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| Hue City receives the Vietnam Smart City Award 2025 in the category of “Smart Governance and Administration” |
From recognition to an operational foundation
On December 23, 2025, Hue was honored with the Vietnam Smart City Award 2025 in the category of “Smart Governance and Administration” by Vietnam Software and IT Services Association. At a time when many localities are accelerating digital transformation but still struggling with operational implementation, the award not only reflects achieved results but also raises the broader issue of governance and management capacity in practice.
One notable aspect of Hue’s approach is its decision to begin from the foundation. Instead of spreading investments across trends or initiatives, the city has chosen to make the Digital Government Architecture Framework the “backbone” for organizing digitization, system connectivity, and operational processes.
In the national digital transformation process, many localities have invested heavily in infrastructure and software but still face difficulties in measurement, adjustment, and optimization due to the absence of an overall architecture that enables interoperability, shared use, and unified management. Therefore, completing the Digital Government Architecture Framework is considered a fundamental step to create order in implementation, avoid overlapping investments, and improve operational efficiency.
During consultations to finalize the framework, Mr. Nguyen Kim Tung, Deputy Director of Hue Department of Science and Technology, emphasized that the development of the digital architecture framework must ensure consistency with the policies and orientations of both the central government and the city. This includes alignment with the National Data Strategy, the Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam, and government resolutions and decisions related to digital transformation, data governance, and administrative restructuring. At the same time, the framework must align with the national digital architecture and newly issued national data frameworks. This alignment enhances feasibility and implementation efficiency while meeting requirements for data connectivity, sharing and standardization, strengthening information security, protecting personal data, and optimizing costs and resources.
From this perspective, the digital architecture framework is no longer merely a technical reference document; it becomes an implementation discipline. All future information systems must comply with the common architecture, creating the foundation for digital transformation that not only “has systems” but actually operates effectively in practice.
Operating through data, measuring through results
To ensure that digital architecture does not remain merely a design concept, operational processes are closely linked with measurement tools. Mr. Le Duy Su, Head of the Digital Transformation Division at Hue Department of Science and Technology, noted that the Digital Transformation Index (DTI) is not simply a ranking metric but a governance tool that helps agencies and organizations clearly identify strengths and weaknesses in their digital transformation processes. Based on the assessment, planning, resource allocation, and investment priorities can be determined on a more scientific and transparent basis.
A clear shift is evident as digital transformation moves beyond merely developing additional applications to adopting governance based on performance indicators and output results. This approach links digital transformation with accountability, rather than reflecting progress only through aggregated reports.
The Department of Science and Technology has also identified five key pillars for implementing digital government in the 2025–2026 period. These include placing citizens and businesses at the center; promoting real-time data–driven digital transformation associated with results-based governance; encouraging open data; ensuring information security, cybersecurity, and ethical standards in the application of artificial intelligence; and moving toward intelligent operations under the “AI First” orientation. This approach demonstrates that digital government is no longer limited to digitizing administrative processes but is moving toward re-designing the operation of state governance on the foundation of digital technology.
At the foundational level, digital infrastructure and shared platforms play a decisive role in ensuring stable and long-term operations. Mr. Hoang Dien Ky, representative of Hue Smart City Monitoring and Operation Center, stated that the management and operation of digital infrastructure must be carried out in a unified, secure, and efficient manner, ensuring scalability and future integration. Digital infrastructure, therefore, is not merely a technical condition but the platform that enables governance tools and data analytics systems to function effectively.
When infrastructure and shared platforms are standardized and data is updated and shared according to a common architecture, management no longer depends on manual reporting. Leaders can monitor task progress, evaluate results promptly, and gradually establish a governance model based on data and accountability. In this context, Hue’s recognition in the “Smart Governance and Administration” category is not accidental but reflects a digital transformation process that has moved into real operational practice, creating measurable governance capacity.
From the recognition of operational outcomes, the question of digital government no longer lies in how many systems or platforms exist, but in how those systems are organized, measured, and used to serve citizens and businesses effectively and sustainably.