USAID/VNCI II Monthly Report September 2012

Support for the Administrative Procedure Agency (APCA) in transition was a major focus, with the VNCI advisory team and Scott Jacobs working with APCA to develop a strategy for APCA to continue performing its duties as an AP reform agency within the Ministry of Justice (MOJ). APCA is expected to broaden its functions to regulatory quality management when the legal ground is laid through a revised Law on Laws. The VNCI advisory team is drafting a report that raises the need for a central agency in MOJ to be in charge of regulatory quality management and reform initiatives. The report will present an independent view from USAID/VNCI and will be sent to the Vice Minister of the Office of the Government (OOG) and MOJ's Vice Minister Long. Preparation for USAID/VNCI exit was also discussed, with key supports required by APCA including e-guillotine software, a National AP database/software, and an APCA strategic plan for the period from 2012-2020. Support for donor relations was also provided, with the USAID/VNCI team supporting APCA in drafting a funding proposal for the Republic of Korea's consideration. The document focused on e-government related initiatives, including the expansion of the USAID-supported National Database of APs, the implementation of the annual focused review plan, and the development of reform tools and standards. This will ensure the continuity of external support to the AP reform in Vietnam after USAID/VNCI ends. The report also highlights progress made in AP simplification, with a thematic AP review conducted by the Da Nang Institute for Socio-Economic Development (DISED) and APCA. The review identified shortcomings of the current regulations in the Residence Law and other related legal documents, and presented recommendations to simplify several regulations. APCA secured permission to upgrade its website to a general information portal, which will enable the publication of news and in-depth articles relevant to administrative procedures. The report also notes progress made in communications, with the VNCI team helping to develop the overall plan for TV interviews of the 23 finalists of the National Contest AP Reform - "Join hands for AP reform". The materials will be used to widely promote the government's recognition for AP reform initiatives in different communication channels. The VNCI team also helped organize media trips for interviewing finalists, and supported APCA in completing a graphic set of banners, backdrops, and communication materials for the award ceremony. In addition, the report highlights progress made in regulatory reform and regulatory impact assessment (RIA). The VNCI and VCCI co-organized a RIA workshop titled "Regulatory Impact Assessment for Policy Advocacy" on 6 and 7 September at VCCI headquarters in Hanoi. The workshop provided analysis skills to comment on the upcoming laws and policies to 40 participants. The RIA team and Scott Jacobs worked with MOJ to help them refine the draft RIA report for the revision of Law on Laws from 18 to 21 September. The report also notes progress made in the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) 2012 data collection, with the survey finishing on September 21 with responses from 8,177 local and 1,540 foreign entities. The data entry was completed, and the team is now in the process of cleaning the data. It is anticipated that the plan is to have the data ready for analysis by mid-October. The PCI team held a conference call with the lead researcher, Edmund Malesky, to discuss the priority theme for this year's report, which will include an update on PCI's ranking and tracking methodology, as well as an analysis of Vietnam's business environment compared to previous year from a local firm perspective.