Administrative reform coupled with digital transformation

In 2023, Thai Binh's Public Administration Reform Index (PAR) scored 86.49 on a 100-point scale to rank 38th out of 63 provinces and cities (adding 2.37 points and climbing fives places from 2022). Notably, among eight areas of assessment, two stood in the group of the 15 best performers in the country: Administrative apparatus reform and civil service regime reform. In addition, the Satisfaction Index of Public Administrative Services (SIPAS) Index reached 85.80%, ranking 11th out of 63 provinces and cities, up 1.6% and two places from 2022. Its Vietnam Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI) gained 43.6 points on an 80-point scale, an increase of 0.086 points from 2022, ranking 17th out of 63 provinces and cities.

Thai Binh Provincial Public Administration Service Center actively utilizes digital technology to enhance services for citizens and businesses

To achieve this result, Mr. Ha Tien Thang, Director of the Department of Home Affairs, Thai Binh province, said: In the past years, the Party and authorities at all levels have always seriously directed the drastic implementation of administrative reform with many creative and consistent solutions. Particularly, raising the awareness and responsibility of officials at all levels, sectors, units and localities to administrative reform; and building qualified, capable, moral personnel to ensure the effective performance of public duties have been of concerns. In addition, the sector has promoted communications and thoroughly implemented administrative reform in all contents; invested financial resources; and constantly innovated, researched and boldly applied new reform models, and increased experience sharing among localities to spread good practices on administrative reform.

In 2023 - 2024, the Provincial People's Committee issued over 100 instructive documents on administrative reform. Based on the given plans and documents, relevant agencies from provincial to grassroots levels have worked out suitable plans for implementation. Regarding institutional reform, from 2023 to the end of June 2024, the Provincial People's Council and the Provincial People's Committee issued 112 legal documents to this effect.

Regarding administrative procedure reform, in the third quarter of 2024, Thai Binh province announced 165 new administrative procedures, abolished and replaced 154 administrative procedures. The province has 1,747 administrative procedures, including 1,377 provincial procedures, 251 district-level procedures and 119 commune-level procedures. The province announced and publicized administrative procedures at reception divisions and localized and publicized all administrative procedure records on the National Database on Administrative Procedures and connect them with the Provincial Administrative Procedure Processing Information System and the National Public Service Portal for public reference.

Moreover, apparatus reform, civil service regime reform and public finance reform have been implemented drastically and effectively.

Building and developing e-Government and digital government has been focused on and promoted. The province has completed connecting electronic data management warehouses of organizations and individuals on ministerial and provincial administrative procedure settlement information systems with electronic data management warehouses of organizations and individuals on the National Public Service Portal. Such applications as Interconnected Electronic Office Network System, digital signature for signing electronic documents, processing documents and records on the network environment, information reporting system and open data are widely used. Thai Binh has continued to launch the shared digital communication channel for the government to interact with people and businesses to create a convenient, consistent and seamless connection for people and businesses to communicate with the government through different forms such as Thai Binh digital citizen application, websites, switchboards and other digital channels on Zalo. Thai Binh has focused on building and developing smart cities. Its smart camera system meets requirements for security monitoring and fine settlement in the province. Many hospitals and schools have effectively applied digital transformation in management and operation.

The Provincial Public Administration Service Center has actively applied digital applications like QR code scanning using the VNeID application to log in to the National Public Service Portal to submit applications online, QR code scanning to read instructions for procedure settlement in the electronic environment and fees payment via bank accounts. In the first six months of 2024, the center received and processed nearly 43,000 records, with online submissions accounting for nearly 80%. 100% of applications were settled in time, with 94% ahead of schedule. Over 92% of organizations and individuals were very satisfied with the service.

People and businesses at the center of service

In the coming time, Thai Binh province will continue to effectively carry out the government-backed Comprehensive Program on Administrative Reform for the 2021 - 2030 period, the Administrative Reform Plan for the period of 2022 - 2025 and the Administrative Reform Plan for 2024 of the Provincial People's Committee, said Mr. Ha Tien Thang, Director of the Department of Home Affairs. The key tasks are raising the awareness of all public employees, people and businesses about administrative reform and digital transformation; improving the quality of legal documents; effectively implementing administrative procedures in physical offices, online public services and interconnected mechanism; further reviewing and proposing competent authorities to reduce and simplify administrative procedures and regulations based on the motto of “placing people and businesses at the center of service” and ensuring "unanimity from top to bottom, vertical and horizontal continuity".

Specially, the province has linked administrative reform with the responsibility of agency leaders; further reformed the civil service regime; improved administrative discipline and order; rearranged the administrative apparatus in conjunction with streamlining payrolls to keep up with the roadmap; built an effective, efficient and professional government for the people; enhanced the quality of providing public administrative services in a modern, fast and convenient manner.

"Thai Binh defines administrative reform as a key and regular task. The Provincial People's Committee resolutely carries out synchronous and effective administrative reform to build a democratic, modern, professional, disciplined, orderly, public and transparent administration. Doing so, we can better serve people and businesses, improve competitiveness and attract more investment capital for socioeconomic development," he affirmed.