Da Nang has taken the lead among the 5 centrally run cities in the Viet Nam Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI) 2023, according to a report released on Tuesday.

As reported, Da Nang ranked first with 7.23 points, followed by Ha Noi 7.16; Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho with over 7 points, Hai Phong with 6.93 points.

Illustrative image. (Photo: VNA)

The PAPI 2023 report showed that 49 cities and provinces had no change in the public administrative procedure index; 10 provinces increased and 4 localities decreased by over 5% points compared to 2021.

PAPI 2023 was based on the survey of more than 19,500 people in 416 communes and wards in 208 districts of the 63 Vietnamese provinces and cities. There were 120 measurement criteria with more than 500 questions sent to people through one-on-one interviews and tablet interviews.

Outstandingly, PAPI 2023 ranking report capturing citizen perceptions of local governance in 2023 showed progress in anti-corruption and e-governance.  Also in 2023, access to the internet and access to provincial e-governance portals both rose relative to 2020 and nearly 80 percent of PAPI survey respondents in 2023 had internet access at home.

“With PAPI's wealth of data providing evidence for policymaking, we encourage all provinces to engage stakeholders and take action to increase citizen satisfaction with their performance in 2024 and beyond. Bright spots were evident in 2023, especially in combatting corruption and unlocking the potential of e-governance.”, said the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Resident Representative Ramla Khalidi.

PAPI consists of 8 dimensions, and 6 out of 8 dimensions  are basic ones, namely citizens’ participation at grass-roots level, transparency, vertical accountability, control of corruption, public administrative procedures, and public service delivery.

PAPI is a flagship governance program initiated by the United Nations Development Programs in Viet Nam since 2009. PAPI measures and benchmarks citizens’ experiences and perception on the performance and quality of policy implementation and services delivery of all 63 provincial governments in Viet Nam to advocate for effective and responsive governance.

PAPI is a joint collaboration between the Centre for Community Support Development Studies (CECODES) under the Viet Nam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA), and UNDP in Viet Nam.

Reporting by T. HUY – Translating by A.THU