Public Administration Reform (PAR) has a long history in Vietnam, starting in the mid-nineties, and continuing to this day. SIPU has for fifteen years supported these efforts through a number of projects financed by different donors.
The Norwegian-financed project to support public administration
reform in Ninh Binh Province started in 1998 with Phase I and ended
officially after just short of 12 years with an end review meeting
and ceremony for Phase II in October 2011. 
SIPU has been involved one way or the other since the beginning,
from providing technical inputs to civil servant training
curriculum and method reform to supporting the province in
implementing Phase II by providing the Chief Technical Advisor and
Deputy Chief Technical Advisor.
The project covered key areas of public administration reform,
including providing service delivery through one-stop shops,
strengthening capacity and organization of grassroots
authorities, improving poverty alleviation services, making
all three levels of local government more effective and
operationally coherent, increasing participation of women at all
three levels, as well as improving monitoring and inspection under
the grassroots democracy decree.
The project is considered to have been one of the most
successful and innovative public administration reform projects in
Vietnam and has attracted interest from other provinces as well
from central government.
Images - Top above: Integrated Social
Affairs One Stop Shop. Right above: Performance from the closing
ceremony