Public participation in the fight against policy corruption from the perspective of openness, transparency and accountability

PUBL C PART C PAT ON N T E F G T AGA NST POL C CORRUPT ON: FROM T E PERSPECT VE OF OPENNESS, TRANSPARENC AND ACCOUNTAB L T Dr P am T e Luc1- A/Prof Dr Da rt Tua Public pa ticipation in gove nance is one of the equi ements o f good gove nance and it plays an impo tant ole in p eventing and combating policy co uption This pape cla ifies the issue of policy co uption and the ole of public pa ticipation in anti-co uption f om the pe spective of disclosu e, t anspa ency and accountability Public pa ticipation in policy-making is ecognized and specified in the Constitution and la s In p actice, the people also play an inc easingly active ole in combating policy co uption Ho eve , the e a e still many sho tcomings of this activity By studying the theo ies and situation of policy co uption based on the fo mula of policy co uption “Corruption = Monopoly + ecrecy - Accountability” the pape p oposes some solutions to inc ease public* pa ticipation in anti-co uption Pol cy corrupt o a d t e role o f publ c part c pat o policy corruption t e f g t aga st Co uption is an act of abusing po e , especially state po e , fo pe sonal pu poses Acco ding to such definition, co uption has existed fo a long time in the political life Co uption has still been popula all ove the o ld, becoming one of the main ba ie s to the development of any count y, th eatening the social stability, uining the mo al and democ atic values of society, inte cepting the development and imp ovement of the economy and damaging the people's t ust in the State and la Ho Chi Minh olitical Academy chool o f Law, Vietnam National University, Hanoi 48 PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce Among all types of co uption, policy co uption is ecognized as being sophisticated- haza dous, and difficult to identify and esolve It is defined as an act of using po e illegally du ing the policy-making p ocess in o de to take advantages of the policy In fact, policy co uption has been conducted th ough va ious types of act, such as policy “t ading” “bending” and “navigating” to maximize the advantages of pa ticula individuals o g oups instead of gene al inte ests of the community o society In detail, it is the situation in hich seve al inte est g oups in society, especially g oups ith economic inte ests, satisfy thei inte ests th ough the acts of app oaching, pe suading, affecting, colluding ith the policy make s fo the issuance of state policies benefiting such g oups’ inte ests, ithout the conside ation of the gene al inte ests Policy co uption causes se ious consequences to both the State and society First, it defo ms the policies, c eates an unfai competition envi onment, p otects g oups’ inte ests, cause astes o uses ineffectively impo tant national esou ces, and i eve sibly lo e s the count y’s economy development econdy it damages the people’s la ful ights and inte ests, dest oys values of gove nance such as integ ity, democ acy, ustice, co upts the public se vants’ mo ality, dec eases the effectiveness of public gove nance and uins the people’s t ust in the State As commented by a fo me membe of the National Assembly, “a defo med policy, in the case of being adopted, might inc edibly benefit a ce tain numbe of individuals, but at the same time might lead to the exhaustion of the national esou ces An illegitimate po e being inse ted in the la s might legalize the unlimited assment of some people, but also aise the big difficulties in the business ope ation and people's life” The cause of policy co uption might be app oached f om seve al pe spectives F om the vie of public pa ticipation in the policy-making p ocess, this pape conside s the natu e and cause of policy co uption based on the fo mula: Corruption - Monopoly + ecrecy - Accountability2 nhandan com vn/cuoituan/phong-su/ Nguyen Sy Dung, ‘A nti-Co uption o f Policy’ (20 8) accessed Novembe 20 This fo mula is based on the p oposal of a g oup of th ee autho s Robe t Klitgaa đ, Ronaỉđ Maclean-Aba oa and H Lindsey Pa is: Co uption = Monopoly + Disc etion - Accountability Ou fo mula as “Co uption = Monopoly + Sec ecy - Accountability” is developed in o de to suit the a ea of policy co uption Acco ding to this fo mula, “sec ecy” is one of the basic causes ofpolicy co uption The disc etion is conside ed as a component of monopoly in policymaking See mo e: Klitgaa d, Robe t, Ronald MacLean-Aba oa and H Lindsey Pa is, ‘A P actical App oach to Dealing ith Municipal Malfeasance U ban Management P og amme’ ( 6), No 7, U ban Management P og amme Wo king Pape Se ies, Nai obi, Kenya, 0- 48 PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce Unde such fo mula, the cause of co uption might be analyzed in a detailed ay as: any he e ( ) the offcials have a monopoly in making policies; (2) the disclosu e and t anspa ency in policy-making p ocess a e not espected, secu ed and implemented; (3) lack of accountability amongst public office s ega ding policy planning, the level of policy co uption at that place is up aising and becoming mo e se ious The efo e, some solutions as belo should be taken to tackle policy co uption: - Stop the monopoly of the State in the policy-making p ocess by expanding and imp oving the public pa ticipation in the policy-making, in o de to ensu e that the pol c es s all represe t fully t e terests of t e people a d soc ety fully - Stop the unseasonable fo ms of sec ecy by imp oving access to info mation, the disclosu e and t anspa ency of info mation elated to policy-making Disclosu e and t anspa ency a e the keys to ensu ing that the policy make s may not favo any individuals o inte est g oups in society fo mful pu poses - Imp ove the accountability of public office s in the policy-planning p ocess, hich means that the office s shall take the esponsibility in explaining thei activities and ans e ing equests and demands ofthe people and society in elation to the content and decision of the policies In case of a failu e damaging the legitimate inte ests of the people, the policy-make s shall also be held accountable The civic engagement in the policy-making p ocess allo s people to equest the public autho ities to be accountable in thei decisions and ope ations Ih e ne app oaches of ne gove nance, good gove nance and democ atic gove nance all emphasize public pa ticipation, openness and t anspa ency ith the aim of p eventing co uption and imp oving the abeyance of the la s in policymaking Good gove nance is based on seve al p inciples Among those, the equests of civic engagement, disclosu e and t anspa ency a e emphasized Democ atic gove nance is the ne method of gove nance, hich aims to se ve the legitimate ights and inte ests of people th ough the imp ovement of an open gove nment that assu es civic pa ticipation, openness and accountability The public pa ticipation cont ibutes to the building of good gove nance and takes the ole of cont olling co uption The emphasis in the public pa ticipation in policy-making fo cont olling co uption is the bottom-up app oach in anti-co uption besides the t aditional top n app oach focusing on initiatives and efo ms of the State in anti-co uption he inte national community and a numbe of count ies conside that engaging the citizens to counte 48 PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce co uption cont ibutes to ensu ing bette se vice delive y and achievement of the Millennium Development Goals In Vietnam, the p oblem of inte est g oups and policy co uption has becoming the highest conce n that the Communist Pa ty of Vietnam (CPV) and the State shall conf ont in the p ocess of economic and political efo mation It is also the biggest conce n ofthe public In a ecent public su vey about identifying co uption in Vietnam, the ma o ity ofthe people conside the situation that the inte est g oups lobbying policies fo illegitimate aims is mo e and mo e popula , and the ta gets of the lobbying a e leade s of the CPV and the State, specifically of the executive b anch 2A eas and sections he e policy co uption that has caused se ious consequences and negatively affected the public a e land, finance, state-o ned ente p ise p ivatization, and public investment F om the natu e, cause and esults of policy co uption, it is time fo Vietnam to change the thinking of gove nance and policy ole The adoption of a policy shall evaluate its effects and shall not pave the ay fo inte est g oups to negatively affect and exploint such policy In addition, public pa ticipation, openness and, t anspa ency in the policy-making shall be encou aged T e legal framework o fpubl c part c pat o ll V et am t e f g t of pol cy corrupt o In Vietnam, the public pa ticipation in policy-making is ecognized in the policies of the CPV, the la s of the State since the pe iod of “Doi moi” (Renovation) In addition to the development of the political st uctu e, the legal f ame o k fo public pa ticipation is imp oved in o de to meet the equi ements of the development of the count y The 20 Constitution clea ly affi ms the ight of the citizen “to pa ticipate in the administ ation of the state and management of society and to pa ticipate in discussion and ecommendation to the state agencies on the issues of the community, the egions and the hole count y”, and the State's esponsibility to “c eate conditions fo the citizen to pa ticipate in the administ ation of the State and management of society and the eceipt and esponse to citizens’ opinions and ecommendations” (A ticle 28) Wo kshop epo t on Engaging Citizens To Coute Co uption fo Bette Public Se vice Delive y and Achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, Ma akesh, Mo occo, 26-27 Octobe 20 accessed Novembe 20 2Wo ld Bank, Gove nment Inspecto ate (20 2), Corruption in Vietnamfrom the erspective o fCitizens, Businesses and Officials, National Political Publishing House, 20 2» 56-5 PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce Not only exe cising the ights di ectly, but the citizens aỉso may oin in the p ocess ofpolicy-making th ough the political-social o ganizations, hich idely ep esent the peoples ights and inte ests Among these o ganizations, the Vietnamese Fathe land F ont (VFF) is a political alliance and a volunta y union of political o ganizations, socio-political o ganizations, social o ganizations and individuals ep esenting thei social classes and st ata, ethnicities, eligions, and ove seas Vietnamese The VFF constitutes the political base of the people’s gove nment; ep esents and p otects legal and legitimate ights and inte ests of the People; gathe s and p omotes the po e of g eat national solida ity, p actices democ acy and enhances social consensus; p actices social supe vision and c iticism; pa ticipates in the building of the CPV, the State and people’s activities of fo eign elations, cont ibuting to building and defending the Fathe land (A ticle the Constitution) Social supe vision and c iticism a e t o of the most impo tant functions of the VFF The VFF evie s, analyzes public ideas and petitions on policies, la and p og ams and epo ts them to the CPV and the State Besides, social o ganization and non-gove nment o ganizations a e also ecognized as having an inc easing ole in being a channel fo public advocacy The 20 La on P omulgation of Legal Documents is the basic la on the p ocedu es of making policies, hich conc etizes the p ovisions of the Constitution on public pa ticipation into the policy-making p ocess In the spi it of this la , the p omulgated policies must ensu e the disclosu e and democ acy in eceiving and esponding to opinions and ecommendations of individuals, agencies, o ganizations du ing the p ocess of negotiating, and p omulgating legal documents (A ticle 6) In o de to facilitate the pa ticipation of the people in the policy-making p ocess, this la egulates that socio-political o ganizations, social o ganizations, and all citizens a e entitled and encou aged to comment on national policies In the p ocess of making policies, agencies and o ganizations in cha ge of d afting the documents and elevant agencies have the esponsibilities of making all the policy- elated-info mation public and t anspa ent hich can help agencies, o ganizations and individuals to comment on the p oposals and the d afting; in addition, they must also collect opinions f om the ones ho a e di ectly affected by the policies Opinions on the la and policy p omulgation p oposals must be collected, studied, explained and adopted in the p ocess of evising the d afted policies (A ticle 6, A ticle 34) In sho t, collecting public opinions is the esponsibility of d afting agencies and is a mandato y p ocedu e in the policy-making p ocess Fo ms of collecting public opinions p esc ibed by la include: PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce - Post policy p o ects, p oposals, epo ts, evised documents on the ebsites of agencies, o ganizations in cha ge of d afting policies in o de fo all citizens to be able to give thei opinions - Collect itten opinions of elated pa ties: this p ocedu e may be ca ied out in the fo m of di ect consultation, sending the d afted p oposal to elated pa ties fo thei opinions, o ganizing confe ences, semina s, o opinions published on t usted media - O ganize di ect dialogue ith the ones ho a e di ected affected by the policies In addition, in o de to c eate conditions favo able fo the pa ticipation of the people into the policy-making p ocess in gene al, and into the la of p eventing and fighting co uption in pa ticula , the 20 La on the Access to Info mation, the 20 P ess La , the 20 La on Anti-co uption, the 20 La on Denunciation and othe la s also have detailed and specific p ovisions on the public pa ticipation, the esponsibility of public autho ities and officials to p ovide openness, t anspa ency and accountability; it is one of the co e measu es to p event co uption Ove all, the legal f ame o k fo public pa ticipation in the policy-making p ocess in Vietnam is basic; it emphasizes the p inciples of t anspa ency, democ acy, openness, and esponsibilities in fo mulating policies Ho eve , this legal f ame o k still needs to be imp oved to c eate a st onge foundation fo building a mode n model of democ atic gove nance a d Curre t s tuat o o f t e publ c part c pat o t e a t -corrupt o pol c es V et am t e pol cy-mak g process It can be seen that, in Vietnam, te ms such as “advice” “consultation” especially “social criticism” - as the cont ibution of individuals, socio-political o ganizations, social o ganizations on ce tain policy and la of the gove nment - have appea ed mo e and mo e in legal documents, speeches of the CPV and State leade s as ell as in national media In fact, fo ms of public consultations and social c iticism of the state’s policies and la s have occu ed egula ly as a mandato y p ocedu e equi ed in the policy-making p ocess This someho eflects the fact that the people’s pa ticipation in the social gove nance is a legitimate need, a component of the democ atization of social life, hich also eflects the democ atic level of both the people and the gove nment In an effo t to p omote the memo izations of social life to a ds building a gove nance model, the pa ticipation of the people in the policy-making p ocess in Vietnam has initially b ought the follo ing esults: PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce - Cont ibut to the imp oving the positive pa ticipation of the people into politics, developing a sense of a citizen’s ights and obligations, esponsibilities ofthe community fo the development of the count y and the people In fact, hen pa ticipating in the policy-making p ocess, the public finds itself eally a membe of the p ocess, so it takes an active and esponsible ole in commenting on the policies Ihis makes the policies close to the citizens, limiting the oppo tunities of policy co uption and effectively p omoting the policy implementation p ocess - Take advantages of social esou ces into policy-making p ocess, especially the expe iences and kno ledge f om individuals, expe ts, social o ganizations, ente p ises and p ofessional o ganizations ho have a high eputation nationally and globally in p oviding scientific foundations fo the policy-making p ocess; the eby cont ibuting to saving, educing the cost of esou ces in planning and building of State policies In ecent yea s, public consultation on policy fo mulation has been advanced Many comments and suggestions have been eceived and ad usted by la make s to adapt to the ob ective eality, the eby c eating a high consensus in the society As a esult, many policies a e eally p actical, c eating a st ong motivation and cont ibuting to the socio-economic development of the count y in mo e than 30 yea s of enovation - Reduce conflicts ofInte est among social g oups, the eby c eating sociaỉ consensus in the policy-making p ocess Indeed, th ough the fo ms of consultation, dialogue and c iticism of the public policy, the disag eements in the policy have been mo e and mo e na o ed All pa ties find a common voice in the ay of esolving the p oblem; the efo e, p oblems f om the limitations and inadequacies of the policy e e ove come The quality, effectiveness and efficiency ofthe policy have been significantly imp oved, hich effectivelyp omotes the use ofpolicies in national management and gove nance Mo eove , engaging the public in the policy-making p ocess not only enhances the effectiveness of policy communication but also enhances the capacity to eceive, evaluate and espond to policies This p ocess has cont ibuted to ensu ing die ights of info mation of the people and inc eased the accountability of policy-making agencies Although social c iticism has been ca ied out befo e 20 3, it has only been done substantially, extensively and effectively since the issue of the Decision 7-QD/TW of the Pa ty and the Constitution o f 20 In the past yea s, the VFF and socio-political o ganizations at ail levels have o ganized 745 social c iticisms; 32 064 affai s and activities elated to the policy ecommendations fo the Pa ty and gove nment See: Ngo Sach Hiuc, ‘Situation, cu ent issues in social the c iticism activities of Vietnam Fathe land F ont* (20 ) accessed Novembe 20 PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce The st ong development of info mation technology and social net o ks has changed the ay of inte action bet een people, expe ts, inte est g oups, social o ganizations and autho ities in policy-making p ocess It can be seen as the g eatest time hen state policy can be delive ed so quickly to the public and also captu ed high attention Th ough social net o ks, many acto s have c eated a ide ange of links to access and sha e info mation, exp ess opinions, comment, discuss in diffe ent pe spectives and sp ead out a guments conce ning public policy- elated issues This helps to cont ibute to c eating public p essu es, hich fo ce the gove nment agencies to listen to public opinion, eceive those opinions, make explanations, o even amend and suspend a numbe of ongful policies The hole p ocess has step by step imp oved the efficiency of state gove nance and met the expectations of stakeholde s to a ds development goals Aside f om the successful esults, public pa ticipation in the policy-making p ocess also evealed some sho tcomings and limitations including: First, the adve se cha acte istics of localism in the policy-making p ocess a e still common With the cu ent policy-making p ocess, most of the policy initiatives have come f om state agencies assigned to state management (mostly implemented by minist ies, depa tments and People’s Committees in p ovinces and cities in the count ies) Ve y fe public policies have been issued based on the ideas of those affected by the policies, and measu es to implement the policies have come f om public agencies to meet thei needs of bette management fo thei secto s and egions ega dless of the ove all national management Acco ding to the 20 Repo ts of the Minist y of Justice conce ning the cu ent situation of the la -making p ocess in Vietnam, the Minist ies initiated and sponso ed a g eat numbe of impo tant ideas, p oposals2 This makes the minist ies and othe b anches become inte est g oups in the national systems; the efo e, they plan mo e policies that a e beneficial to them athe than emoving difficulties and p oblems fo people and businesses Acco ding to P ofesso Kenichi Ohno, the policy-making p ocess in Vietnam is unique because most policies a e built ith limited involvement of ente p ises Ente p ises a e only Huynh Ngoc Chuong, ‘People’s pa ticipation in public policy unde the influence of social net o ks in Vietnam: Case studies, Jou nal of Science and Technology Development’ (20 6), Vol » issue Q4, Science and Technology Development Jou nal, Institute of Legal Science unde Minist y of Justice, Cu ent Situation of Policy Analysis Cctivities in the La -Maidng P ocess in Vietnam Today (20 5), National Legislative Development P o ect, 4 PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce allo ed to have comments afte o hen p oblems a ise In the p ocess of the public policy-making p ocess, it is not possible to c eate the best info mation channel to eceive input f om those affected by the policy This is one of the fundamental easons hy some policies a e not feasible, o not ell implemented as much as the make s anted econdy public pa ticipation in the p ocess of policy and la limited; the accountability of the d afting agency is not as g eat fo mulation is When looking at the cu ent p ovisions of the 20 La on the P omulgation of Legal Documents and its implementing documents, it seems that la make s have made g eat effo ts in democ atizing, publicizing and being t anspa ent du ing the p ocess of fo mulating policies and la s to mobilize and ensu e the pa ticipation of individuals and o ganizations Ho eve , the e is a big gap bet een la and eality In fact, public comment on policies is not eally popula and dive se The o ganization fo di ect consultations ith those ho a e affected by the policy ( hich should have been implemented) could not be o ganized, and the events e e too fo mal, un ealistic, and financially ineffective It is impo tant to emphasize that, although the d afting agencies have conducted policy consultations, they have not yet comp ehensively taken comments and ecommendations f om citizens on se iouslyamending and supplementing policies; in addition, the e is no sepa ate epo t in the submission of policy and la p o ect eflecting the opinions of those g oups The p oposals also did not mention ho the opinions e e collected and esponded to On the othe hand, the d afting agencies and committees did not clea ly explain the p ocess of eceiving the opinions of the people ho a e affected by the policies, and the opinions of expe ts and scientists The e a e opinions stating that “lack of feedback mechanism f om d afting agencies o f om d afting boa ds ould make expe ts, scientists o people less enthusiastic about cont ibuting to the la ”2 This educes the confidence of citizens in public autho ities, and it c eates an envi onment fo clandestine p o ects bet een inte est g oups and policy make s to take advantage of the policy Kenichi Ohno, Innovating Vietnam’s policy-making p ocess, Speech at the Economic Development Fo um’ (20 2) accessed Novembe 20 Institute of Legal Science unde Minist y of Justice, Cu ent Situation of Policy Analysis Cctivities in the La Making P ocess in Vietnam Today (20 5), National Legislative Development P o ect, 45-46 PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce hird , access to policy info mation is still limited to the public at la ge Unde the 20 La on P omulgation of Lesaỉ Documents, the agencies in cha ge of the policy must make open all info mation elated to the policy fo the citizens to study and have an opinion on it Catego ies of info mation that must be made open consist of the bills on the policies, the egulato y impact assessments, the accountabilities on esponses to the policy and the amendments to policy (if any) In p actice, ho eve , hat is accessible to the public is mainly est icted to the bills on the policy athe than the egulato y impact assessments as ell as the accountabilities on esponses to the policy In case the citizens ant to gathe mo e info mation on the policy, they almost have to make thei o n effo t ithout being able to equest suppo t f om the agencies in cha ge This is a eal ba ie that needs emoving to ensu e the effectiveness of citizen pa ticipation Fourth, the social counte -a gument ole of the VFF and thei membe o ganizations is still vague and not effective “The voice of the VFF afte the counte a gument events is not st ong enough to p ima ily change' the contents of the bills on the policy that a e unde c iticism”3 Fo effective counte -a guments, mo eove , it is equi ed that the e be p ofessional staff ith consulting expe ience and a think tank in the p ocess of conducting counte -a guments These a e the equi ements that most ofVFF’s office s lack The techno-science o ganizations4(affiliated ith the VFF) a e among those that play an impo tant ole in policy esea ch and social counte a guments, but the e still has not been an official mechanism to suppo t them in pe fo ming thei oles Fo instance, the cu ent legal documents still iack an a ay of clea and detailed egulations about issues such as p oviding adequate and up-to-date info mation and publicizing info mation so that the VFF and its membe s can make counte -a guments, a mechanism fo eceiving counte -a guments, esponsibilities fo ans e ing the counte -a guments and sanctions fo failing to eceive counte a guments The cu ent egulations a e limited to emphasizing methods and contents of counte -a guments equested by the c iticized ta gets, so it has not been able to c eate a legal f ame o k that invites independent and active counte -a guments f om legal entities and pe sons, o ganizations and individuals, hich accounts fo limited esults in p actice 3Ngo Sach Thuc, ‘Situation, cu ent issues in social the c iticism activities of Vietnam Fathe land F ont’ (20 ) accessed Novembe 20 4They belonging to the Vietnam Association of Science and Technology PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP _ Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce Suggest o s F om the above ealities, in an attempt to make t ue and effective the citizen pa ticipation in policy planning, the pape makes some suggestions that follo : Firsty t ansfo m the p ocess of policy planning in a ay that it is made open and t anspa ent, and that it ensu es the t ue ights of pa ticipation fo all the stake-holde s including the State, ent ep eneu s, social o ganizations, citizens, fo eigne s, sponso s, scientists, and p ofessionals Such pa ticipation should be made open on the basis of establishing equality bet een the stake-holde s, c eating an app op iate mechanism so that the citizens, pa ticula ly those di ectly influenced by the policy, can conve se ith the policy planning agencies In p inciple, the citizen pa ticipation is a constitutional ight that the gove nmental agencies in cha ge must ensu e econd»expand the pa ticipants ho can give consultation and opinion, dive sify channels in hich the public can pa ticipate in policy planning, and c eate ne channels to eceive the pubic esponses such as consultation ith the non-gove nment o ganizations, lobbying, investigations o su veys on Inte net (th ough the official ebsites of the gove nment and the planning agencies) Cu ently, policy discussion on the social net o k is an inevitable tendency, so “policy discussion on a social net o k should be conside ed a ne inte active channel that helps the gove nment to imp ove its t anspa ency and accountability, he eby it helps effectively p omote the app oved policies o p event the inhe ent p oblems in the public secto such as co uption and aste” , speeding the const uction of e-gove nment ill effectively suppo t this tendency hird, establish a system of publicizing info mation to ensu e disclosu e and t anspa ency, ith the full involvement of the mass media system To be specific, it means dive sifying channels of publicizing info mation so that it can expand the oppo tunities fo the citizens to access info mation, making info mation open in nume ous aspects The publicized info mation must be made easy to access, p ecise, full, and up-to-date The acts of p eventing o est icting citizens* access must be st ictly punished Fourth inc ease accountabilities on the pa t of the agencies in cha ge ofplanning policies The planning policy agencies must be held esponsible fo ans e ing Huynh Ngoc Chuong, ‘People’s pa ticipation in public policy unde the influence of social net o ks in Vietnam: Case studies, Jou nal of Science and Technology Development’ (20 6), Vol , issue Q ,3 , Science and Technology Development Jou nal PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce questions elating to the policy In pa ticula , “accountability begins ith the policyplanning agency’s commitment to take esponsibility fo its p oposed policy If the p oposed policy does not b ing the desi ed outcome, the agency head must esign fo his esponsibility” The public opinions elating to the policy must be studied ca efully by the policy planning agencies and the la make s Whethe such opinions a e accepted o not must be explained publicly, clea ly, immediately so that the public can be assu ed that thei voices a e t uly hea d, hich then c eates t ust and motivations fo thei continual pa ticipation Fifth>const uct a legal f ame o k fo policy lobbying as this is a fai need fo those ho a e influenced by the policy Ho eve , such activity must be kept public, t anspa ent and it must st ess the accountability so that the public can supe vise the policy planne s ega ding ho they have met and the meetings’ pu poses In addition, it is necessa y to p omote the oles of media and civil o ganizations in supe vising the lobbying activities as ell as policy planning so that these ill be conducted in a balanced and impa tial manne This also cont ols the situation in hich the ‘special inte est' g oups (especially ent ep eneu s) use illegal measu es to inte fe e ith and abuse the policy, disto t the policy to se ve thei inte ests and m the public inte ests Also, the la on lobbying ill help to p event po e ful individuals in policy planning f om committing co uption ixth, imp ove the VFF and its membe s’ competence in conducting counte a guments hich means p omoting t aining, updating, and en iching thei kno ledge and skills on policy analysis, consultation, and policy c iticism The VFF, mo eove , should move to a ds being the la gest c iticism fo um that connects expe ts, scientists, techno-science o ganizations (affiliated ith the VFF) to pa ticipate C eate mechanism that can encou age and p omote the VFFs esponsibility fo social counte -a guments, the State can make a cont act on policy c iticism ith the VFF and p ovide a budget fo its ope ation depending 011 pa ticula p o ects Completing la on social counte a guments aiso has a significant ole in helping the VFF pe fo m its functions It is necessa y to const uct an effective legal mechanism fo social o ganizations to exe cise its ight in giving consultation and cont ibuting to policy planning, supe vising, and conducting social counte -a guments Also, it is necessa y to inc ease the a a eness and esponsibility of those social o ganizations in policy planning Nguyen Sy Dung, ‘A nti-Co uption of Policy’ (20 8) accessed Novembe 20 PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP _ Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce eventh>the State should offe favo s in te ms of inf ast uctu e, envi onment and space fo democ atic and open academic esea ch so that it can p omote the oles of unive sities, independent esea ch agencies and national policy esea ch agencies, cont ibuting to the establishment of a basic and unifo med system of p inciples fo policy study in Vietnam It should also encou age policy esea ch based on empi ical evidence to inc ease the pe suasiveness fo policy planning Eighth, it is necessa y to inc ease a a eness, competence and social esponsibility fo the citizens ega ding thei cont ibution to policy planning, and to ensu e openness, t anspa ency, and accountability to p event and fight against co uption All in all, citizen pa ticipation lies in the citizens o n decision This mission can be completed only hen the citizens have full a a eness, competence and ability to ealize thei esponsibility fo pa ticipating in policy planning Conclusion Co uption in gene al and policy co uption, in pa ticula , is a common evil of society, causing eno mous m to the development of each nation The cause of policy co uption is ooted in monopoly, the sec ecy of info mation, and lack of accountability in policy-making Based on this app oach, public pa ticipation in the policy-making p ocess plays an indispensable ole in p eventing and combating policy co uption, becoming one of the basic p inciples in state gove nance In Vietnam, public pa ticipation in state management is ecognized by the Constitution and la s In gene al, the p inciples of the disclosu e, t anspa ency, democ acy and accountability in policy and la development have been ecognized In p actice, people a e also inc easingly involved in policy-making activities Ho eve , the e a e still many sho tcomings of cu ent gove nance in the implementation and p omotion of people to pa ticipate in policy-making Localism and lack of openness in the policy-making p ocess a e still quite popula The public consultation is not popula and substantive The state agencies a e eally fully accountable The public also has difficulty in accessing public info mation The ole of the VFF and its membe o ganizations is limited and fo mal Social o ganizations have made g eat effo ts in Ngo Ngoe Thang, ‘Imp oving the Quality of Public Policy-making and Implementation in Vietnam Today - P oblems and Solutions’ (20 ) accessed Novembe 20 PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP Ope ess, Tra spare cy a d Accou tab l ty State Gover a ce policy advocacy; ho eve , thei position and ole in policy-making have not been fully ecognized and encou aged Ove all, the solutions need to be studied to ensu e public pa ticipation in policymaking, access to info mation, openness, t anspa ency, and accountability RREFERENCES And e Wells-Dang, Le Kim Thai and Nguyen T an Lam, ‘Bet een p estige and st uctu e: People’s pa ticipation and ỉocaỉ elections in Vietnam’ (20 5), Policy Resea ch Repo t on Gove nance and Pa ticipation, ointly implemented by Oxfam Vietnam and the United Nations Development P og am Hanoi Vietnam Dang Ngoe Dinh, ‘Some Pe spectives in Studying Policy’(20 3), Vol 2, No 2, Jou nal Science and Technology Policies and Management Huynh Ngoc Chuong, ‘People’s pa ticipation in public policy unde the influence of social net o ks in Vietnam: Case studies, Jou nal of Science and Technology Development’ (20 6), Vol , issue Q4, Science and Technology Development Jou nal Institute of Legal Science unde Minist y of Justice, Cu ent Situation of Policy Analysis Cctivities in the La -Making P ocess in Vietnam Today (20 5), National Legislative Development P o ect Kenichi Ohno, Innovating Vietnam’s policy-making p ocess, Speech at the Economic Development Fo um’ (20 2) accessed Novembe 20 Klitgaa d, Robe t, Ronald MacLean-Aba oa and H Lindsey Pa is, ‘A P actical App oach to Dealing ith Municipal Malfeasance U ban Management P og amme ( 6), No 7, U ban Management P og amme Wo king Pape Se ies, Nai obi, Kenya NgoNgocTliang,‘Imp ovingthe QualityofPublic Policy-makingand Implementation in Vietnam Today - P oblems and Solutions’ (20 ) accessed Novembe 20 Fathe land F ont’ (20 ) Ngo Sach Thuc, ‘Situation, cu ent issues in social the c iticism activities of V