Over 22 provinces in Vietnam have responded to a recent United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) survey of citizens about their satisfaction with government services.

“To date more than 22 provinces have issued official responses to PAPI [Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index] findings in an effort to improve performance,” wrote UNDP researchers Jairo Acuna-Alfaro and Dr Pratibha Mehta in a recent blog post.

The survey captured the responses of nearly 50,000 citizens to find out “what is the experience of an average Vietnamese citizen in their interactions with the agency of the state, whether in using a public service or in demanding information?”

It has shown that provinces have been improving their performance every year since 2009. “The ‘poorest performing provinces’ from earlier years” are “posting higher scores year on year, even as the average scores rise as a result of overall improvements,” the researchers wrote.

“It is all about citizens articulating their priorities and influencing policies that affect their lives, so that barriers to human development can be addressed and overcome. This is the power of open data and participation,” Mehta and Acuna-Alfaro wrote.