Driving forces behind administrative reform

In implementing Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW of the Politburo on breakthroughs in the development of science, technology, innovation, and national digital transformation, Thanh Hoa province has been aggressively implementing many solutions, creating fundamental changes in the field of administrative reform.

Civil servants at the Provincial Public Administrative Service Center handle administrative procedures for citizens.

Among the six key tasks of administrative reform, the reform of administrative procedures is considered the most outstanding highlight of Thanh Hoa province. According to the results of the 2025 Administrative Reform Index recently announced by the Ministry of Interior , Thanh Hoa's administrative procedure reform index reached 99.84%, the highest among the eight component indices assessed. This result is due to the focused application of information technology by all levels and sectors. The Provincial Public Administrative Service Center has implemented an AI chatbot to search for information on administrative procedures under the province's jurisdiction. Several commune-level public administrative service centers have deployed AI robots to assist citizens in resolving administrative procedures. Notably, Thanh Hoa is one of the first three provinces and cities nationwide to put smart kiosks and a system for authenticating and issuing digital copies of electronic documents into operation.

Ms. Luc Thi Thuy, Deputy Director of the Provincial Public Administrative Service Center, said: “The introduction of smart kiosks is one of the pioneering solutions in the process of modernizing the administrative system to automate the process of issuing digital copies and providing online public services. It's not simply about adding more machinery and equipment; it's a comprehensive technological solution to support people in accessing public services conveniently and modernly, minimizing paper documents in receiving and processing administrative procedures.”

To eliminate cumbersome administrative procedures, departments, agencies, and People's Committees at all levels have focused on reviewing, proposing, and recommending the maximum simplification of documents, procedures, and processing times in essential areas directly related to citizens and businesses. Accordingly, Thanh Hoa completed the review of 60/60 specific administrative procedures of the province; reviewed 798 administrative procedures to replace 15 types of documents by utilizing data; reviewed 2,199 administrative procedures at the provincial and commune levels to reduce the number of documents that can be extracted from data; reduced processing time for 634 administrative procedures; and implemented the search and replacement of paper documents with electronic data for 290 administrative procedures. To reduce intermediate layers and at the same time increase the proactiveness and responsibility of localities and units, the entire province has implemented decentralization and delegation of authority for the resolution of 415 administrative procedures.

Thanh Hoa's organizational reform ranks 4th out of 8 component indicators in the 2025 Administrative Reform Index with 91.59%. The restructuring and streamlining of the organizational apparatus is carried out with the aim of reducing the number of administrative units while still ensuring effectiveness and efficiency. Party and State agencies, the Fatherland Front, and socio-political organizations have been reorganized in a synchronized, streamlined, effective, and efficient manner. After the restructuring, Thanh Hoa has 14 specialized agencies under the Provincial People's Committee; and 166 commune-level administrative units. The province also restructured public service units and state-owned enterprises under provincial management; and issued decisions on the placement and arrangement of commune-level officials, civil servants, and public employees, meeting the requirements of operating a two-tiered local government.

Thanh Hoa province has been rapidly and comprehensively completing its legal system, closely adhering to the requirements of reforming state management. From the beginning of 2026 to the present, departments and agencies have advised the Provincial People's Committee to issue 37 legal documents on decentralization and delegation of authority; regulations on economic and technical norms in the fields of land and construction; regulations on the management, connection, exploitation, and operation of the Provincial Smart Monitoring and Control Center... Many documents were issued in a short period of time, demonstrating the province's great efforts in creating a unified legal framework for implementation.

The development of e-government and digital government has also yielded many positive results. Data centers and five shared platforms operate stably, creating uniformity in e-government implementation and increasing the efficiency of data connection and sharing between agencies. The document and work file management system operates smoothly. The data integration and sharing platform operates regularly, currently providing 11 services connecting provincial software and 17 services connecting externally. Thanh Hoa has completed the issuance of identification codes to 166 commune-level units; creating accounts and assigning permissions to users according to their job titles has reached 100%.

Besides the achievements, at the recent conference to evaluate the implementation of Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW of the Politburo organized by the Provincial People's Committee, several difficulties in implementation were also pointed out by departments and agencies. These include: many provincial-level administrative procedures have been decentralized and delegated to commune-level People's Committees, but the systems have not been configured for commune-level processing, leading to the inability to receive applications. Currently, administrative procedures are being implemented on 13 software systems from 13 ministries and agencies, but there is a lack of uniformity, causing difficulties in exploitation and use. Some administrative procedures have unreasonable and inconsistent processing procedures; and the software systems frequently experience errors.

Regarding human resources, after the merger, officials and civil servants at the commune level were transferred from various units, so they have not yet fully adapted to the changes. The quality of officials and civil servants is uneven, and some areas lack officials and civil servants with the appropriate expertise and skills. Many tasks previously under the district level have now been decentralized to the commune level, causing confusion and unfamiliarity for officials and civil servants when implementing them. On the part of the people, there are still limitations in using technology, coupled with a reluctance to change habits, so creating accounts and submitting applications online faces many obstacles.

The challenges encountered during implementation have been analyzed and dissected by departments, agencies, and the Provincial People's Committee to find the most effective solutions. With a proactive spirit, Thanh Hoa is striving to create and bring innovation and digital transformation to a prominent position in the field of administrative reform.

Text and photos: To Phuong

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/dong-luc-thuc-day-cai-cach-hanh-chinh-288104.htm