodwill and every spark of creativity can reach its intended destination with precision, powered by data.
News reprinted from the official website of the Ministry of Digital Affairs
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