Resolute in decentralization and delegation of power in the field of science and technology

On November 13, in Hanoi, the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) held a training conference on decentralization, delegation of authority and division of authority in areas under the state management of the MOST.

The conference was organized in both in-person and online formats, connecting to the Departments of Science and Technology, communes, wards, and special zones of 34 provinces and cities across the country.

Speaking at the opening of the conference, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Bui The Duy emphasized that the training course aims to implement the policy of the Party, Government and Prime Minister on maximum decentralization and delegation of power, bringing public services closer to the people, contributing to streamlining the apparatus and improving the effectiveness and efficiency of state management.

Deputy Minister Bui The Duy speaks at the conference. Photo: MST

Deputy Minister Bui The Duy stated that the consistent guiding spirit is that what is under the Prime Minister's authority will be decentralized to ministries; the authority of ministries will be decentralized to People's Committees and departments; there are even contents that are directly assigned to commune level for implementation.

According to Deputy Minister Bui The Duy, the process of restructuring the apparatus and merging management agencies in some localities has significantly expanded the scope of work of departments. Many directors, deputy directors and professional staff have to take on new fields, requiring time to adapt and develop their skills.

Expanding the scope of decentralization also poses a great challenge to staff capacity, especially at the commune level, when many new tasks are assigned while practical experience is limited.

The Ministry of Science and Technology has decentralized, delegated power, and assigned authority to 103 tasks to localities.

Faced with that reality, the Ministry of Science and Technology has compiled a set of nearly 300 pages of guidance documents, in which each administrative procedure, each content of decentralization and delegation of authority has a concise, easy-to-reference guide, which is considered a "professional handbook" for staff at the grassroots level. The Ministry of Science and Technology has also organized intensive training conferences lasting many days for leaders of the Departments of Science and Technology across the country, and at the same time sent staff from the departments and offices directly to localities to guide practice and handle actual documents.

Deputy Minister Bui The Duy said that the Ministry of Science and Technology determined that by all means, it must ensure that, by 2025, department and commune-level officials can fully implement the contents of decentralization and delegation of authority. Sending officials from departments and divisions to localities has two main goals.

The first is to assess the capacity and working conditions at the departments and communes/wards, to review the data system, tools, and professional documents to see if they meet the requirements for handling records like at the ministry. The second is to directly guide local officials to "try and learn" to quickly master the professional process.

Summary of decentralized and delegated tasks of the Ministry of Science and Technology

The Ministry of Science and Technology will maintain a regular support mechanism, assigning departments and divisions to organize monthly and quarterly online conferences to resolve difficulties and problems in the process of implementing decentralization and delegation of power. "The department heads and division heads need to consider local officials being trained as new employees - needing guidance until they are proficient in their work. We must work closely with the locality, only discuss how to do things, not discuss backtracking," Deputy Minister Bui The Duy emphasized.

Through the synthesis of the Ministry of Science and Technology, some localities are still concerned about the ability to implement, even wanting to "return" the power to the Ministry of Science and Technology. However, the spirit of the Ministry of Science and Technology is to accompany and support to the end, so that localities can perform well the assigned tasks, aiming at the highest goal of serving the people better, reducing time and costs of administrative procedures.

Director of the Legal Department (Ministry of Science and Technology) Nguyen Nhu Quynh presented an overview report on decentralization and delegation of powers in the fields under the state management authority of the Ministry of Science and Technology at the conference. Photo: MST

At the conference, delegates listened to an overview report on decentralization and delegation of authority in areas under the management authority of the Ministry of Science and Technology, including: quality measurement standards, intellectual property, nuclear radiation safety, radio frequencies, post and telecommunications. The conference also spent time exchanging, discussing and answering specific issues arising at the grassroots level, helping officials at all levels to grasp the process and be ready to implement it in practice.

Recently, the Ministry of Science and Technology has established 12 working delegations to work with 34 provinces and centrally-run cities. In particular, it has directly worked with the People's Committees of 34 provinces and cities and the Departments of Science and Technology; directly worked with 34 Public Administrative Service Centers; directly worked with 39 communes and wards in the localities. Thereby, it has resolved difficulties and problems of localities when performing newly decentralized tasks, and at the same time, it has planned to amend and supplement legal documents on decentralization and delegation of powers.

TRAN BINH

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/quyet-liet-voi-viec-phan-cap-phan-quyen-trong-linh-vuc-kh-cn-post823247.html