Foreword by Peter McCawley

Peter McCawley
Dean
Asian Development Bank Institute

This book is a report from a high-level roundtable conference on public policy issues held in Hanoi in August 2005. The conference was organized by the Japan Fund for Public Policy Training program (JFPPT) in cooperation with three eminent Vietnamese think tanks:

• the Central Institute for Economic Management;
• the National Institute for Science and Technology Policy and Strategy Studies; and
• the Institute of Agricultural Economics, since renamed the Institute of Policy and Strategy of Agricultural and Rural Development.

Research and training in public policy are crucial to support development in Vietnam. The modernization of Vietnam's economy and society and continuing integration with regional and international structures require sound public policies. Our hope is that this report will be a useful contribution to the ongoing process of reform of research and training in the area of public policy in Vietnam.

The roundtable on ‘How to Strengthen Public Policy Research and Training in Vietnam’ brought together over 100 senior government officials, researchers, and university representatives. Media observers, foreign diplomats and participants from intrnational organizations also attended.

The Asian Development Bank Institute is naturally keen to assist research and training institutions across the Asia-Pacific region in their efforts to modernize their organizational structures and further improve the quality of their work. The Vietnam pilot program of the Japan Fund for Public Policy Training implemented by the ADB Institute since 2003 has proved to be a useful tool to this end.

This cooperation between Vietnamese think tanks and the ADB Institute underscores the fact that Vietnamese public policy institutions are aware of the international dimension of their work - they see the value of working together with foreign institutions for mutual exchange and benefit while remaining aware, of course, that the Vietnamese context is quite unique.

This publication aims to make a modest contribution to the discussion about these matters. The report contains studies by well-known Vietnamese and foreign experts. All of them are highly qualified observers of think tanks and current public policy developments as well as practitioners who work in think tanks and policy training institutions. Their contributions thus provide theoretical insights as well as practical advice on how to move ahead with the further modernization of public policy research and training in Vietnam.

One of the main messages conveyed by the contributions is that think tanks and training institutions need not only to modernize their internal procedures but that it is also vital to link up with other relevant institutions, both domestically and internationally.

Looking ahead, the JFPPT project is engaged in Vietnam not as a one-off initiative but is committed to Vietnam for the longer term. The project plans to continue working in a close and cooperative way with Vietnamese institutions as partners.

Comment(s)

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1. Rathindranath Pal
   (posted 23 April 2008 / 08:10:32 PM)
   
   It’s a good initiative and relevance to Viet Nam at this moment as its economy is quickly growing like China and India. Without strengthening the capacity of public policy and research it is difficult for a country to be on right track of development.