The 'One Office' model in Xiangyang

(Baonghean) - In order to create unity in the leadership and direction of the Party committee and the administration, ensuring that office work is fast, efficient, and follows the correct procedures, and gradually meeting the political tasks in the new situation, Tuong Duong district has developed and implemented Project 04 DA/HU on piloting the "One Office" model in communes and towns...

Hoa Binh town is one of three units selected by the Tuong Duong District Party Committee to pilot the "One Office" model at the commune and town level. Mr. Nguyen Dinh Hien, Secretary of the Hoa Binh Town Party Committee, said: Centralizing the office into one location will be more efficient and allow for mutual support, especially during major events, when dealing with numerous documents and tasks such as voter outreach or summary and review meetings.

This model will also reduce the pressure on Party committee offices – which have a heavy workload and low allowances. At the same time, it requires office staff to constantly seek out new knowledge, learn through self-study, and conduct research to improve their professional skills, because even simple documents from the Party committee, the government, and mass organizations differ in presentation format.

Leaders of the Tuong Duong District Party Committee inspect the effectiveness of the cage fish farming model on the river implemented by residents of Tam Thai commune. Photo: Hoai Thu

To pilot the new model, the Party Committee and the government of Hoa Binh town issued Plan No. 62 and Decision No. 110 to establish a town office team consisting of 2 civil servants from the People's Committee office, 1 civil servant from the Party Committee office, and 1 civil servant from the Justice and Civil Registry department, with the Standing Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee as the team leader. Ms. La Thi Thuy, a civil servant from the People's Committee office of Hoa Binh town, said: “Initial implementation shows that the work is highly unified and smooth, reducing some administrative procedures. However, to maximize efficiency, a comprehensive investment in infrastructure is needed, such as arranging offices appropriately and providing necessary equipment and facilities for office work…”

According to Mr. Lu Van May, Head of the Organization Department of the Tuong Duong District Party Committee, in recent years, the activities of the Party Committee Office, the People's Council Office, the People's Committee Office, and the Fatherland Front Committee Office of communes and towns in the district have achieved certain effectiveness, contributing to advising and serving the Party Committee, government, Fatherland Front, and other organizations in directing and managing political tasks at the grassroots level. However, the implementation of tasks and activities of the offices of communes and towns still reveal some shortcomings and limitations.

Firstly, regarding organizational structure, most communes and towns currently have at least 3 staff members working in the office, including: 2 people working in the People's Council and People's Committee offices (office and statistics civil servants), and 1 person working in the Party Committee office (a semi-professional staff member, also serving as Deputy Head of the Party Committee's Inspection Committee). In addition, some communes also contract an additional "janitor" to help with some of the office work; however, the Fatherland Front and other mass organizations in the communes do not have staff members working in the office.

Secondly, currently, the regulations regarding the functions and duties of commune-level office staff lack uniformity; each commune operates in its own way. This fails to fully utilize the capabilities of individuals and create a collaborative working mechanism. Party committee office staff have a heavy workload but low salaries. Local Party committees and authorities have repeatedly requested that these individuals be assigned to specialized positions or commune-level civil servant roles, but they have yet to be appointed.

Officials from the Hoa Binh town office interact with local residents. Photo: Hoai Thu

Thirdly, in terms of work efficiency, the previous organizational structure resulted in low work quality, limited effectiveness in consultation and synthesis, and a lack of uniformity among departments, leading to conflicting data from the Party Committee, People's Council, People's Committee, and Fatherland Front Committee. Statistical work and information updating to support the leadership and management of the commune were weak, resulting in delays in the implementation of many Party guidelines and State policies; leadership and direction sometimes lacked comprehensiveness and oversight in some localities; the effectiveness of the commune-level political system was low; and document management and archiving were not given sufficient attention, with staff in charge lacking the necessary skills, leading to non-compliance with regulations.

Based on that experience, the Tuong Duong District Party Committee decided to develop and implement Project 04 DA/HU dated May 18, 2017, on the consolidation of offices at the commune and town levels (Party Committee Office, People's Council - People's Committee Office, and the offices of the Fatherland Front and other mass organizations) into a single commune office. This is a solution to implement the general policy of the Party and State on administrative procedure reform. Furthermore, this model aims to create uniformity in the management of cadres and civil servants; train commune-level cadres; improve the quality of advisory, synthesis, and service work of commune-level office staff; and enhance the leadership, management, and operational capacity of local Party committees and governments in carrying out political tasks at the grassroots level.

Mr. Pham Trong Hoang, Secretary of the Tuong Duong District Party Committee, stated: The implementation of the "One Office" model represents a step-by-step reform in processes and procedures, shortening the time required to handle tasks at the grassroots level. Simultaneously, it enhances awareness of administrative procedure reform within Party organizations, fostering close coordination among agencies and departments at the commune level to ensure proper implementation of procedures and regulations, and achieving high results in the administrative reform plan. The implementation process must ensure quality work, operational efficiency, and improve the skills of commune-level officials and civil servants.

The establishment of a "One Commune-Level Office" will not increase the number of officials or staff but aims to contribute to saving budget and operating costs for the commune-level People's Committee. Initially, the Steering Committee of the project has selected three units: Hoa Binh town and the communes of Yen Hoa and Mai Son to implement the pilot program. After evaluation and lessons learned, if the model proves effective, it will be further expanded to other commune-level units throughout the district where conditions permit," Mr. Pham Trong Hoang added.

Khanh Ly