Officials of Phương Liễu Ward in Bắc Ninh Province actively support residents in handling administrative procedures right in their residential areas, outside working hours. This is regarded as one of the initiatives contributing to building a government close to the people. — VNA/VNS Photo Thái Hùng

Nguyễn Ngọc Nam, deputy chief of the Bắc Ninh Provincial People’s Committee Office and director of the provincial Public Administrative Service Centre, speaks to Việt Nam News reporter Thu Trang about the effectiveness of public administrative service delivery in the province.

What results has Bắc Ninh Province achieved in delivering public administrative services under the two-tier local government model?

Bắc Ninh Province officially began operating under the new model on July 1 last year, following the merger of the former Bắc Giang and Bắc Ninh provinces.

After the reorganisation, the province now has 99 commune-level administrative units, a reduction of 214 units compared to previously, while the provincial apparatus has been streamlined to 15 departments and equivalent agencies.

In implementing the Resolution of the 14th National Party Congress, Bắc Ninh identified administrative reform linked to digital transformation as a central and breakthrough task from the very first day of the merger.

In recent times, the province has had to handle three major tasks simultaneously: consolidating the apparatus of a newly merged province with a significantly larger population and geographical area; operating the two-tier local government model; and maintaining and improving the quality of public services for more than 3.6 million residents and a large business community.

At the beginning of August last year, shortly after the new province came into operation, Bắc Ninh ranked below average among the country’s 34 provinces and centrally run cities in the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) for serving people and businesses. This reflected a modest starting point for a newly merged locality formed from two provinces with different organisational structures, working cultures and levels of digital transformation, while the 99 newly established commune-level units had yet to stabilise their organisational structures, personnel and operational processes.

By the end of last year, the province had achieved 96.83 points, topping the national rankings for 15 consecutive weeks. In just five months, Bắc Ninh rose from below average to first place nationwide.

Last year, the province processed more than 1.33 million administrative procedure dossiers. The rate of on-time and accurate settlement reached 99.91 per cent at the provincial level and 99.96 per cent at the commune level. Meanwhile, the dossier digitalisation rate and public satisfaction level under the 766 index components stood at 97 per cent and 99.2 per cent, respectively.

The province attributes these results to the strong leadership and direction of the provincial Party Committee and People’s Committee, the dedication of officials and civil servants, and, in particular, the proactive development of initiatives tailored to the realities of a newly merged province.

What initiatives has the province implemented?

First, the province has placed people at the centre through grassroots support models. All 99 communes and wards simultaneously rolled out initiatives such as “Fast Friday”, “Sunday for the People” and “Administrative Procedures at Home”.

In the second half of last year, the province organised more than 1,800 support sessions, mobilising around 11,600 officials, workers and volunteers to directly assist 68,000 residents with approximately 117,500 administrative procedure dossiers, while also activating an additional 17,100 VNeID accounts.

The average online submission rate at these support points reached 95.2 per cent. Priority was given to the elderly, people with disabilities and residents in remote areas, who often face the greatest difficulties in accessing online public services.

At the provincial Public Administrative Service Centre, the “One Centre, Multiple Service Points” model was introduced through the opening of an additional reception point in Kinh Bắc Ward, helping expand access for residents.

The province also proactively designed solutions to ease the workload in communes with high dossier volumes. In the Gia Bình area, where the nearly 2,000ha Gia Bình International Airport project is under way, land-related dossiers increased sharply, placing significant pressure on commune-level authorities. In response, the province opened an additional land dossier reception point in Nhân Thắng Commune, reducing the workload in the area by more than 20 per cent.

At the same time, Bắc Ninh strengthened staffing and equipment at public administrative service centres in communes and wards. This reflects the province’s proactive approach to addressing pressure in high-volume localities rather than waiting for solutions from higher levels.

Secondly, the province has accelerated administrative procedures for businesses and key projects through the “24-hour green channel” and “60-per-cent green channel” mechanisms. These Bắc Ninh-designed initiatives are applied to major investment projects to maximise reductions in appraisal and approval times. On average, compliance costs related to administrative procedures in investment, land, construction, taxation and business registration have been cut by around 30 per cent. This approach has helped keep the province among the country’s leading destinations for FDI attraction in the first quarter of this year.

Thirdly, the province has strongly promoted decentralisation and delegation of authority to the commune level. Bắc Ninh has thoroughly implemented the central government’s principle of “localities decide, localities act and localities take responsibility”, translating it into targeted delegation linked to the accountability of agency heads. The transfer of substantial authority to communes has gone hand in hand with capacity building. Last year, the province reassigned 84 officials and 152 civil servants from the provincial to the commune level in key sectors, while organising 62 training courses for nearly 7,000 personnel.

Fourthly, the province has introduced performance management based on real-time data. Bắc Ninh issued a set of evaluation and ranking criteria for agencies handling administrative procedures and for commune-level public administrative service centres.

The evaluation system operates automatically and in real time, linking results directly to the accountability of individual civil servants. Under the 766 Index last year, 12 out of 13 provincial departments scored more than 91 points, while 89.9 per cent of commune-level public administrative service centres were rated “good” under the province’s assessment criteria.

Fifthly, the province has continued improving its shared digital infrastructure. Bắc Ninh is among 16 provinces nationwide to complete early integration of its Intelligent Operations Centre (IOC) system with the National Population Database. It has cleaned and synchronised 100 per cent of land data and issued electronic identification accounts to 2.25 million citizens.

To date, all administrative procedures at the provincial and commune levels have been configured with electronic processing systems; all business-related procedures are available online; and all procedures can be carried out without dependence on administrative boundaries.

An export garment production line in Bắc Ninh Province. In the future, the province will promote administrative procedure reforms, apply information technology and support businesses in expanding markets. — VNA/VNS Photo Đồng Thuý

What lessons has the province drawn from the process?

Bắc Ninh Province has drawn three key lessons from the experience of operating as a newly merged locality.

First, the leadership role of heads of agencies and the application of real-time quantitative indicators are decisive during the transition period. The province’s rapid rise from below average to the national top position within five months did not result from a single directive document, but from the direct involvement of the chairman and vice-chairpersons of the provincial People’s Committee in working closely with all communes and wards.

Second, ensuring psychological stability and strengthening the capacity of officials and civil servants are essential conditions for effective implementation.

Third, placing people and businesses at the centre must be translated into initiatives tailored to local realities, especially for vulnerable groups. Ultimately, whether governance indicators improve depends on whether people are genuinely receiving better services.

The simultaneous rollout of direct support models across all 99 communes and wards, the opening of an additional land dossier reception point in Nhân Thắng Commune to ease pressure on Gia Bình Commune, and the application of “green channel” mechanisms for key projects all stem from the principle of addressing issues from the perspective of people and businesses.

What are the province’s future directions?

Bắc Ninh Province is determined to maintain its leading position in the 766 Index, while focusing on improving the Transparency and Accountability Index, which currently has the greatest room for improvement among the six sub-indices at 88.3 per cent.

The province also plans to complete its IOC system and provincial data warehouse, expand the “One Centre, Multiple Service Points”, “Green Channel” and resident support models, standardise staffing plans for public administrative service centres at all levels, and study special mechanisms for recruiting information technology personnel for these centres.

These tasks are part of Bắc Ninh’s longer-term vision to meet the criteria for becoming a centrally governed city before 2030. The province is also ready to pilot new public service delivery models and work with central agencies to evaluate and refine policies for broader nationwide application.

Bắc Ninh acknowledges that the current achievements are only initial results. Considerable work remains ahead as people and businesses continue to demand higher-quality and more substantive public services.

The province hopes to continue receiving guidance from central agencies and support from international partners in the next stages of development. — VNS