Institutional innovation is the key to developing culture and sports

At the 9th session of the 15th National Assembly, giving comments on the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Bidding, the Law on Investment under the public-private partnership model and other laws, delegate Bui Hoai Son - National Assembly Delegation of Hanoi said that the field of culture and sports is both a specific field and plays an increasingly important role in the knowledge economy and sustainable human development.

Welcoming the amendment of Clause 7, Article 3 and the addition of Clauses 8, 9, 10, Article 2 of the Law on Bidding, delegate Bui Hoai Son said that this is an important content that has removed the bottleneck that has lasted for many years for public service units in the field of culture and arts such as museums, libraries, theaters, art schools or the field of sports with institutions such as gymnasiums, stadiums...

"As we know, for a long time, these units, although having legal revenue from their career activities, are still tightly bound by bidding processes similar to a public investment project. This reduces their initiative and flexibility, affecting the progress of organizing performances, purchasing projection equipment, implementing creative activities and preserving heritage," the delegate raised the issue.

According to delegate Bui Hoai Son, the amendment as drafted allows financially autonomous units (group 1 and group 2) to decide on regular purchases, serving professional activities without having to fully apply the bidding process, is consistent with the spirit of financial mechanism innovation, promoting the autonomy of public service units. This is a step in the right direction, which needs to be further specified by synchronous guidance documents.

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In addition, delegate Bui Hoai Son proposed that the National Assembly support the amendment and supplementation of Clause 1 and Clause 3, Article 10 of the Law on Bidding, which stipulates priority in terms of capacity, experience, and bidding documents for innovative enterprises, high-tech enterprises, and domestic digital technology products.

According to the delegate, this is an important legal basis to promote the cultural industry, including cinema, performing arts, creative design, digital media, and sports, which are the development trends of the world and are the industries identified by the Government in the Strategy for the Development of Cultural Industries to 2030.

Delegates, propose to expand this regulation to domestic copyrighted cultural and sports products, especially film projects, music, performance programs, digital exhibitions and sports products... when participating in providing public services or bidding projects using the budget, to encourage domestic cultural consumption and support domestic artists and producers.

Expressed agreement with the amendment of Article 23 and Article 29 of the Law on Bidding, allowing for the appointment of contractors and the selection of contractors in special cases, including specific projects on heritage conservation, organizing art performances and performances at relics, or projects requiring copyright, technology compatibility and sports projects.

Performing arts, cinema, heritage protection and promotion programs, and sports often cannot apply competitive bidding based on the "lowest price" criterion. If this is applied mechanically, it will lead to poor quality suppliers winning the bid, seriously affecting cultural reputation, artistic quality, and the effectiveness of community education.

Delegate Bui Hoai Son suggested that the Government, when issuing a guiding decree, should have a clear list or criteria to identify cultural and sports projects that are eligible for special selection or designated bidding, ensuring publicity and transparency but not rigidity.

The delegate emphasized that institutional innovation is the key to developing culture and sports. We are living in a time when culture and sports are no longer just a sector of budget consumption, but have become a source of development, a driving force for innovation, and a soft power of the nation.

The amendment of the Law on Bidding, the Law on PPP and related laws to be more open, more flexible and more suitable to the characteristics of the cultural sector is very welcome and necessary. However, along with that, we also need a system of strict monitoring and post-audit standards to prevent the abuse of bidding or ineffective investment.

"I respectfully recommend that the National Assembly consider and approve the above amendments, and assign the Government to promptly issue specific instructions so that cultural and sports institutions can truly promote their role in the current era of cultural industry and digital transformation," the delegate recommended.

Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/doi-moi-the-che-la-chia-khoa-de-phat-trien-van-hoa-the-thao-20250519101025112.htm