Transform the challenges posed by the two-tiered government system into opportunities to serve the people with "soft infrastructure."

Administrative reforms, shifting from a three-tiered to a two-tiered model, have moved 85% of public administrative services down to the commune/ward level, making manual operation extremely challenging. In this context, digital technology has proven its role as an essential "soft infrastructure."

Technology becomes an essential "soft infrastructure" when operating a two-tiered government system.

The changing role of technology in two-tiered government.

If in the past people had to go to the district or commune to resolve administrative procedures, now everything has changed as Vietnam has carried out an unprecedented reform of the apparatus, moving from a three-level model (province-district-commune) to a two-level model (province-commune/ward).

This change has created a new reality: the scale and workload at the commune and ward level have expanded many times over. According to Mr. Duong Cong Duc, Director of the Smart City Center (IOC) at Viettel Solutions, approximately 85% of the public administrative service tasks previously handled by districts and counties have been transferred to communes and wards.

For example, in Hanoi , despite having the same population of over 8.8 million people, after the merger, the city government now directly manages only about 126 communes and wards instead of the previous 526. This means each commune/ward now bears a much larger workload, and the system has to receive and process a significantly higher number of transactions, documents, and public service requests from citizens each day compared to before.

“Therefore, if we continue to do things manually as before, the four core functions of the government, which are serving people and businesses, administering and operating, promoting socio- economic development and planning for the future, will become impossible,” Mr. Duc commented.

It is in this challenge that the role of technology is strongly affirmed, no longer as a separate supporting tool, but as an essential "soft infrastructure," a vital foundation for the functioning of the system. "Previously, digital transformation provided partial support, but now technology demonstrates absolute power in supporting the operation of the government apparatus," this expert said.

This strength is demonstrated primarily in its ability to standardize and automate the entire business process between the province and the commune/ward. As a result, cumbersome procedures are transformed into smooth digital workflows. Data is interconnected and shared seamlessly through 12 national databases and 330 sectoral databases, eliminating information "islands."

This helps to minimize the time for processing documents and serve people on the spot. At the same time, the system allows for centralized monitoring and management from the Intelligent Operation Center (IOC) in each province and city, but can still personalize services according to the characteristics of each locality.

The story of Da Nang's application of digital technology.

Among the localities that have successfully applied digital technology during the transition to a two-tiered government system, Da Nang is a prime example. The city has not only adopted technology but also transformed it into a powerful tool in management and administration, achieving impressive results that were previously difficult to attain.

In fact, before transitioning to a two-tiered government system, Da Nang had already successfully implemented a city-level Intelligent Operations Center (IOC) model, with seven district/county-level OCs already operating effectively. Furthermore, Da Nang had built a comprehensive and interconnected database, coupled with the readiness to optimize appropriate digital processes…

Da Nang has successfully implemented the Intelligent Operations Center (IOC) model.

In this city, the Department of Science and Technology advised city leaders to use the Integrated Operations Center (IOC) to monitor and manage the rate of public service delivery at the local level. Accordingly, the IOC helps design KPIs (total number of procedures, on-time rate, delayed rate, and issues arising) and track performance through the system.

Thanks to this, Da Nang's leaders can monitor daily developments at each center (whether it's busy or not, whether the backlog rate is high or low) to promptly coordinate personnel and implement appropriate and quick solutions. Previously, the rate of timely resolution of public services was not high and information was not updated in a timely manner. Since using the IOC, the rate of timely resolution of public services in Da Nang has increased significantly: many places have reached over 90%, and some places are close to 100%.

The biggest breakthrough is the proactive public administration model in Da Nang (new), which was piloted in Quang Nam province (more than two months before the merger). Accordingly, proactive public administration is a completely new concept, where the system automatically recognizes the needs of citizens and proactively provides services.

This locality is implementing 8 proactive public administrative services in 16 communes and wards. These services include: Proactive birth registration; Proactive school enrollment and application processing; Renewal of medical practice licenses; Renewal/re-issuance of tourist guide cards; Support for poor and near-poor households; Renewal of veterinary practice certificates and veterinary medicine trading; Renewal/re-issuance of transport business permits; Support in compiling house construction documents and related services.

The differences in proactive public administration can surprise many people in other localities. Take, for example, the proactive birth registration service, which has been piloted at Quang Nam Provincial General Hospital. Previously, people had to bring their birth certificate to the ward office to register their child's birth. Now, after the hospital issues the birth certificate, parents only need to fill out their citizen identification number.

The hospital's system then automatically connects to the national population database and sends a text message to the father's phone number asking about his proposed name for the child. After the name is chosen and confirmed via text message, the system automatically forwards the information to the civil registry for the birth certificate. A few days later, the birth certificate will be delivered to the family's home.

Currently, Da Nang is piloting the implementation of 27 proactive public administrative services. This expansion is not just about numbers, but also affirms a vision where technology is deeply and synchronously integrated to serve citizens and businesses. From there, the two levels of government can proactively serve the people instead of passively, transforming administrative procedures into a truly digital experience.

NGUYEN BAO

Source: https://nhandan.vn/bien-thach-thuc-tu-chinh-quyen-hai-cap-thanh-co-hoi-phuc-vu-nguoi-dan-voi-ha-tang-mem-post929177.html