CIG and Vietnam’s NAPA Conduct Workshop on the Importance of Benchmarking Government Performance

HANOI, VIETNAM, 30 NOVEMBER 2021 — The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) and the Chandler Institute of Governance (CIG) gathered public sector officials and leaders, government practitioners, and academics for a workshop on The Chandler Good Government Index from Singapore and Application to National Governance in Vietnam on 30 November 2021. The workshop was held in-person at the NAPA campus in Hanoi. Attendees from other cities in Vietnam and around the world joined via video conference.  

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Building Modern and Effective National Governance

The Government of Vietnam has noted the importance of “building a modern, effective and efficient national governance” in its Resolution of the 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Both NAPA and CIG are committed to supporting this important national goal.

Experts and practitioners from government ministries and agencies, universities and international organisations, were invited to speak at the workshop. The agenda of the Workshop and full list of speakers can be viewed here.

Speaking at the opening of the Workshop, Vice Minister of Vietnam’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Trieu Van Cuong, emphasised the importance of national governance as a priority for Vietnam to achieve its development goals. The Vice Minister also expressed his appreciation for the cooperation between NAPA and CIG in various areas, such as the training programmes for civil servants and managers. NAPA and CIG’s cooperation takes place under an MOU that was signed between both organisations in January 2020.

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“The International Workshop organised today by NAPA in collaboration with CIG has very important scientific and practical significance. It will support MoHA and NAPA in successfully building a training programme to improve national governance capacity to approach international standards…especially for potential leaders at strategic level in Vietnam, gradually contributing to a modern and effective Vietnamese national governance in the spirit of the Resolution from the13th National Congress of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam.”

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Trieu Van Cuong

Vice Minister, Ministry of Home Affairs (Vietnam)

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NAPA’s Executive Vice President, Dr. Nguyen Dang Que, also affirmed the importance of good governance and explained NAPA’s role in building “modern and effective national governance” in Vietnam, through training programmes and research work, and in measuring performance.

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“Good governance is key to the success of nations. The Covid-19 pandemic has revealed the strengths and weaknesses of countries' institutions, laws and leadership, and at the same time showed the close connection between capacity of national governance and the ability of government in crisis management as well as the sustainable development and prosperity of countries. Good governance improves people's trust in the Government. People's trust also fosters the smooth and effective operation of the Government.”

Dr. Nguyen Dang Que

Executive Vice President, National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA)

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Measuring Government Effectiveness

Workshop participants agreed that governments around the world needed good ways to measure and benchmark their capabilities and performance.

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“Governments around the world seek to do better, provide better public services and support the well-being and development of citizens and businesses. But governments need good ways to understand and measure their progress, and identify the opportunities to do better.”

Mr. Wu Wei Neng

Executive Director, Chandler Institute of Governance (CIG)

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“We have seen the importance of benchmarking. When we benchmark, there is motivation to learn and improve. If we have a good monitoring system in place, trust from the public will improve.”

Prof. Dr. Vu Minh Khuong

CIG Advisory Council Member; and Associate Professor, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore

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The Workshop then showcased different methods and initiatives seeking to measure government performance at the national and sub-national levels. Participants shared examples of how governments can identify their strengths and opportunities for improvement, and track progress in a tangible manner.

Ms Do Thanh Huyen, Policy Analyst at UNDP, spoke about Vietnam’s Provincial Governance and Public Administration Index (PAPI) which measures government performance at the province level. PAPI is co-developed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Centre for Community Support Development Studies (CECODES) under the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA). Based on a robust citizen survey methodology, PAPI provides the Government of Vietnam with timely information on citizen perceptions of government effectiveness and public service quality.

“We need to build trust with citizens. So PAPI works like a mirror that citizens can hold up for provincial leaders to look at, to review what they have done over the past year, and to come up with actions and commitments, in order to perform better.”

Ms. Do Thanh Huyen

Policy Analyst, UNDP Vietnam

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The Workshop also looked at two country case studies on measuring government performance. Prof. Donald Moynihan from Georgetown University, USA; and Mr. Kenneth Sim, Dean of the Chandler Academy of Governance, spoke about the experiences of the US and Singapore governments respectively. Prof Moynihan spoke about the role of full time monitoring staff, setting cross-agency goals, and the importance of organisational learning agendas, while Mr Sim explained the systems and mechanisms of performance management and accountability at the whole-of-government level, agency level and employee level.

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Mr Wu Wei Neng, Executive Director of CIG, spoke about the Chandler Good Government Index (CGGI) developed by CIG, and shared its framework and how it can be used to measure national governance capabilities and effectiveness. The CGGI emphasises the importance of understanding the core capabilities of a government across different areas, such as leadership and foresight, strong institutions and financial stewardship. It ranks 104 countries around the world, based on over 30 indicators.

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“The Chandler Good Government Index is valuable for countries like Vietnam, and is a useful addition to our set of indices. The pillars and indicators have direct meaning for capability building of our officials, and will have great impact on our training programmes.”

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Thang

Director, Institute for Sustainable Development, National Economics University (Vietnam)

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NAPA-CIG Collaboration on Capability Development

The Workshop then discussed collaboration between NAPA and CIG on competency development and training programmes for public leaders and managers.

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“The performance of a government cannot exceed the capabilities and the commitment of its public servants, including its leaders. This is why we need to support government leaders to develop the technical capabilities and wisdom to craft programmes that are aligned with national objectives, the openness to discern citizens’ needs, and the capacity to work together to translate policy on paper into implementation on the ground.”

Mr. Kenneth Sim

Dean, Chandler Academy of Governance

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Closing the workshop, NAPA’s Vice President, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Luong Thanh Cuong, expressed appreciation for the CIG-NAPA partnership, and thanked the experts and speakers for sharing insights and good practices.

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Following the conclusion of the workshop, CIG and NAPA will work together to finalise the plan for training Vietnamese public leaders and managers, to support Vietnam in its national governance goals.

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About the Chandler Institute of Governance (CIG)

The Chandler Institute of Governance (CIG) is an international non-profit organisation, headquartered in Singapore. We believe in a world where citizens have a deep sense of trust in their governments and public institutions, and where nations are governed by principled, wise leaders supported by an effective civil service. Trust and effective governance serve as a strong foundation for national development and prosperity. CIG supports governments in building government talent, leadership and public service capabilities through training programmes, research initiatives and advisory work. We are not affiliated with any national government or political party, and we do not represent any partisan or commercial interests.

For more news and information, visit https://www.chandlerinstitute.org or follow CIG on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn @ChandlerINST

About the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA)

NAPA is a key training and research agency directly under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA). Its mission is to improve competencies, knowledge and skills in leadership, state management and public policy. It designs and delivers training and research programmes for civil servants in Vietnam.

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‍For media clarifications, please contact:

Dominic GABRIEL (Mr)
Communications Manager
Chandler Institute of Governance
Email: Dominic.Gabriel@Chandlerinstitute.org

Shanice KOH (Ms)
Executive, Government Projects and Programmes
Chandler Institute of Governance
Email: Shanice.Koh@Chandlerinstitute.org

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