Digital data: The core of the digital economy 

The Digital Economy is the Focal Point of the 4.0 Revolution 

A few years ago, when Vietnam discussed the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0), I emphasized that the digital economy and related digital technologies must be at the center of Industry 4.0. Within the realm of digital technology, data stands as the most crucial element, whether in the private or public sector. In the digital economy, businesses, especially private enterprises, are the driving force for growth. They are highly dynamic in applying data technologies in business management and operations, as well as utilizing Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI). What remains lacking is how to protect personal data to prevent the misuse of data and violations of personal privacy. 

For the development of a digital government, the core is to use digital data to enhance the effectiveness of the public administration system and its workforce. Vietnam's data system is "born" from large groups such as online public service systems, government-citizen interaction systems, and sectoral or local government databases. The biggest challenge now is how to extract value from data to make governance decisions, apply data to urban planning, and use data to evaluate the performance of individual public officials and government agencies. 

For example, major cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have installed millions of traffic cameras and sensors. The data collected should be used for urban planning, such as predicting which routes have high traffic density or congestion, correlating with population density to plan for schools, healthcare, and more. Similarly, millions of sensors can indicate where there is heavy rainfall, where tidal surges are occurring, flooding conditions, and drainage issues. All of these are digital data. The key challenge is how to use this data effectively, from administrative reform to upgrading public services and urban planning, to better serve the people. 

Of course, to achieve this, it is crucial to "force" different ministries and agencies to share data with each other in order to extract insights from this data. This is a necessary condition. The sufficient condition is ensuring data security. This data often contains personal information, such as healthcare, housing, and utility expenses. Even small data, such as household utility consumption, can reveal private information about a family. Although the law may not yet recognize this data as needing protection, to build trust among citizens, such data must be protected. 

Two Challenges Regarding Data in Public Administration 

A prominent challenge today is that government agencies and ministries lack awareness and concrete plans for how to manage data effectively, especially in terms of safeguarding personal data. 

The most important aspect of digital transformation is connecting data, and there is an urgent need for a proper understanding and national strategy for data extraction. In the short and medium term, effectively utilizing data will help modernize the administrative system, improve governance efficiency, enhance transparency and accountability in public institutions, and enable the state machinery to provide better public services to citizens and businesses. 

In the long term, if there is a strategy and a reasonable approach to "open" data, public sector data could bring significant economic benefits, stimulate startup businesses, create jobs, and enhance the productivity of the economy. 

Despite the promising potential, turning the opportunities offered by technology and data into reality is not easy. The biggest challenges that Vietnam faces at the national, sectoral, and local levels include two key issues. First, there is a lack of a clear vision, accompanied by a specific action plan and a reasonable priority order for data utilization. Second, there is insufficient awareness and planning for ensuring data security, particularly concerning citizens' personal data. 

While there has been good progress in raising awareness about digital transformation, building a digital government at the national level and a digital administration at the local level, ministries and local governments still remain unclear and hesitant about determining specific tasks and priorities. The risk of wasting invested resources and missing out on technological opportunities remains significant.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Dong - Director of Institute for Policy Studies and Media Development

Building and Leveraging Data Effectively 

To overcome the challenges mentioned above, the public sector in Vietnam must urgently identify an approach and establish appropriate priorities for building and extracting value from data systems. The specific tasks that need to be done include: 

Approach and Vision: Establish a vision and goal that places data at the center of the "digital transformation" process within government agencies, fostering a data-driven culture in public service. At the same time, prioritize the safety and privacy of citizens' personal data as a critical element in any task involving data collection, processing, sharing, and utilization within government agencies. 

Data Architecture: Each sector and locality must establish a framework for data architecture and data standards for building a "national" or "local" data repository. The role of ministries, particularly the Information Technology Departments of each ministry, is to standardize data architecture and mechanisms for data utilization within their respective sectors. 

Data Opening Roadmap: The roadmap for data opening should follow a prioritized sequence: starting with internal data sharing between government agencies within the same sector (vertical), within the same locality (horizontal), offering paid access for certain data transactions (such as eKYC validation services), and finally piloting Open Data. 

Private Sector Participation: The involvement of the private sector, especially technology businesses, is key to this process. To facilitate this, the mindset of investing in technology for individual projects must be replaced with a focus on purchasing technology services from private businesses. This will increase investment efficiency, from using cloud services for data storage to implementing data mining technologies, including Big Data and AI. 

Personal Data Protection: Finally, and most importantly, data cannot be opened for external use unless there is a legal framework protecting personal data. Therefore, building a law to protect personal data is the foundation for long-term steps to harness public sector data without violating citizens' privacy or safety. The Ministry of Information and Communications' decision to designate 2023 as "Vietnam's Digital Data Year" is a step in the right direction. To support this initiative, each sector and locality must develop its own strategy, tailored to their specific needs, with a focus on how data can improve their operational efficiency and address key issues.

Nguyen Quang Dong - Institute for Policy Studies and Media Development