2025 Review of Provincial E-Service Portals from a User Perspective: Recommendations for the Transition Period

Executive Summary

The year 2025 marks a turning point in institutional reform, administrative reform, and digital transformation in Vietnam. One of the significant changes related to the provision of online public administrative services (OPAS) is the consolidation of all OPAS platforms into a single National Public Service Portal. This means that local authorities will no longer maintain provincial-level Public Service Portal interfaces from 1 July 2025. This is also a crucial decision to serve the two-tier local government model after the merger of provincial-level administrative units from 63 down to 34 units, eliminating district-level governments, and reducing the number of commune-level units from over 10,000 to 3,321 communes, wards, and special zones. Additionally, the government is committed to continuing to simplify administrative procedures to reduce the burden on citizens and businesses in this new context.

In this historic transitional context, to contribute to the Government's efforts to improve the provision of online public administrative services (OPAS), the Institute for Policy Studies and Media Development (IPS) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Viet Nam jointly conducted the third user-centric review of Provincial E-Service Portals (PESP) in 2025. This review aimed to identify existing shortcomings and avoid replicating them on the national platform, highlight good practices from localities, and propose policy and practical recommendations to enhance the effectiveness and user-friendliness of a national user-centric OPAS provision system.