The assessment results of 63 Public Service Portals in 2024 show that localities have made some improvements in providing online public services compared to the 2023 survey results. Many public service portals have achieved a ‘good’ level in the two criteria of ‘Providing Support Information’ and ‘Ease of Use of Search Tools.’
However, according to a study shared at the seminar: ‘Evaluating 63 Provincial Public Service Portals from the User’s Perspective in 2024,’, all 63 public service portals have some inconveniences for users, whether they are civil servants or citizens, especially those in remote, island, or disabled areas.
Therefore, all provinces and cities need to invest in improving the Public Service Portals in many aspects to increase convenience, friendliness, and accessibility to meet the needs of all users.
ONLINE PUBLIC SERVICE PORTAL: CONNECTING THE GOVERNMENT WITH CITIZENS AND BUSINESSES
The thematic seminar “Evaluating 63 Provincial Public Service Portals from the User’s Perspective in 2024” was held this morning (August 21) by the Institute for Policy and Development Communications (IPS) in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Vietnam. This is the second year this research and review have been conducted.
According to Mr. Nguyen Minh Hong, Chairman of the Vietnam Digital Communications Association, in the context of the strong development of digital government, online public service portals play a pivotal role in connecting the state with citizens and businesses. Although there have been improvements since 2021, the percentage of online dossiers is still below expectations, and the quality of services remains limited.
Mr. Nguyen Minh Hong emphasized: “Evaluating public service portals from the user’s perspective is extremely important to ensure that digital transformation meets the needs and expectations of the people.”
According to the evaluation results, in general, the Public Service Portals do not meet the needs of the users and do not achieve the ultimate goal of convenience in administrative procedures. Many users of the Public Service Portal still cannot complete the procedures by themselves and have to rely on direct guidance or the help of civil servants.
Ms. Ramla Khalidi, Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program, said that compared to the 2023 survey results, many localities have upgraded their public service portals to ensure access to online public services for people with disabilities. However, as the study pointed out, it is necessary to further improve online public services to ensure convenience, user-friendliness, and accessibility for all.
The evaluation results also contain valuable implications for improving the accessibility and usefulness of public service portals for all citizens, especially those at risk of being left behind in the digital transformation process.
“Once people and communities in remote, island, and other hard-to-reach areas can easily access administrative services, Vietnam’s administration will become more inclusive,” said Ms. Ramla Khalidi.
One of the reasons for the existing problems with the Public Service Portals is the lack of synchronization between the provincial and national portals, which causes inconvenience for users who have to navigate multiple interfaces during the same service usage.
In addition, the administrative procedures have not been fully disclosed, are not presented in a visible and understandable way, and cannot be tracked on the Public Service Portal. This makes it difficult for users to grasp the steps needed to complete the procedure and track the progress of their dossier.
APPLYING DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY AND DATA CONNECTIVITY TO REMOVE ADMINISTRATIVE BARRIERS
The research results show that up to 60 Public Service Portals do not meet the criteria for protecting personal data and privacy, and 39 portals fall short in terms of accessibility for people with disabilities. Most portals only achieve an average level of compatibility with both computers and smartphones. No portal achieves ‘good’ ratings in more than 50% of the criteria, and the score differences between groups of provinces and cities are insignificant.
However, these issues are just the tip of the iceberg regarding the provision of online public services. One of the root causes of the shortcomings and obstacles is that the procedures and administrative processes are still complex and not fully digitized. Moreover, online public services are still provided on the portals following the procedures and manual, direct implementation instead of being digitized and indirect.
In addition, the technical infrastructure in many localities does not meet the requirements, the capacity of officials and civil servants is uneven, and the measures to support the people are ineffective. These are significant challenges to the widespread deployment of online public services.
To improve the effectiveness of the Public Service Portals and enhance the provision of online public services, the research report has made recommendations ranging from specific improvements to changing the mindset in the digital environment, putting users at the center.
First, the provinces and cities need to review and fix technical errors on the Public Service Portals, ensuring efficiency, substance, and transparency of information to enhance convenience, accessibility, and user-friendliness, especially for ethnic minorities, the elderly, and people with disabilities.
The capacity of the team of officials, civil servants, and employees in deploying and providing online public services needs to be improved, along with raising awareness among the people about the convenience of the Public Service Portals and online public services.
According to the research report, the most important thing is the need to change the mindset about the digital environment, focusing on building policies and deploying online public services from the perspective of “digital governance.” This perspective emphasizes promoting natural interactions in the digital environment between service providers and online public service users.
Digital technology and data connectivity should be applied flexibly to remove administrative barriers while ensuring effective data sharing and connectivity. Legal documents related to procedures and administrative processes need to be amended to be more suitable for the digital environment.
It is also necessary to focus on the implementation of administrative procedures without territorial boundaries. In the future, towards 2030, it is possible to establish a national focal point to provide online public services through a single, unified Public Service Portal.
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