Ensuring resources for science, technology, innovation and digital transformation – Efforts from central to local levels

The Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) is synchronously implementing many solutions to ensure funding for implementing tasks on science, technology, innovation and digital transformation (S&T) according to Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW, Resolution No. 71/NQ-CP and Plan No. 02-KH/BCĐTW. Since April, the Ministry has continuously issued guiding documents to support ministries, branches and localities in reviewing, registering tasks and completing documents to serve the synthesis and allocation of capital in 2025.

To carry out urgent tasks, the Ministry of Science and Technology issued Official Dispatch No. 139/BKHCN-KHTC dated April 25, 2025 guiding the registration of science and technology, innovation and digital transformation tasks and projects; followed by Official Dispatch No. 1815/BKHCN-KHTC dated May 26, 2025 to clarify the forms and information to be provided. Particularly for Plan No. 02, the Ministry issued Official Dispatch No. 2738/BKHCN-KHTC dated June 26, 2025 on instructions for the registration form for the task of building national and specialized databases; and at the same time issued Official Dispatch No. 2919/BKHCN-KHTC dated July 3, 2025 to clarify the list of tasks assigned to each ministry, branch and locality.

Along with the guidance, the urging work was continuously deployed by the Ministry of Science and Technology. In August and September, the Ministry issued Official Dispatches No. 3789/BKHCN-KHTC, No. 4265/BKHCN-KHTC and No. 4774/BKHCN-KHTC requesting ministries, branches and localities to urgently complete the documents submitted before the prescribed deadlines for synthesis and proposal of capital allocation, especially after the Conclusion Notice No. 46-TB/TGV dated September 30, 2025 of the Steering Committee.

In parallel, the Ministry of Science and Technology has approved the list of 84 national digital platforms and shared platforms for sectors, fields and regions according to Decision No. 2618/QD-BKHCN dated September 11, 2025. To prepare resources for implementation, the Ministry has surveyed the funding needs for the 2025-2026 period through Official Dispatch No. 4638/BKHCN-KHTC; however, to date, only 9 ministries and sectors have submitted their registrations and most of them have not completed their documents. The Ministry continues to urge units through Official Dispatch No. 6005/BKHCN-KHTC dated October 24, 2025.

After the review process, the Ministry of Science and Technology proposed the Ministry of Finance to report to the competent authority to allocate 12,771,995 billion VND to 23 ministries, central agencies and 17 localities. The capital source divided by nature includes 7,867,588 billion VND for development investment and 4,904,407 billion VND for regular expenditure; by field, 4,182,201 billion VND for science and technology - innovation and 8,589,794 billion VND for digital transformation. To date, the Prime Minister has allocated 11,748,710 billion VND to 22 ministries, central agencies and 9 localities.

However, the implementation process still faces many difficulties. Most digital transformation tasks have small capital scales, suitable for regular expenditures, while the additional capital package in 2025 is mainly allocated for investment expenditures (83%). According to information from the Ministry of Finance, the remaining regular capital is only about 107 billion VND, while the needs of ministries and branches are up to about 7,000 billion VND. Many shared databases and digital platforms assigned in Resolution No. 71 and Plan No. 02 do not have implementation funding, directly affecting the implementation progress.

In addition to funding difficulties, many units are still slow to complete their documents even though the procedures have been simplified according to Decree 98/2025/ND-CP. In the coming time, the Ministry of Science and Technology will continue to support, guide and urge ministries, branches and localities to ensure the progress of task implementation, especially for projects related to data and national digital platforms - key components in the national digital transformation process.

Center for Science and Technology Communication

Source: https://mst.gov.vn/bao-dam-nguon-luc-cho-khcn-dmstcds-no-luc-tu-trung-uong-toi-dia-phuong-19725111618191943.htm