Providing online public services is a top priority for Viet Nam in its efforts to advance the digital transformation in governance and public administrative reforms. The usage and effectiveness of online public services, however, remain low. According to the National Digital Transformation Committee, as of July 2024, online submissions for full-service public administrative procedures at the provincial level accounted for only 17 percent of total service requests. The 2023 Vietnam Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI) survey indicated that only 7.6 percent of citizens utilized provincial e-service portals for administrative tasks. With such low engagement levels, achieving the goals for online public administrative services by 2025 will be challenging.

In this context, in 2024 the Institute for Policy Studies and Media Development (IPS), with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Viet Nam, conducted an evaluation of 63 provincial public service portals from a user perspective. This marks the second year that IPS has undertaken this review. The study aims to identify the challenges users encounter when using public service portals and online public services. It also proposes solutions that will help central and local government agencies enhance the user-friendliness of these portals and improve the effectiveness of online service provision. The research was co-financed by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and UNDP in Vietnam through the PAPI research program.