DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN PUBLIC GOVERNANCE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL GOVERNMENT

This article examines the fundamental theoretical dimensions of digital transformation in public governance, the transition from e-government to digital government, and the current state of its implementation. Based on an analysis of major systemic barriers and challenges - including institutional constraints, data infrastructure, human resource capacity and information security - the study proposes a comprehensive set of policy recommendations to optimize the development of digital government. The ultimate objective is to establish a modern, transparent, enabling and citizen-centered system of public governance.

Keywords: Digital transformation; Public governance; Digital government; Digital data; Digital institutions.

I. INTRODUCTION

The global landscape in the third decade of the twenty-first century has witnessed unprecedented advances in digital technologies. The rapid development of disruptive technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data, Cloud Computing, Blockchain and the Internet of Things (IoT) has fundamentally reshaped economic structures, social interactions and the operational mechanisms of national governance systems. In this context, traditional models of public governance have increasingly revealed their limitations in responding to the accelerating pace and growing complexity of contemporary societal changes. Consequently, governments worldwide face an urgent need to undertake comprehensive digital transformation within the public sector, shifting from a conventional “government as administrator” model toward a digital government that is enabling, responsive and service-oriented.

Digital transformation in public governance extends far beyond the mere application of digital technologies or the digitization of existing administrative procedures. Rather, it represents a profound transformation in governance philosophy, organizational structures, data-driven decision-making mechanisms and the modes of interaction between the state, citizens and businesses. In Vietnam, the strategic significance of this transformation has been consistently emphasized by the Communist Party and the Government through a series of key policy documents, most notably Resolution No. 52-NQ/TW of the Politburo and Decision No. 749/QD-TTg issued by the Prime Minister approving the National Digital Transformation Program to 2025, with a Vision toward 2030.

Nevertheless, the implementation process has exposed numerous theoretical and practical issues that require rigorous academic examination. Addressing these challenges is essential to identifying an optimal pathway for digital transformation while avoiding technological lock-in, inefficient resource allocation and unnecessary waste of national resources.

II. THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN PUBLIC GOVERNANCE AND DIGITAL GOVERNMENT

2.1. The concept of digital transformation in the public sector

To fully understand the nature of digital transformation in public governance, it is essential to distinguish among three closely related concepts that represent different stages of development.

a) Digitization: Digitization refers to the process of converting information from physical formats (such as paper documents, official records and maps) into digital formats (electronic files) to facilitate storage, management and retrieval.

b) Digitalization: Digitalization is the application of digital technologies and digitized data to improve or partially automate existing business processes without fundamentally altering the underlying governance model.

c) Digital Transformation: Digital transformation is a comprehensive process through which individuals and organizations fundamentally change the way they live, work and create value by leveraging digital technologies. Within the public sector, digital transformation entails a complete redesign of governance models, administrative processes, institutional functions, and public service delivery based on digital technologies and data-driven governance, thereby creating new forms of public value.

2.2. The Transition from E-Government to digital government

The evolution from e-government to digital government represents a fundamental shift in the philosophy of modern public governance. This transformation can be examined from five key dimensions.

- Core objectives

+ E-government: Focuses on digitizing public services, replacing paper-based records with electronic records and optimizing internal administrative processes.

+ Digital government: Seeks to transform the government's operating model, redesign public services around citizens’ needs and experiences and generate new public value through data.

- Governance orientation

+ E-government: Adopts an inward-looking approach in which government agencies are the primary focus, with technology serving administrative operations.

+ Digital government: Embraces a user-centric approach that places citizens and businesses at the center of governance, with technology functioning as an enabler of co-creation between government and society.

- The role of data

+ E-government: Data are fragmented and isolated within individual ministries, sectors and local authorities, creating institutional “data silos”.

+ Digital government: Data are regarded as a strategic national asset, shared seamlessly across agencies under the principle of “open by default” thereby enabling integrated public services and evidence-based governance.

- Decision-making mechanisms

+ E-government: Decision-making primarily relies on administrative experience, subjective judgment or periodically aggregated reports.

+ Digital government: Decision-making is driven by real-time data, advanced analytics and predictive intelligence (data-driven decision-making).

- Operational structure

+ E-government: Operates through siloed organizational structures characterized by rigid hierarchical administration.

+ Digital government: Functions through interconnected, agile and platform-based governance networks, commonly referred to as Government as a Platform (GaaP).

2.3. Fundamental principles of digital government

Experiences from leading digital governments worldwide suggest that successful digital government is built upon several fundamental principles.

a) Digital by design: Public policies, administrative procedures and public services should be conceived and designed primarily for the digital environment from the outset, rather than being developed through traditional methods and subsequently adapted to digital technologies.

b) Once-only principle: Citizens and businesses should be required to provide the same information to government agencies only once. Public authorities are responsible for securely sharing and reusing data across institutions to process administrative procedures efficiently.

c) Open and connected: Government information systems should achieve interoperability through common technical standards, shared digital platforms and unified enterprise architectures, enabling seamless data exchange and inter-agency collaboration.

2.4. Security and privacy (Secure by design)

The protection of citizens' privacy and national information security should be embedded into the architecture of digital systems from the earliest stages of design rather than being treated as an additional feature after system development. Adopting a secure-by-design approach is essential for ensuring public trust, safeguarding critical digital infrastructure and promoting the sustainable development of digital government.

III. THE CURRENT STATE OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN PUBLIC GOVERNANCE IN VIETNAM

Vietnam has made remarkable progress and achieved significant milestones in its journey toward building a digital government, laying a solid foundation for the development of a digital economy and a digital society.

3.1. Major achievements and breakthroughs

a. Strengthening the institutional and legal framework: Vietnam has witnessed a substantial shift in awareness of digital transformation at both the central and local levels. The legal and regulatory framework has been progressively strengthened through the enactment of key legislative instruments, including the Law on Electronic Transactions (revised in 2023), the Law on Telecommunications (revised in 2023) and Decree No. 13/2023/ND-CP on Personal Data Protection, together with a series of national strategies and policy initiatives promoting digital transformation.

b. Significant progress in digital infrastructure and national databases: One of the most notable achievements is the establishment and effective operation of the National Population Database, administered by the Ministry of Public Security. This database serves as the “backbone” of Vietnam’s digital government by providing a unified platform for citizen identification, authentication and data integration. In parallel, other national databases - including those on business registration, social insurance, land administration and taxation have been progressively developed and interconnected. Project 06 has become a major catalyst for promoting inter-agency data sharing and integration on an unprecedented scale in Vietnam’s public administration.

c. Improving public service delivery through the National Public Service Portal: The National Public Service Portal has been integrated with all ministries, central agencies, and local governments, providing thousands of fully online and partially online public services. The rapid increase in the proportion of online administrative applications has generated substantial economic and social benefits by saving billions of Vietnamese dong, reducing the time and travel costs incurred by citizens and businesses and minimizing opportunities for petty corruption in administrative procedures.

d. The emergence of intelligent governance systems: Many ministries, provinces, and centrally governed cities have established and operated Intelligent Operations Centers (IOCs). These platforms provide government leaders with real-time, comprehensive and visualized information on socio-economic activities, thereby enhancing evidence-based policymaking, monitoring and administrative decision-making.

3.2. Existing limitations, challenges and bottlenecks

Despite these significant achievements, digital transformation in Vietnam’s public governance continues to face numerous challenges and systemic constraints.

a. Persistent data fragmentation and institutional silos: Although Vietnam has established the National Document Exchange Platform and the National Data Exchange Platform (NDXP), data fragmentation and institutional silos remain major obstacles. Many ministries and agencies continue to manage data as isolated institutional assets, resulting in limited interoperability and restricted data sharing. In many cases, government agencies have developed proprietary software systems without providing Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for integration with local authorities, leading to duplicated data collection, unnecessary expenditures and reduced administrative efficiency.

b. Limited user experience in online public services: Many online public services merely replicate traditional paper-based administrative procedures in a digital environment rather than redesigning services from a user-centered perspective. Complex user interfaces, administrative terminology that is difficult for ordinary citizens to understand and technical problems associated with digital signatures and electronic payments continue to hinder service accessibility. Consequently, many citizens still prefer to visit one-stop administrative service centers in person to receive assistance.

c. Uneven digital capacity among public officials: The digital competencies of public officials remain uneven, particularly at the grassroots level, including commune- and ward-level administrations. A considerable proportion of civil servants lack both digital mindsets and the technological skills required for digital governance. As a result, digital systems are often operated according to traditional administrative practices. In some cases, officials perform duplicate work by processing records electronically while simultaneously maintaining paper-based documentation and approval procedures, thereby increasing rather than reducing administrative workloads.

d. Growing risks to cybersecurity and information security

The concentration of large-scale government data has made public information systems increasingly attractive targets for cyberattacks, cyber espionage, and ransomware. Recent incidents involving personal data breaches and cyberattacks targeting financial institutions, energy infrastructure and public-sector organizations underscore the vulnerability of Vietnam’s digital infrastructure. These incidents highlight the urgent need to strengthen cybersecurity governance, improve data protection mechanisms and enhance the resilience of national digital systems against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.

IV. CORE CHALLENGES IN BUILDING DIGITAL GOVERNMENT

To formulate effective and sustainable policy solutions, it is essential to gain a thorough understanding of the fundamental challenges confronting the development of digital government.

4.1. Challenges related to institutions and the legal framework

Institutional development inevitably lags behind the rapid pace of technological advancement. At present, Vietnam has yet to establish a comprehensive legal framework that fully recognizes the legal validity of administrative decisions generated autonomously by Artificial Intelligence (AI). Likewise, there is no well-defined regulatory mechanism governing fee-based data sharing or data contributions from the private sector. Furthermore, legal provisions on privacy protection remain incomplete in the era of big data and pervasive digital connectivity.

In addition, regulations governing public investment in information and communication technology (ICT) projects continue to follow conventional public investment procedures designed for physical infrastructure projects. As a result, lengthy approval processes often delay project implementation, causing approved technologies to become obsolete before deployment.

4.2. Challenges related to technological infrastructure and data governance

Digital transformation requires the establishment of a unified national data architecture. However, disparities in network infrastructure, the capacity of provincial data centers and the availability of cloud computing platforms have created significant differences in digital readiness across localities.

More importantly, Vietnam still lacks a comprehensive national strategy for data governance capable of addressing fundamental questions such as: Who owns public data? Who has the authority to access and utilize these data? What standards should govern data cleansing, standardization, quality assurance and interoperability? Without a coherent data governance framework, the effective sharing and strategic utilization of public data remain difficult to achieve.

4.3. Challenges related to organizational culture and human resources

The greatest challenge to digital transformation is not technology itself, but rather people and organizational culture. Within the public sector, resistance to change, risk-averse attitudes, concerns about losing control and the protection of institutional interests among some public officials constitute invisible yet deeply entrenched barriers to reform.

Another critical issue is the persistent brain drain in the public sector. Existing compensation and incentive mechanisms are generally unable to compete with those offered by the private sector, making it difficult to attract and retain highly qualified ICT professionals, data architects, artificial intelligence specialists and cybersecurity experts who are essential to the successful implementation of digital government.

4.4. Challenges Related to the Digital Divide

An inclusive digital government must ensure that no one is left behind. One of the most pressing challenges is the digital divide arising from unequal access to digital infrastructure and technological capabilities between urban areas and remote, mountainous, border and island regions, as well as among different demographic groups, particularly older adults and persons with disabilities.

If public services are delivered exclusively through digital channels without appropriate support mechanisms, a significant proportion of socially vulnerable citizens may be excluded from accessing essential public services and social welfare benefits. Therefore, bridging the digital divide should be regarded not only as a technological priority but also as a matter of social equity and inclusive public governance.

V. STRATEGIC SOLUTIONS FOR ADVANCING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN PUBLIC GOVERNANCE

To comprehensively address existing bottlenecks and advance the development of digital government toward a more substantive and sustainable stage, a coordinated implementation of the following strategic solutions is required.

5.1. Strengthening digital institutions and an enabling policy framework

a. Advancing digital legislation: Priority should be given to developing and enacting legal instruments governing emerging relationships in the digital environment. In particular, the promulgation of a Law on Personal Data Protection and a Law on Digital Government is essential to establish a comprehensive legal foundation for data-driven governance and the operation of a digital state.

b. Reforming public investment mechanisms for digital technologies: The management of public investment in information and communication technology (ICT) and digital transformation projects should be fundamentally reformed. Rather than relying on the traditional model of one-time procurement of ICT assets, public agencies should increasingly adopt ICT-as-a-Service models. At the same time, risk-based regulatory approaches should be piloted through regulatory sandbox mechanisms to facilitate the testing of innovative technologies and governance solutions, such as AI-powered virtual assistants for civil servants and blockchain-based systems for document authentication and traceability.

c. Business Process Reengineering (BPR): Before introducing digital technologies, administrative procedures should undergo comprehensive review and simplification. Administrative processes should be redesigned to eliminate unnecessary procedures, promote horizontal integration among government agencies and replace fragmented, jurisdiction-based administrative practices with streamlined and interoperable workflows.

5.2. Building a unified and open national data architecture

a. Strict implementation of the once-only Principle: Data sharing and interoperability through the National Data Exchange Platform (NDXP) should be strengthened in a substantive and effective manner. Government agencies should be prohibited from requesting citizens or businesses to resubmit information that already exists within interconnected national databases.

b. Developing shared data repositories and open data platforms: Government agencies should proactively classify and publish non-confidential public datasets, including spatial planning information, socio-economic statistics, climate data and transportation information through national Open Data platforms. Expanding access to public data will not only enhance government transparency and accountability but also stimulate innovation, support evidence-based research and encourage the development of value-added digital services by the private sector.

c. Applying Artificial Intelligence to data analytics: Public-sector data management should evolve beyond simple storage toward intelligent data processing. Artificial Intelligence (AI) should be utilized to identify trends, forecast societal demands and detect emerging issues in economic governance, urban management, healthcare and education. Such applications would provide policymakers with real-time, evidence-based insights to support more informed and timely decision-making.

5.3. Developing modern digital infrastructure and ensuring robust cybersecurity

a. Implementing a government cloud strategy: Vietnam should accelerate the development of a shared Government Cloud infrastructure serving public-sector agencies. A unified cloud platform would improve operational efficiency, reduce infrastructure and maintenance costs, facilitate resource sharing and ensure greater technical consistency across government institutions.

b. Strengthening cybersecurity through a defense-in-depth strategy: Information security should be reinforced by adopting a defense-in-depth cybersecurity architecture based on the Zero Trust security model, under which no user, device, or system is automatically trusted regardless of whether it operates inside or outside the government network. In parallel, investment should be expanded in Security Operations Centers (SOCs) capable of providing continuous 24/7 monitoring, threat detection and incident response. Regular cybersecurity exercises and resilience testing should also be conducted across public-sector information systems to enhance preparedness against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.

5.4. Developing digital human resources and transforming administrative culture

a. Enhancing the digital competencies of public officials: Digital competencies, cybersecurity awareness, and data-driven governance should become mandatory components of training and professional development programs for public officials at all levels. Leaders of public institutions should play a pioneering role in promoting digital transformation and be held directly accountable for the effectiveness of digital transformation initiatives within their respective organizations.

b. Attracting and retaining high-quality digital talent: Special incentive mechanisms and flexible, innovation-oriented working environments should be established to attract and retain highly qualified ICT professionals, data scientists, AI specialists and cybersecurity experts within the public sector. In addition, Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) should be further promoted to leverage expertise and technological capabilities from leading technology enterprises in the design, implementation and operation of digital government infrastructure.

c. Bridging the digital divide and placing citizen experience at the center of digital government:

- Diversifying service delivery channels: Digital government should complement rather than replace conventional service channels in order to ensure equitable access for vulnerable groups. Online public services should adopt a Super App approach characterized by intuitive interfaces, simplified procedures, and mobile-first design. AI-powered Vietnamese voice assistants should also be integrated to support ethnic minority communities, visually impaired users and other disadvantaged groups.

- Strengthening the role of community digital technology teams: The nationwide network of Community Digital Technology Teams should continue to be expanded and enhanced at the village, residential cluster, and neighborhood levels. These teams can provide direct assistance to citizens by improving digital literacy, supporting the use of online public services, facilitating the adoption of digital identity systems, promoting e-commerce participation and encouraging cashless payment practices.

- Making citizen satisfaction the principal performance indicator: An automated system should be established to measure citizen and business satisfaction immediately after the use of public services through real-time performance indicators. Evaluation results should be publicly disclosed and incorporated as a mandatory criterion in assessing institutional performance and the accountability of leaders of public agencies, thereby reinforcing transparency, responsiveness and citizen-centered governance.

VI. CONCLUSION

Digital transformation in public governance and the development of digital government should not be regarded as a fixed destination but rather as a continuous evolutionary process through which national administrative systems adapt to an increasingly dynamic and technology-driven environment. This transformation represents a comprehensive undertaking that requires sustained commitment, strong political leadership at the highest levels of government, effective coordination among public officials responsible for implementation, and the active participation of citizens, businesses and society as a whole.

The essence of digital government lies not in the sophistication of technologies or digital infrastructure, but in a governance philosophy that prioritizes public service, transparency, efficient allocation of national resources and public trust in government institutions. Effectively addressing the fundamental challenges related to institutional reform, data governance, human capital and cybersecurity will not only enable Vietnam to establish a modern, enabling and sustainable digital government but also generate new drivers of economic growth and strengthen the country's capacity to confidently enter a new era of national development and prosperity.

Dr. Nguyen Xuan Dong

REFERENCES

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