Vietnam’s readiness for open data and digital government evaluated
A conference was held on January 17 in Hanoi to discuss Vietnam’s readiness for open data and digital government (ODDG), as part of a World Bank (WB) support programme to speed up the development of e-government in the country.
Minister-Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung addresses the conference (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – A conference was held on January 17 in Hanoi to discuss Vietnam’sreadiness for open data and digital government (ODDG), as part of a World Bank(WB) support programme to speed up the development of e-government in thecountry.
Accordingto Minister-Chairman of theGovernment Office Mai Tien Dung, administrative reform, with a focus onsimplifying administrative procedures and applying information technology, hasbeen carried out since the 1990s.
Since December 2017, the GovernmentOffice has worked with WB experts in Vietnam as well as ministries and agenciesto build a report on Vietnam’s readiness for ODDG.
The assessments look through sevenaspects, including leadership and governance; user-orientation; change inworking procedure; cultural customs and skills; shared infrastructure; the useof data for policymaking; cyber security; privacy and recovery capacity, hesaid.
Dung said that to turn determinationinto results, it is necessary to make legal adjustments and actions.
Achim Fock, Portfolio& Operations Manager of the WB in Vietnam, said digital governmentdevelopment is significant to Vietnam’s growth as it will help deal with issuesrelated to the fourth Industrial Revolution.
The findings and recommendations in the ODDG report will helpVietnam create a better foundation for development, he said.
Meanwhile, Kim Andreasson, the WB’s digital governmentadvisor, said Vietnam ranks 88th in a UN e-government survey ondigital government, up one spot from 2016.
WB surveys also find Vietnam has made strong commitments inimplementing ODDG, he said.
However, he said the biggest challenges in developing ODDG inVietnam are a lack of legal frameworks and regulations on coordination amongagencies as well as the sharing of information through internal database systemamong them, along with difficulties in finance and technology skills in thepublic sector.
The ODDG assessments will serve as an important reference forthe building and implementation of digital development strategy for Vietnam, hesaid.-VNA
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Minister-Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung addresses the conference (Photo: VNA) 
