Dong Nai achieves breakthrough in administrative reform, joins nation’s top tier

The recently announced results of the 2025 Public Administration Reform Index (PAR INDEX) and the Satisfaction Index of Public Administrative Services (SIPAS) highlighted a strong breakthrough by Dong Nai City as it rose into the country’s top ranks.

The results clearly reflect improvements in governance quality and public services for residents and businesses following the restructuring of administrative units and the operation of the two-tier local government model.

Significant progress across reform areas

According to the evaluation results, Dong Nai achieved a PAR INDEX score of 93.1%, ranking third among 34 provinces and cities nationwide. Compared to 2024, when Vietnam had 64 provinces and cities, the locality gained 2.41 percentage points and climbed five places, moving from eighth position into the national leading group.

Several component indices recorded particularly high scores, including 99.95% for administrative reform direction and management, 97.79% for administrative procedure reform, 95.53% for organizational restructuring reform and 95.93% for public financial reform.

Nguyen Van Ut, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee, now Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee and Chairman of the Dong Nai City People’s Committee, visits and encourages officials and civil servants at the city’s Public Administrative Service Center after the 2026 Lunar New Year holiday. Photo: Cong Nghia

Notably, Dong Nai’s SIPAS score in 2025 reached 87.16%, ranking third among 34 provinces and cities. Compared to 2024, the index increased by 4.75 percentage points and jumped 42 places in the rankings.

The results demonstrate continued improvements in governance and administrative management at all levels, while also reflecting growing satisfaction among residents and businesses toward state administrative agencies.

One of the most notable highlights in Dong Nai’s administrative reform efforts has been the decisive, consistent and synchronized leadership and management from the city level down to grassroots authorities. Administrative reform has been identified as a key task associated with building digital government, promoting digital transformation and improving service quality for residents and businesses.

During many working sessions with departments and agencies on administrative reform, Nguyen Van Ut, Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee and Chairman of the city People’s Committee, repeatedly stressed that reform efforts must be implemented comprehensively, decisively and substantively, with practical effectiveness serving as the key measure. Administrative reform not only creates greater convenience for residents and businesses, but also contributes to improving the investment environment and enhancing competitiveness. Therefore, administrative discipline and order must be strictly strengthened throughout the entire system.

During the transition from the provincial model to city administration and the operation of the two-tier local government system, city leaders also required that management, administration and public services for residents and businesses must not be disrupted under any circumstances. The new apparatus must operate smoothly, continuously and effectively without generating additional procedures or requiring residents and businesses to change personal documents unless necessary.

Youth union members in Tam Hiep ward assist residents with online administrative procedures at the ward’s Public Administrative Service Center. Photo: Hai Quan

That spirit of decisive leadership quickly spread to grassroots levels and created clear improvements in public service implementation. In 2025, Binh Phuoc ward was recognized as the leading locality in the PAR INDEX rankings among 95 wards and communes classified as outstanding performers. The ward also ranked first at the commune and ward level in service quality assessment under Decision No. 766/QD-TTg.

Ngo Hong Khang, Deputy Party Secretary and Chairman of the People’s Committee of Binh Phuoc ward, said the locality consistently identifies administrative reform as a central and long-term task involving the entire political system, with residents and businesses placed at the center and their satisfaction serving as the measure of service quality. He directly supervises the processing of administrative applications and the handling of citizens’ feedback, while administrative reform outcomes are linked with evaluations of officials and civil servants.

Alongside Binh Phuoc ward, many grassroots reform models have also generated positive impacts with a stronger focus on serving residents. In Binh Minh commune, for example, the “No-appointment Friday” model introduced in October 2025 has produced clear results.

Under the model, every Friday, procedures such as marriage registration, certification of marital status, issuance of civil status copies and death registration are processed and completed on the same day if all required documents are valid, without the need for appointment slips.

“The model is considered an important step toward building a service-oriented administration and developing a friendly, professional and modern government,” said Pham Thi Le Thuy, Vice Chairwoman of the Binh Minh commune People’s Committee.

Phi Thai Thanh, a resident of Binh Minh commune, shared: “When I came to complete marriage registration procedures under the ‘No-appointment Friday’ model, I was quite surprised by how quickly the documents were processed. Officials provided enthusiastic guidance and I did not have to travel back and forth as before, which is very convenient for residents.”

Building a modern, service-oriented administration

Alongside improving service quality, Dong Nai has also recorded notable achievements in restructuring its administrative apparatus.

At a conference reviewing one year of implementing the two-tier local government model on May 8, Nguyen Huu Dinh, Member of the City Party Committee, Director of the Department of Home Affairs, said that following the National Assembly’s Resolution No. 202/2025/QH15 on the merger of the former Dong Nai and Binh Phuoc provinces to establish the new Dong Nai province, now Dong Nai City, the locality quickly reorganized its apparatus under the principle of being streamlined, efficient, effective and high-performing.

Traffic police officers guide residents in carrying out administrative procedures at the Dong Nai City Public Administrative Service Center. Photo: Ho Thao

Following the restructuring, the city-level apparatus now consists of 14 departments and one administrative organization, reducing specialized agency units by 50%, while the number of professional divisions has fallen by more than 45%.

At the grassroots level, 95 communes and wards have completed organizational restructuring, establishing 380 specialized divisions and public administrative service centers, while maintaining stable operations for more than 1,200 public service units. The clearer delineation of functions, duties and authority has helped overcome overlapping responsibilities, reduce intermediary layers, improve state management efficiency and enhance public service quality.

The Resolution of the first Congress of the Dong Nai Provincial Party Committee (now City Party Committee) for the 2025-2030 term identified three strategic breakthroughs: science and technology development, innovation and digital transformation, and administrative reform.

The Resolution emphasizes the need to accelerate administrative reform and build a professional, modern, effective and efficient administration that serves residents and businesses while promoting digital government, the digital economy and digital society.

Meanwhile, administrative procedure reform linked with digital transformation has continued to produce positive results. According to the Dong Nai City Public Administrative Service Center, all administrative procedures across the city have now been implemented under a non-administrative boundary model, allowing residents to complete procedures at any locality within the city regardless of their place of residence.

Currently, the city has more than 2,100 administrative procedures handled under the one-stop-shop and interconnected one-stop-shop mechanisms, with all eligible procedures officially implemented without administrative boundary restrictions.

From July 2025 through the end of the first quarter of 2026, the city processed more than 1.1 million location-independent administrative dossiers with a very high on-time settlement rate.

As Dong Nai officially becomes a city, these achievements in administrative reform carry even greater significance. They not only help ensure the stable and smooth operation of the new administrative apparatus, but also lay an important foundation for building a modern urban government, improving public service quality and enhancing the locality’s competitiveness in a new stage of development.

By Ho Thao - Translated by M.Nguyet, Thu Ha