Seminar “Bringing Citizens into the Digital Environment: Enhancing Information Delivery and Interaction Effectiveness through Local Government e-Portals” 

On November 30, 2022, under the auspices of the Vietnam Digital Communications Association (VDCA), IPS organized the seminar 'Bringing Citizens to the Digital Environment: Enhancing Information Delivery and Interaction Effectiveness through Local Government e-Portals'. The seminar was held both at the venue and virtually.

There were 71 delegates participating in attendance and 174 delegates attending virtually. Attendees included representatives from three agencies (the Department of Information and Communications, the Department of Justice, and the offices of provincial-level People's Committee) from 63 provinces and cities, along with representatives from the Ministry of Information and Communications, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, and the Office of the Government.

The seminar also attracted the participation of research units and socio-political organizations such as the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, the Institute of Leadership and Public Policy - Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, the Institute for Legislative Studies - The Standing Committee of the National Assembly, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Vietnam, Oxfam, the Center for Education Promotion and Empowerment of Women (CEPEW), the Coalition for Clean Water, the Coalition for Minerals etc., along with reporters and journalists from various media outlets and television stations in Vietnam.

With the spirit of 'where the people are, the government is there', the seminar aimed to effectively and flexibly leverage some platforms, such as social networks and smart applications, instead of solely confining in the realm of e-portals. The research also recommended that provinces and cities expedite the review and reduction of technical barriers and design interfaces with a user-centered approach.

According to the assessment of the Institute of Leadership and Public Policy - Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, the reality in many provinces shows that "digital transformation" is currently at the "computerization" stage rather than full "digitization". On the one hand, citizens are still required to submit hard copies of documents, while on the other hand, they must also complete online procedures. Similarly, the workload is doubled when the government has to store physical documents while manually inputting data into systems.

Furthermore, IPS specifically focuses on analyzing two key factors determining the interaction between citizens and the government through e-portals. The report reaffirms the relatively low interaction effectiveness and lack of standardization among provinces in reviewed categories, from nomenclature to access positions on the e-portal, as well as the manner in which categories are presented.

From a user experience perspective, focusing on the interaction between the government and citizens, IPS proposes the need for specific guidelines to clarify the requirements outlined in Decree 42/2022/NĐ-CP, especially in search tools, leveraging social media for information dissemination, enabling organizations and individuals to provide online satisfaction ratings, protecting personal data, and evaluating citizens' interaction metrics on e-portals. Furthermore, it's crucial to involve local authorities in understanding and addressing the needs and challenges of the public.

In line with the mindset of assessing online information provision services and placing citizens at its center, IPS hopes that the insights shared in the seminar will serve as a reference for government bodies and local authorities to enhance the effectiveness of interaction in e-portals and unify standardization to build the digital government brand of Vietnam.