Part 1: Resolution 57-NQ/TW – The driving force for innovation in the Party's leadership methods

On December 22, 2024, the Politburo issued Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW on “Breakthrough in science, technology, innovation and national digital transformation”. This is a strategic Resolution, demonstrating the Party's vision and determination to make science and technology a central driving force for national development.

Images created with AI: Applying information technology and new models to improve party activities and party member management; New models of party activities for Party cells and grassroots Party committees in special places or in special circumstances

In particular, the Resolution also opens up a new direction for Party building in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the national digital transformation process. The application of information technology (IT) and innovation in Party activities have become urgent tasks to improve leadership and management effectiveness, and build a clean, strong, modern and closer-to-the-people Party.

Over the years, our Party has always paid attention to innovating leadership methods, but most of them are still based on traditional management forms, relying heavily on paper documents and direct communication. In the context of the strong development of the digital economy and digital society, this model has revealed certain limitations: information transmission is slow, difficult to control, and monitoring and inspection work is sometimes not timely and transparent. Therefore, Resolution 57-NQ/TW was born with very new content: Linking digital transformation with Party building work, considering this a breakthrough to improve the leadership and management capacity of the Party, modernizing the entire operation process from the Central to the grassroots.

The Resolution clearly states that science and technology development and digital transformation not only serve production, business or state management, but must also become the foundation for innovation, improving the quality of Party cell activities and Party member management. This creates an opportunity for Party cells - the Party's cells - to become the leading nucleus in the national digital transformation process, while helping the Party to truly be close to and accompany the people in the digital age.

Current status of Party cell activities and Party member management: Many challenges arise

Currently, the country has more than 5.3 million party members, operating in hundreds of thousands of party cells and grassroots party committees. This is a powerful political force, playing a core role in the political system. However, the work of party activities and management is facing many difficulties, especially in the context of increasingly urgent requirements for modernization and digital transformation. Many party cells operate in remote, isolated, island, and border areas where traffic conditions are difficult and facilities are lacking. In private enterprises, industrial parks or dispersed production units, gathering party members to participate in regular activities becomes increasingly complicated. This leads to the situation where party cell activities are not held on time, causing disruptions in leadership work, affecting the effectiveness of implementing the Party's Resolutions and policies.

Party member management still relies mainly on manual paper records. Information searching and synthesis must be done manually, taking a lot of time and potentially posing a risk of data errors. When it comes to statistics or monitoring changes in party members, party committees often encounter confusion and lack accurate databases to serve their leadership. This not only wastes human resources, but also affects transparency and timeliness in management, especially when issues arise such as transfers, rewards, discipline or review of party member records. A worrying reality is that in many places, party cell activities are still formal, failing to arouse collective intelligence and democracy in discussion. The content of the activities is often dry, heavy on reporting, lacking connection with reality, not timely updating current issues and combativeness in Party building work, reducing the attractiveness, making a part of Party members, especially young Party members, not really interested, not promoting the pioneering and exemplary role.

The direction from the upper level Party Committee to the grassroots level is not really timely. In sudden situations such as natural disasters, epidemics, or social distancing, Party activities are easily interrupted. Many Party cells cannot meet on time, reducing the continuity in leadership and management. Meanwhile, the lack of a specialized technology platform forces many places to use popular online tools, which pose a risk of information security loss and does not ensure the legality of Party organization activities.

The innovation of party members' activities and management methods not only solves current shortcomings, but also contributes to improving the Party's leadership effectiveness from the grassroots to the Central level, meeting the requirements of building a clean and strong Party in the new era. By digital transformation, the political system can overcome traditional barriers, while maximizing the potential of party members, affirming the Party's comprehensive leadership role in the integration and development period.

Models of information technology application in Party activities

Many localities and units have proactively deployed new models, taking advantage of technology to improve the quality of Party cell activities and Party member management.

Comprehensive digital party cell model, each party member has an electronic profile with a unique identification code, storing the entire process of work, training, rewards, and discipline. Party cell meetings can take place in person or online, with minutes and resolutions signed digitally, stored using blockchain technology, ensuring absolute transparency and security. The system integrates data analysis tools, automatically calculates the rate of participation in meetings, the number of opinions expressed, and the quality of voting, helping the Party Committee have a comprehensive and accurate view of the activities of the party cell.

The digital party cell model not only minimizes manual paperwork, saves time and costs, but also creates a large data warehouse to serve the work of planning, training and appointing cadres. At the same time, it strengthens the connection between party members, party cells and higher-level Party Committees, ensuring smooth and timely information. For party cells in remote areas, islands, borders or where party members are scattered, the online or combined online - direct meeting model is proving its effectiveness. In this model, sub-connections are connected to the main meeting point via an online television system, ensuring that party members can fully participate in activities no matter where they are. This model is especially effective in emergency situations such as natural disasters and epidemics, helping Party activities not to be interrupted. To be successful, it is necessary to have a stable network infrastructure, prioritizing satellite or 5G technology; a specialized meeting platform with high security and a strict identity authentication mechanism. Cadres and party members must also be trained in technological skills to use them proficiently.

The model of a Party cell associated with a community digital technology team. In particular, the Party cell not only provides political leadership but also directly operates and coordinates digital technology teams in villages and hamlets. Party members play a pioneering role in guiding people to use online public services, make electronic payments, and register for digital identity accounts, thereby contributing to promoting digital transformation at the grassroots level. This model both enhances the digital capacity of the community and affirms the Party's leading role in the country's modernization process.

Technology solutions, policy mechanisms and human resource training

For the above models to be effective, it is necessary to synchronously deploy many groups of solutions, focusing on technology, policy mechanisms and people.

In terms of technology, it is necessary to first build a national party member database system, connected from the central to the grassroots, synchronized with the national population database. Each party member will have a unique identification code, convenient for management and lookup. This system needs to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze data, forecast trends, support planning and training of cadres. In addition, it is necessary to build a specialized, highly secure party activity platform, fully integrating functions such as online voting, digital signature, automatic minutes recording, and electronic document storage. At the same time, it is necessary to develop multi-layered network security and security solutions, with early warning mechanisms and regular risk assessment and remediation.

Regarding mechanisms and policies, it is necessary to soon complete the legal framework for online activities, clearly defining the legal value of minutes, electronic Resolutions, remote monitoring mechanisms and how to handle arising situations. At the same time, it is necessary to have reasonable investment policies, prioritizing the budget for digital infrastructure in specific areas, while encouraging socialization and public-private cooperation in developing technology platforms. The evaluation and reward of officials also need to be linked to the results of IT application and digital transformation, encouraging officials to boldly propose initiatives.

People are the key factor. It is necessary to promote training and fostering of digital skills for cadres and party members, especially those in charge of Party work at the grassroots level. Each Party cell should have at least one "digital nucleus" who is knowledgeable about technology and plays a core role in implementing online activities. Digital transformation content should also be included in the political and theoretical training program for new party members and source cadres. At the same time, launch the emulation movement "Pioneering Party members in digital transformation" associated with annual assessments, creating motivation for the whole system to move forward together.

The application of IT to Party work will certainly encounter many difficulties. The network infrastructure is not yet synchronized, especially in mountainous and island areas, which is a major obstacle. There is a significant difference in IT levels between localities and groups of Party members. The risk of information leakage and cyber attacks is always present if there is no strong security solution. In addition, a number of cadres and Party members are still hesitant and not ready to change traditional working methods.

To overcome this, it is necessary to prioritize investment in digital infrastructure according to the motto "difficult areas go first", considering this as the basic foundation for all activities. At the same time, strengthen cooperation with technology enterprises in training, technology transfer, and improving IT skills for staff. Security work must be put first, with a multi-layered defense system and strict inspection process. At the same time, propaganda work needs to be promoted to help staff and party members clearly understand the benefits and responsibilities in digital transformation, thereby being ready to change and proactively adapt.

The application of information technology and innovation in Party activities is not only an inevitable trend, but also an urgent requirement to successfully implement the goals of Resolution 57-NQ/TW. Digital Party cell models, online activities, and Party member management using big data will contribute to improving leadership effectiveness, ensuring democracy, transparency, and modernity. This is a breakthrough step, helping our Party continue to affirm its pioneering role, comprehensive leadership, and bring the country to rapid and sustainable development in the digital age.

Digital transformation is not only a tool, but also a driving force for the Party to always be strong and capable of leading in all situations and at all times. With high political determination, the synchronous participation of the entire Party and the entire People in applying IT in Party activities and Party member management will certainly become one of the most important breakthroughs in Party building in the new period.

Author: Vo Thanh Phuong; Doan Nguyet Nga - BIDV Party Committee Organizing Committee

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/ky-1-nghi-quyet-57-nqtw-dong-luc-cho-doi-moi-phuong-thuc-lanh-dao-cua-dang-332606.html