4 years of DDCI Thanh Hoa: Preparing for a new step

(Baothanhhoa.vn) - After 4 years of implementation, the Department, Sector and Locality Competitiveness Index (DDCI) has become an important tool for Thanh Hoa to measure the quality of management of departments, sectors and localities, thereby improving the investment and business environment in a practical and sustainable manner. With the preparation step to shift to a 2-level local government model, DDCI is expected to continue to play a leading role in reform, serving the business community more and more substantially.

Food production at Hong Hoa Organic Care Trading and Service Company Limited ( Thanh Hoa City).

From PCI to DDCI: Thanh Hoa has the potential to reach the leading group of the country in reform

While the PCI (Provincial Competitiveness Index) mainly assesses the overall objective, the DDCI approaches from the perspective of enterprises that directly interact with government agencies. This is a major difference that makes the DDCI considered by the business community to be close, practical and have a very clear impact on the local government level.

Ms. Luong Thi Lai, Director of Minh Quang Steel Mesh Company Limited shared: "Over the past 4 years, I have been continuously invited by VCCI to participate in the DDCI assessment. We feel the respect and recognition of the role of enterprises in the reform work of the government more and more clearly".

In 2024, DDCI Thanh Hoa witnessed the active participation of departments, branches, sectors and localities. VCCI Thanh Hoa - Ninh Binh recorded an increase of about 14 - 22% in the number of enterprises accessing the questionnaire, with nearly 8,000 enterprises invited to the survey, accounting for about 30% of the total number of enterprises in the province. This contributed to providing a more objective picture of the actual quality of management. The average scores of departments, branches, sectors and districts all increased compared to 2023, reflecting the wave of reform spreading to the grassroots levels. The increase in surveys and the use of scientific assessment methods helped to truly reflect the actual management situation in 2024.

According to VCCI Vice President Hoang Quang Phong, Thanh Hoa is currently among the three provinces and cities that have made the most efforts in improving the investment and business environment over the past 20 years. This participation in scoring, giving comments and feedback has helped businesses feel that their voices have weight, thereby encouraging the spirit of dialogue and improving the quality of service of administrative agencies. According to Mr. Phong, the active interaction, dialogue and cooperation between the government and the business community are key factors leading to improvements in the business environment in Thanh Hoa. With the foundation achieved, Thanh Hoa has the potential to become one of the leading groups in the country in reforming the business environment.

Preparing for a new phase

2024 is the last year before the district-level administrative apparatus ends. According to Mr. Do Dinh Hieu, Director of VCCI Thanh Hoa - Ninh Binh , an independent survey organization, processing data using scientific methods, strictly confidential, after 4 years of operation, the DDCI Index data has objectively and honestly reflected, showing a clear change in the quality of management. DDCI is not just a ranking result, more importantly, DDCI reflects what businesses are feeling, facing and expecting to improve. This is also a tool for departments, branches and localities to look back at themselves, to "turn pressure into action", thereby drawing lessons, planning more appropriate, practical and effective reform strategies.

The implementation of DDCI has shown that many units have made clear breakthroughs in both rankings and scores. Typical examples are Tho Xuan, Yen Dinh, Hoang Hoa districts... - where leaders have a receptive spirit, receiving and responding well to business information. Notably, in recent years, the general trend is that the scores of districts, towns, departments and branches have all tended to increase. That shows a sign of real reform, not just a response. The index has clearly impacted the management behavior, and more importantly, the service mindset of the civil servant team.

According to Plan No. 91/KH-UBND of the Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee on implementing Directive No. 10/CT-TTg, dated March 25, 2025 of the Prime Minister on promoting the development of small and medium-sized enterprises in the province, from 2025, DDCI will be adjusted to suit the 2-tier local government model. This requires redesigning the index set, reorienting the survey subjects and assessment methods to suit new governance practices.

The Provincial People's Committee also requested VCCI Thanh Hoa - Ninh Binh to proactively research, continue to innovate, and complete the DDCI Project in accordance with the situation of streamlining the organizational apparatus and the 2-level government model in the locality; at the same time, improve the assessment criteria to meet new development requirements. In particular, it is necessary to proactively absorb changes in PCI implementation; strengthen the application of information technology and digital transformation in surveys and assessments, so that the DDCI results are increasingly substantive, objective, and transparent. This will be a "lever", a "push" to promote agencies, units, and localities to compete in administrative reform, improve the investment and business environment, contributing to rapid and sustainable socio-economic development.

According to Mr. Do Dinh Hieu, this adjustment will help DDCI continue to promote its role as a driving force for reform; however, it will be researched and recalculated to properly evaluate and avoid one-sided comparisons, especially unfair comparisons between localities of different sizes; at the same time, adding indicators suitable for the functions and tasks at the grassroots level.

Chairman of Thanh Hoa Provincial Business Association Cao Tien Doan shared: "In addition to the attention of the Party and State on the effort to streamline the apparatus, the lack of organization of district-level government has created major changes in the way the state management apparatus operates, affecting the structure and implementation method of the DDCI Project. However, this is also an opportunity for the DDCI Project in 2025 and the following years to be reviewed and updated promptly to flexibly adapt to the new context. At the same time, continue to promote the role of a tool to measure the effectiveness of local governance, promoting positive changes to serve the production and business of enterprises and people".

In the coming period, when the two-level local government model officially operates, the administrative apparatus at all levels will face many new requirements. DDCI - with its affirmed role - can completely become a tool for substantive reform if it continues to be organized systematically, objectively, and linked with practical improvement actions.

Article and photos: Minh Hang

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/4-nam-ddci-thanh-hoa-chuan-bi-cho-buoc-chuyen-moi-253313.htm