STRENGTHENING COMPETENCE IN MAKING PLAN OF SOCIO – ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN PERIOD AT LOCAL LEVEL Presented by Mr. Ngo Sy Bich Vice Director Bac Ninh Department of Planning and Investment

I. CHALLENGES IN MAKING PLAN SOCIO – ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AT LOCAL LEVEL 1. Traditional process: Step 1: Preparing conditions to prepare socio – economic development plan at local level. Setting up key team and identify participants. Drafting planning framework based on development status forecasting to develop indicator frame in making plan.

Step 2: Planning Analyzing, evaluating the socio – economic development potential and current status. Defining SWOT Defining objectives, targets: Vision; goals, plan. Defining options and solutions: - Setting up, evaluating, selecting options; - Implementation solutions.

Step 3: Developing action plan and organizing implementation: Developing action plan: Identifying participants; Determining resources; Specifying time frame for action. Implementation Planning: Setting up apparatus; Defining mechanism and demand of resources to implement.

Step 4:Monitoring and evaluation planning Developing monitoring framework and resources to implement; Evaluation Planning.

2. Challenges: 2.1. Human Resources: - Quantity of plan- makers remains small. - Planning has not been focused and invested appropriately (specially at district level) Gap of level, competence between different levels and industries: - Gap of level, competence between different levels and industries is large. Lack of capacity to develop plan. - Forecasting, summarizing and evaluating competences are limited.

2.3. Coordinating relation among departments, industries and localities: - Loose relation, especially in planning, reporting and evaluating. - Reports mainly based on document model (slow and inadequate information) Difficulty in mobilizing resources to implement: + Limited State Budget resource. + Mechanism of mobilizing and utilizing other resources is difficult.

2.5. Mechanism in monitoring, evaluating effectiveness of investment projects: + Not paying attention to monitoring and evaluation, mainly based on traditional method. + Not implementing exactly all steps in monitoring and evaluating process, as well as not having participation of beneficiary.

II. RESULTS OF MAKING PLAN OF SOCIO – ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INTEGRATED TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. 1. Achieved results: In the process of developing and implementing short-term, middle-term and long – term plans on socio – economic development, Bac Ninh province has implemented correctly the process of developing socio – economic development plan on a basis of integration of sustainable development criteria. - Establishing Steering Committee to build Agenda 21st of Bac Ninh province. - Promulgating sustainable development strategy of Bac Ninh province in period oriented to 2020.

Results: 1.1. In terms of economy: - Building and developping industrial parks and clusters linking with urban development oriented to modernization. Using effectively resources and improving integration capacity. - Implementing programs on improving, building road network, power and water supply systems,etc. - Focusing on service economy development; development cooperation with Ha Noi capital and northern key economic zone in order to impulse economic development, economic structure transformation oriented to industrialization and modernization (in 2010, proposition on industry – construction: 64,8%; on service: 24,2% and on agriculture: 11%).

1.2. In terms of socio – culture: - Reducing poverty rate (4,5% in 2010), creating employment and social welfare. Enhancing education, vocational training; improving education and training quality of human resources. - Healthcare for people is paid more attention. Ensuring social equality: all social classes benefit from healthcare service. - Implementing effectively welfare policy. - Improving awareness of preservation and promotion of value of cultural historical monuments.

1.3. In terms of environment protection: - Exploiting effectively and sustainably land and water resources; conserving ecological diversification, protecting environment. - Improving competence and effectiveness in managing rubbish. Treating strictly units causing seriously environmental pollution. Speeding up program of anti-pollution, controlling environmental problems in urban areas, industrial zones and clusters, tourism area and high – risk polluted places. - Controlling and treating environmental pollution in small and medium industrial zones, clusters, craft villages and clusters. Planning places and areas treating rubbish in districts, town, city in Bac Ninh province. Cooperating with the international organizations in protecting environment.

2. Drawbacks: + Quality of making plan, monitoring and evaluating is limited. + Growth effectiveness is not high, resources are not fully exploited effectively. + Rapid economic structure transformation but not really sustainably internal industry (In agricultural sector: shift to breeding and aquaculture proportion is slow. In industrial sector: outwork plays big proportion, manufacturing industry and sub-industry account for low proportion). + Polluted environment at craft villages are solved slowly. + Resources invested in building rural areas according new criteria are limited, not satisfy demand.

3. Challenges in implementation: - Quantity and Quality of maker of planning, monitoring and evaluating are short and limited. - Financial resources is limited, financial policy mechanism is trully open to facilitate attraction and mobilization of resources such as ODA, FDI, NGO and the others. - Monitoring community is not attached great importance. - Decentralized administration has made great progress but still has problem in implementation.

III. PROPOSALS: - Organizing training courses to improve competence for plan maker of socio – economic development, maker of monitoring, evaluation and synthesizing. - Enhancing solutions coordinating all levels, industries in making plan, monitoring and evaluation; applying IT in building and implementing socio-economic development plan. - Reinforcing information and communications on socio- economic development plan at locality, facilitate community to monitor the implementation process in order to ensure the publicity and transparency. - Continuing decentralized administration in making plan, implementing, monitoring and evaluating on socio-economic development plan. - Widening the participation of economic elements in making, implementing socio-economic development plan.

Thank you Bac Ninh Department of Planning and Investment. Add: No.6, Ly Thai To street, Suoi Hoa ward, Bac Ninh city, Bac Ninh province. Tel: Fax: Website: