USAID/VNCI II Monthly Report April 2012

Simplifying Administrative Procedures USAID/VNCI's advisory team provided support to the Agency for Public Administration Reform (APCA) to coordinate with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in organizing five two-day training courses on AP bundle review for approximately 600 staff from 57 provinces. The purpose of the training was to introduce a new tool (process mapping) to be applied to AP bundle reviews, improve review forms, and draft a set of criteria to assess AP reform. The training is essential for ministries and provinces to carry out the Prime Minister's Plan of Focus Review of 24 groups of APs in 2012. Guiding materials of AP bundle review for ministries and provinces were also developed by USAID/VNCI's team in support of APCA. The guidance will facilitate ministries and provinces to carry out the Focused AP Review Plan and Regular AP Review Plan, using AP bundle review and individual AP review tools under the PM's new Decision 263. This approach is expected to streamline more APs, following the model used in South Korea after the first round of simplification. Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) for AP reform was also a key focus area in April 2012. A kick-off meeting was organized on March 28, 2012, to develop a draft M&E framework for AP reform assessment. The framework was introduced in training courses to collect comments from provinces, and received positive feedback. USAID/VNCI's Senior Regulatory Reform Consultant, Scott Jacobs, will be supporting APCA during his trip to Hanoi in May 2012 to review and strengthen this M&E framework. Regulatory Reform and Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) USAID/VNCI continued to support the development of better regulations in April 2012. The team had a meeting with the Editing Team for Spatial Planning Law, Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), on April 24 to discuss details of the problem definition and policy objectives for a RIA report. The RIA principles were well applied, making it clear that it needs thorough discussion as to what the scope and objectives of the law should be. USAID/VNCI also supported the drafting team of Civil Status Law, Ministry of Justice (MOJ), to conduct a cost-benefit analysis for policy options. The RIA method was appreciated by the drafting team, although they needed technical assistance in doing quantification of costs and benefits. Specifically, the team gave comments on the issue of decentralization of the responsibility to provide civil status certificates to local authorities. The Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) The PCI 2011 diagnostic workshops were a key focus area in April 2012. USAID/VNCI presented at two half-day workshops in Ba Ria-Vung Tau on April 20, 2012. The workshops were chaired by the Chairman of BR-VT People's Committee and Chairman Loc of VCCI and attended by nearly 300 government officials who are leaders of the provincial line departments and administrations at provincial, district, and commune levels. Ba Ria-Vung Tau emerged in the Excellent governance group and was awarded for its outstanding performance in the PCI 2011. USAID/VNCI also presented at workshops in Dak Lak for the central highland region on April 24 and in Ha Noi on April 26, 2012. The presentation focused on insights and perception of Hanoi-based foreign investors who responded to the PCI 2011 survey. Communications USAID/VNCI facilitated a series of communication activities to update the public on Project 30's resolution implementation and the Prime Minister's Decision No 263/QD-TTg on 2012 Focused AP Bundle Review Plan through Vietnam Economic Times (VET) and other mass media. The team also coordinated resources to develop e-learning videos on AP bundle review tools (process mapping and review forms) for ministerial and provincial AP control units to follow up a series of the past and upcoming bundle review trainings. The private sector supported APCA's communication effort by providing creative inputs to improve the layout of the brochure on Decree 63 and a corporate identity set for APCA. Over 8,000 entries were received by APCA on ideas for AP reform, with some entries being well-thought out and highly applicable. ACAPR activities USAID/VNCI facilitated the participation of the Vietnamese delegation in the OECD's 6th Regulatory Policy Committee Meeting in Paris from April 11-13, 2012. The delegation consisted of two members from OOG/APCA, who successfully completed the trip and shared their experiences in regulatory reform with other country representatives. The efforts of Vietnam in administrative procedures reform were highly appreciated by countries who attended the meetings. The OECD's Deputy Secretary General, Richard Boucher, mentioned Vietnam in his opening