We help ministries, agencies and public institutions across Asia and the Middle East turn digital and AI priorities into skills, structures and services that last.
Blak Rice advises and trains public-sector organisations on digital government, AI readiness, data governance and workforce capability. Since 2013 we have worked in ten countries across Asia and the Middle East. We are a registered GeBIZ trading partner for Singapore government procurement. Our public-sector work is confidential, so we do not name clients, team members or contract values. We share anonymised case studies instead.
Three connected areas of work. Most engagements start in one and grow into another as agencies see what they need.
Joined-up digital government is hard when data, systems and skills sit in separate agencies. We help you set a clear digital strategy, check whether your organisation is ready for AI, agree how data is governed, and plan how agencies work from the same foundations.
Typical work
A knowledge-based public service depends on leaders and managers who can carry change. We build the leadership, succession and change capability that makes strategy stick.
Typical work
Adult learning, reskilling and vocational systems need to move as fast as the work does. We help education and training bodies use AI and digital tools well, with the skills and safeguards to match.
Typical work
We understand the challenge properly, then solve it properly. You get a roadmap, not only a list of recommendations.
Typically about 1 month. We assess your context, constraints and what success looks like, and agree how it will be measured.
Typically 2 to 3 months. We build an approach that fits your organisation, your timeline and your people.
Typically 6 to 12 months. We work alongside your team and adjust as we go. We measure results against the criteria we agreed at the start.
Real, completed work for public bodies, told without names.
A public education body needed teachers who could use generative AI well and safely.
Read the case study →A public transport agency needed a way to use its traffic data for planning.
Read the case study →A public health body needed a shared digital view of primary care and hospitals.
Read the case study →We see public-sector transformation as a way to build a country that works for every citizen. Our work sits on four foundations.
We help governments sequence urgent fixes against long-term plans when budgets, time and capacity are limited.
Financial security, accessible healthcare, mental wellbeing and inclusion across all groups.
A secure financial system, social benefits, and a population and workforce with the digital skills to use them.
Adaptive leadership, transport, energy, connectivity, education partnerships and preparedness for climate risks such as flooding, drought and poor harvests.
Confidentiality. Our public-sector clients trust us with sensitive work. For that reason we do not name clients, team members or contract values. Our case studies are anonymised.
We advise and train public-sector organisations on digital government, AI readiness, data governance, workforce capability and learning transformation. We help agencies decide what to do, build the skills to do it, and check that it has worked. Work ranges from strategy and roadmaps to training programmes and change management.
It is a structured check of whether an agency's people, data, governance and processes are prepared to use AI safely. It shows where to invest first and what to fix before buying tools. The result is a ranked list of gaps and a plan that fixes the weakest area first.
Advisory engagements typically begin with about one month to understand the challenge, then two to three months of design and six to twelve months of delivery alongside your team. The exact timeline depends on the scope, and we agree it with you at the start.
Yes. We have delivered programmes in Cambodia, China, Jordan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Oman, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. That is ten countries across Southeast Asia, East Asia and the Middle East, for government bodies, education institutions, financial institutions and hospitality organisations.
Public-sector clients trust us with sensitive work, so we do not name clients, team members or contract values. We publish anonymised case studies instead. Each one describes the challenge, our approach and the outcome without naming the client, so that no reader can identify them.
We agree success criteria at the start. For training, we look at how participants respond, what they learn, and whether their behaviour at work changes. For advisory work, we track delivery against the roadmap and the outcomes we agreed, and we review progress with you as the work moves forward.
