Community Participation Process and Public Administration Reforms in Vietnam: Obstacles and Challenges

Abstract

After adopting the ‘Doi Moi’ policy, Vietnam Government has been trying to reform the administrative institutions at all levels, transferring some tasks and functions from the central government to lower levels. Especially, Vietnam began to decentralize public administrations and create the initiative foundation for cultivating grassroots democracy. The result is that in many localities of Vietnam, people and communities began to participate in decision making process for planning, implementing and monitoring of their development projects in the field of housing and infrastructures step by step. This article reviews the history of community participation procedures and public administration reform in Vietnam, and thereby connects both. And finally, this article identifies some obstacles, problems and challenges for promoting community participation through decentralization of public administration. These can be geared to some alternatives to improve community participation in development projects by reforming public administration in Vietnam.