Factors influencing the Vietnam Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI) By: Le Van Chien HCM National Academy of Politics and Public Administration, Vietnam This paper aims at introducing an ongoing policy research on factors influencing the performance in governance and public administration at the provincial level in Viet Nam using the Viet Nam Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI) as input data for in-depth analysis. This research has been carried out on an annual basis by researchers from the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics and Public Administration over the past two years. What we have found are significant policy messages for provincial authorities in the cases we examined. For instance, (i) political wills has been the most important factor behind provinces good governance and public administration; (ii) richer provinces were not necessary better performers of public governance and public administration; and (iii) earlier administrative reform normally leads to better performing in governance and public administration. This paper is divided into three main sections. Section 1 introduces briefly about PAPI and why we use PAPI as input data for our in-depth analysis of provincial performance in local governance in our selected provinces. Section 2 presents our research on factors influencing provincial performance in governance and public administration using PAPI as a proxy. Following this, section 3 displays a case study of Ha Nam and Ninh Binh provinces. 1. What is PAPI? Our research paper on factors influencing provincial governance and public administration stems from our interest in examining what matters for provinces in improving and/or maintaining their scores in the PAPI measures which we use as input proxies for assessment of inputs and other factors that affect provincial performance in areas PAPI focuses on. Before detailing the research findings, this section is devoted to introduce briefly about PAPI. The Viet Nam Provincial Governance and Public Administration performance Index (PAPI) is a policy tool that monitors and measures the performance of governance and public administration (including public service delivery) at provincial level in Vietnam based on citizens experiences and perceptions. 1
PAPI is a joint policy research implemented collaboratively between the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF), the Centre for Community Support and Development Studies (CECODES) under the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA), the Commission on People s Petitions (CPP) under the Standing Committee for the National Assembly, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Vietnam since 2009.PAPI was initiated in 2009 with a pilot research of 3 provinces namely Phu Tho, Da Nang and Dong Thap. The pilot research was then expanded to 30 provinces, which were randomly selected by propensity score matching method in 2010. Since 2011, PAPI has covered all 63 provinces of Vietnam. PAPI assesses three mutually reinforcing processes: (i) policy making, (ii) policy implementation, and (iii) the monitoring of policy implementation. The dimensions are specifically tailored to Viet Nam s national and local level contexts. The end result provides an objective evaluation of governance from the perspective of citizens. Based on citizen inputs, PAPI provides a set of objective indicators that help assess the performance in governance and public administration. It also provides an incentive for provincial authorities to improve their performance over the long term. PAPI consists of 6 dimensions, 22 subdimensions, and 92 indicators as detailed in Table 1. PAPI has become an annually conducted policy monitoring tool that supports policy-making processes both at central and local levels. PAPI maps out differences in provincial performance of national policies that are being implemented across the country, rather than focusing on peculiar policies targeted to addressing priorities in selected areas or provinces. Map 1 shows four classifications of provincial performances by quartile as measured by PAPI at the aggregate level from its 2012 findings. Figure 1 reveals how provinces are ranked by PAPI 2012 scores, disregarding confidence intervals at 95%. 2
Table 1. Composition of the Viet Nam Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI) Dimension Participation at local level Transparency Vertical Accountability Control of Corruption Public Administrative procedure Public Service Delivery Sub-dimension Civic knowledge Opportunity for participation Quality of Election Voluntary Contribution List of Poor Household Commune s Budget Land Use Plan and Land Price Frame Interactions with Local Authorities People s Inspection Board Community Investment Supervision Board Limits on Public Sector Corruption Limits on Corruption in Public Service Delivery Equity in Public Employment Willingness to Fight Corruption Certification Procedures Procedures for Construction Permits Procedure for Land Use Rights Certificate Procedures Process at Commune Level Public Health Care Public Primary School Infrastructure Law and Oder Source: www. papi.vn 3
Map 1. Provincial Performance by Quartile in 2012 Source: papi.vn 4
Figure 1. Provincial Performance Ranking in 2012 Source: papi.vn 2. Factors influencing PAPI In an effort to understand what factors affect governance and public administration performance, a team of senior researchers from the Ho Chi Minh Academy of Politics and Public Administration (HCMA) undertook a research analyzing a specific group of provinces, namely Tien Giang, Long An, Hai Duong and Nam Dinh in 2011. The findings of this case study were documented and discussed with authorities from above selected provinces. They 5
were highly appreciated by engaged provincial leaders. Building on this initial research, in 2012 and 2013 the HCMA research was expanded to examine possible discrepancies between inputs and outputs in eight provinces, including Soc Trang, Tra Vinh, Quang Nam, Phu Yen, Ha Nam, Ninh Binh, Dien Bien, and Cao Bang. These provinces were grouped in four pairs with similar levels of socio-economic endowments but different levels of performance as measured by PAPI. As such, the analysis of Dien Bien and Cao Bang suggested that key factors affecting performance include political wills, greater transparency and open competition in public employment. The analysis of Ha Nam and Ninh Binh suggested that contributing factors include the educational levels and awareness of citizens, and proactive and pro-citizen issuance of land use right certificates. And, the analysis of Soc Trang and Tra Vinh highlighted that transparency of information towards citizens help improve quality of investment and infrastructure. This comparative policy research was then presented at a policy dialogue at the HCMA headquarter on 5 April 2013. With the participation of vicechairpersons of Provincial People s Committees from studied provinces, directors of home affairs departments and others, the dialogue was an opportunity for the provincial policymakers and academics to exchange lessons learnt and good practices. 3. Case study of Ha Nam and Ninh Binh This section presents a part of the empirical comparative research on factors influencing the performance in governance and public administration of Ha Nam and Ninh Binh provinces. From the findings of PAPI, we can see the differences in provinces performance (see Map 2 below). One question was that why provinces perform differently although they implement same national policies. In other words, our research question was: What factors cause differences in provincial governance and public administration performance? To answer this main question, the research focused on factors that may affect the ability of provincial authorities to perform their responsibilities and achieve good performance levels. Those are: (1) political will and local specific policies (2) development and mobilization of human resources, (3) priorities of using financial resources, and (4) public administrative services. 6
Map 2. Mapping of Overall PAPI 2012 Scores by Quartiles for North Eastern Provinces Source: CECODES, VFF-CRT and UNDP (2013) The overall objective of this study was to analyze the relationship between inputs and outputs of governance and public administration at the two provinces in Viet Nam. In particular, the study provides a comparative assessment of Ha Nam and Ninh Binh provinces and a clearer understanding of the challenges faced and initiatives taken by the two selected provinces as inputs to perform their governance and public administration functions and mandates. 3.1. Socio-economic conditions of Ha Nam and Ninh Binh provinces Ha Nam and Ninh Binh provinces are both in the Red River Delta, located at the southern gateway of Hanoi. The distance from Ha Noi to Ha Nam is about 60 km and to Ninh Binh is around 90 km. These two provinces used to be parts of former Ha Nam Ninh province. 7
Map 3: Map of the North of Viet Nam Table 2 shows some socio-economic development indicators of Ha Nam and Ninh Binh. Its suggests that both provinces have a similar level of development such as rural population as percentage of total population, poverty ratio, the Human Development Index (HDI), life expectancy etc,. Differences are found only in population and population density. According to 2011 Government statistics, Ha Nam s population was 786.9 thousand people while Ninh Binh s populations was 906.9 thousand people. Ha Nam s population density was about 914 people per km 2 whereas Ninh Binh s population density was 625 people per km 2. Table 2. Ha Nam and Ninh Binh s development indicators Indictors Ha Nam Ninh Binh GDP per capita (million VND, 2011) 21.4 24.9 Total population (thousand people, 2011) (1) 786,9 906,9 Population density (people/km 2, 2011) (1) 914 652 Urban population (% of population, 2011) (1) 10,5 20,1 Rural population (% of population, 2011) (1) 89,5 79,9 Labour force (% of population, 2011) (1) 58,9 60,9 Porverty ratio (% of total household,2011) (2) 10,68 10,53 Human development index (HDI) 2008 (3) 0.709 0.717 Life expectancy (year) (3) 72.7 72.7 Literacy rate, adult total (% of people 15 and above ) (3) 95.5 96.6 Minority ethnics ratio (% of population, 2009) (3) 0.2 0.26 Source: (1) GSO, (2) Ha Nam & Ninh Binh DPI s reports, (3) PAPI 2011 8
3.2. Human and financial resources for governance Civil servants and public servants are the main forces to deliver public services to citizens. Therefore, the quality and quantity of civil and public servants directly influence public service quality. This section compares the public sector s human resources in Ha Nam and Ninh Binh provinces to examine how this input factor differs and whether or not the difference highlights variation in the performance of the two provinces as reflected in PAPI. According to reports by Ha Nam s Department of Home Affair, in 2011, Ha Nam had a total number of 14,462 civil servants and public servants working at provincial, district, and communal levels. On average, there are 18.38 public and civil servants per thousand citizens. In the meantime, Ninh Binh had a total number of 20,843 public and civil servants working at provincial, district and communal levels, equivalent to 22.98 public and civil servants per thousand citizens on average. This means that Ninh Binh had a higher number of public human resources than Ha Nam did in 2011. According to the statistical yearbook of Ha Nam and Ninh Binh, the total budget revenues of Ha Nam in 2011 reached 5,074.6 billion VND, while Ninh Binh had 5,289 billion VND in the same period (see Table 2). Both provinces are not self-sufficient and rely on subsidies from the central budget. In 2011, for example, the subsidies from the central budget accounted for about 38% of Ha Nam s budget revenue, and 42% of Ninh Binh s budget. Table 2: Provincial State Budget 2011 (billion VND) Ha Nam Ninh Binh Total revenue 5,074.6 5,289 - Domestic Revenue 1,583.6 2,466 - Custom Revenue 1,572.3 550 - Subsidy from Central State Budget 1,918.7 2,273 Total Budget Expenditure 4,582 5,080.6 Of which - Expenditure in Development Investment - Current Expenditure Source: Ha Nam and Ninh Binh s Department of Finance 820 1,853.5 1,485.5 2,872.6 We observe that Government s current expenditure has the strongest influence on the performance of public officials and civil servants at all governmental levels because it is directly related to salary and working conditions of the public sector s human resources. In 9
2011, Ha Nam's current expenditure reached 1,853.5 billion VND compared to the current expenditure of 2,872.6 billion VND of Ninh Binh. On average, in 2011, Ha Nam spent 128.2 million VND for each public official and civil servant. At the same time, Ninh Binh spent 137.8 million for each public official and employee. In short, Ninh Binh has better resources than Ha Nam in terms of both human resources and budget expenditure on the human resources in the public sector. This allows us to expect that Ninh Binh s authorities and public officials perform better than Ha Nam s counterparts. 3.3. Initiatives for better public administrative services Public Administrative Procedures is one of the six dimensions that PAPI surveys citizen s experience. This dimension examines the performance of a set of public administrative procedures that are considered important to citizens lives, and how they are dealt with in local government agencies and one-stop shops. It looks at citizens direct experiences in interacting with local public administrators in obtaining certification services, land use rights certificates, civil construction permits, and other personal papers to fulfill their citizenship rights and obligations. The indicators used to construct this dimension help reveal the performance of local government agencies against six elements constituting a professional and responsive administrative service, including convenience, security, reliability, personal attention and problem solving approaches, fairness and accountability. Four sub-dimensions are used to analyze elements of public administrative provision. They include (i) certification services, (ii) application procedures for construction permits, (iii) application procedures for land use rights certificates, and (iv) application procedures for personal documents processed at the commune level. 10
Figure 2. Ha Nam and Ninh Binh Performance in Public Administrative Procedures 2 1.8 1.6 1.4 1.5 Ha Nam Ninh Binh Mean 1.79 1.77 1.76 1.55 1.8 1.64 1.91 1.2 1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 1.67 1.77 1.56 1.86 0 Certification Procedure Construction Permit Land Procedure Personal Procedure Source: www.papi.vn Figure 2 presents the four sub-dimensions that make Public Administrative Procedures as one of six dimensions in PAPI with its score ranging from 1-10 points. It means that the maximum score a province can gain is 2.5 and the minimum score a province can gain is 0.25 for each sub-dimension. The total score of Ha Nam in this dimension was 6.70, while Ninh Binh reached a score of 7.02. Considering each sub-dimension, Ninh Binh was better performing than Ha Nam in the first and the fourth dimensions, but worse than Ha Nam in the third sub-dimension. The two provinces were quite similar in performing the second subdimension on Construction permit. Searching for an explanation for the differences between Ha Nam and Ninh Binh in performing Public Administrative Procedure, we found that, Ninh Binh was one of the first four pilot provinces conducting administrative reforms from 2002. In the context of Viet Nam, those provinces that are chosen to experiment implementing a policy, they always enjoy more favorable treatment than the others. They receive the central government s support in terms of funding, training employees, etc. As the first province experimenting new administrative models, Ninh Binh has also become more experienced than Ha Nam in implementing specific 11
public administration reform activities. In addition, being a pilot province, Ninh Binh has attracted more attention from the public. This may force the provincial leaders to be more proactive and keener in reforms. These factors may explain why Ninh Binh was better performer than Ha Nam in the dimension Public Administrative Procedure as indicated by PAPI in terms of the quality of certification services and personal administrative procedures. On land administration, Ha Nam performs better than Ninh Binh from PAPI findings. Our analysis onthe two provinces showed that, since 2003 Ha Nam has focused on completion of the measurement and land mapping, which serve the local governments in facilitating application procedure for land use rights certificates for citizens. Ha Nam provincial leaders made Decision No. 25 dated 16/07/2003 on "Strengthening the leadership for handling cases of illegal land use and speeding up granting land use right certificates to land owners ". They also issued the Action Plan No. 566/KH-UB on "Handling standing unlawful land use cases and speeding up granting land use right certificates to landowners". Thanks to those provincial policies, Ha Nam completed measuring and setting up a cadastral system for land administration. This move explains why the service on granting land use rights certificates to land users in Ha Nam was better acknowledged by citizens in Ha Nam than in Ninh Binh. Currently, Ha Nam province is piloting a separate division in charge of land use right registration to simplify procedures and improve the efficiency in handling administrative procedures for land use rights certificates for land users. Such concrete actions by Ha Nam provincial authorities were rewarding as land users showed their higher satisfaction with the services they received through PAPI when compared with Ninh Binh province. 12
4. Conclusions This paper shows that strong political wills, proactive leadership, adequate investment in human resources and provincial initiatives are factors that make two provinces with similar socio-economic endowments different in their performance of governance and public administration. Findings from our research show that Ninh Binh province performs better in two out of four sub-dimensions measured by PAPI, in particular in public certification services and commune-level administrative procedures for personal documentation thanks to their focused investment in human resources in the public sector. Ninh Binh province also inherits benefits from being proactive in experimenting public administrative reforms. Having noted such factors, Ninh Binh still needs to learn from Ha Nam in terms of the quality of the administrative service on granting land use rights certificates to land users. What makes Ha Nam better perform in this sub-dimension in PAPI may be explained by the province s leaders political wills as shown in their provincial policies to create a more favourable cadastral system for provincial land administrators to function more effectively and efficiently and to serve citizens better. Sharing lessons learnt will be a good way for the two neighboring provinces to make progress in performing their mandated functions in providing good quality public administrative services to citizens. When the two provinces take initiatives in exchanging lessons learnt and good practices with each other, they will learn each other s weaknesses to avoid, and strengths and initiatives to take aboard considering their similarities in socio-economic and political contexts. 13
References - CECODES, VFF-CRT & UNDP (2013). The Viet Nam Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI) 2012: Measuring Citizens Experiences. A Joint Policy Research Paper by Centre for Community Support and Development Studies (CECODES), Centre for Research and Training of the Viet Nam Fatherland Front (VFF- CRT), and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Ha Noi, Viet Nam. Also available at http://www.papi.vn - Ha Nam Statistical Yearbook (2012), Statistical Publishing House - Ha Nam s Department of Home Affair (2012), Report on Human Resource, 2011 - Ha Nam s Department of Finance (2012), Provincial Budget Report, 2011 - Ninh Binh Statistical Yearbook, Statistical Publishing House - Ninh Binh s Department of Home Affair (2012), Report on Human Resource, 2011 - Ninh Binh s Department of Finance (2012), Provincial Budget Report, 2011 - Viet Nam General Statistics Office at http://www.gso.gov.vn/ 14