In response to the findings of the Report on socio-economic development in 2014 and major tasks for 2015, the Government of Vietnam re-emphasized highest-level political demand for improved transparency, accountability and responsiveness in the public sector and a significant reduction in corruption and wastefulness.

In that perspective, to deliver effective public administration reform as a means of improving social, economic and administrative service delivery and increasing citizen satisfaction with government performance is a priority for political leadership at all levels. More transparent, accountable and responsive local governance is seen as a necessary condition for the successful implementation of the National SEDS (2011-2020). This requires on-going, two-way, government-citizen dialogue so that areas of performance shortfall can be identified and addressed and the adequacy of policies can be critically assessed and refined as necessary.

The project design is based on a thorough analysis of the national and specific provincial context with regard to government-citizen interactions at policy and operational level. It also builds on previous experiences of Belgian governmental cooperation in the province through the Poverty Reduction through Institutional Strengthening (PORIS) project, and its contribution to the improvement of socio-economic planning & development practice in a decentralized framework. Notwithstanding the demonstrated commitment of provincial authorities, and continuous efforts made to improve local government performance and service delivery, a number of challenges remain to be overcome for a more responsive and accountable local governance in Nghe An province.