The Public Administration Reform (PAR) Index, which has been implemented since 2012, is a tool to monitor and evaluate the results of annual administrative reform in ministries, sectors and cities/provinces nationwide. Since the ranking’s inception, Da Nang has always strived to improve its positions in the annual ranking and effectiveness of PAR to better serve people and businesses.

A scene is observe at the ‘One-stop-shop’ division of the Da Nang Administrative Centre Photo: TRONG HUY

Back to the top position

As reported by Deputy Director of the Department of Home Affairs Tran Trung Son, after 5 consecutive years of leading in the ranking in the category of localities from 2012 to 2016, Da Nang was ranked 4th and 6^th, respectively in the 2017 - 2020 period.

In 2021, the city ranked 3^rd place in the ranking, marking an impressive comeback in the top 5 outstanding localities after 2 years of absence in this leading group.

The ranking was based on feedback collected from more than 79,000 people about administration reforms in the 63 localities and 17 ministries in Viet Nam.

2021 was the 5^th year the satisfaction of people and organisations was measured across administrative agencies in the Vietnamese provinces and cities.

Sociological surveys were conducted to collect opinions and evaluations from people and organisations on the results of administrative reform in ministries, agencies and provinces, as well as to measure the satisfaction with the services that State administrative agencies offer.

According to Mr. Son, a number of criteria from appraisal results over the years, the city has not achieved a complete score according to the set of indicators, such as direction and administration, administrative procedure reform; improving the quality of the contingent of cadres, civil servants and public employees; public finance reform, administrative modernization.

In terms of the 2021 Satisfaction Index of Public Administration Services (SIPAS), Da Nang ranked 34th out of the 63 provinces and cities nationwide. SIPAS assesses the performance of public services in 16 fields in 63 provinces and cities from citizens’ perspectives.

SIPAS 2021 showed the biggest expectation among people is that administrative procedures continue to become simpler and cost less time to complete.

Efforts to improve PAR index performance

In fact, measuring the satisfaction of public service users – citizens and organisations –helped the municipal/provincial government and particularly public administration service providers see their achievements and shortcomings. It also found what citizens and organisations expected from service delivery quality so they could adjust to meet their expectations.

Director of the Department of Home Affairs Vo Ngoc Dong acknowledged that, analyzing the results of PAR Index in the period 2012 - 2021 helps the city see strengths and positives for further promotion, and at the same time clearly pointing out to limitations leading to loss of points in the evaluation criteria. On that basis, local departments and agencies need to come up with solutions to gain better scores and the quality of administrative reform.

According to Vice Chairman of Hai Chau District People's Committee Phan Thi Thang Loi, in order to improve the PAR index ranking, the district is focusing on implementing a project to improve the efficiency of PAR in the 2020 - 2025 period, which concretises tasks and solutions.

Every year, the district organises a contest of initiatives and solutions to improve the efficiency of PAR, in tandem with promoting decentralisation and authorization of district-level functional departments and branches, thereby contributing to simplifying administrative procedures.

The district also took solutions to simplify and shorten the time to handle administrative procedures for citizens and organisations. Civil servants, especially those in charge of the "One-stop shop" services, shall well observe administrative disciplines and regulations.

Reporting by TRONG HUY - Translating by A.THU