Local officials from Vietnam’s remote provinces do not have access to quality, relevant capacity development opportunities to enable them to do their jobs effectively. This is hindering the ability of the country to implement economic and governance reforms that promote continued economic growth and level the playing field for all investors. To address this challenge, USAID recently awarded a $13.3 million contract to Chemonics to implement the USAID Strengthening Provincial Capacity project, which will strengthen the capacity and build the sustainability of local institutions so they can address capacity gaps.

At the end of the project, three target Vietnamese institutions will be better equipped to provide relevant capacity development opportunities to provincial officials, which will in turn improve their ability to implement economic governance reforms. The USAID Strengthening Provincial Capacity’s firm fixed price contract with an award fee is the first of its kind in USAID/Vietnam, where all project milestones must be achieved within the first four years, and the award fee will be determined based on an external evaluation on the extent to which the three Vietnamese institutions are sustainable.

So What? As a result of having access to quality, relevant training opportunities, Vietnam’s local officials will be able to implement economic governance reforms more effectively, interact with citizens and the private sector to improve transparency and accountability, and also have the skills to measure the success of their efforts. This will be extremely crucial in Vietnam’s Journey to Self-Reliance.