Framework

There are many ways to approach implementation and integration and your approach will depend on how things work in your city (in terms of planning and how agencies coordinate work), the available budget for this part of your CDS and the extent to which the CDS vision and action plan aligns with existing city planning structures and strategies. The CDS vision and strategy will need to be closely aligned with existing planning structures.

To help you develop the most appropriate implementation and integration strategies for your CDS, the following diagram outlines a framework of ‘needs’ and ‘steps’. These ‘needs’ are pre-requisites for successful integration of a CDS. They include support from the People’s Committee, knowledge of the existing institutional landscape in your city and financial and other (for example human) resources. The ‘steps’ outline a number of stages of the integration process. They will guide you through the necessary procedures to implement and integrate your CDS.

Framework

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1. Identify decision-making structures/processes for city planning which are relevant to the CDS.

• Map out the local planning context and identify city decision makers in terms of both budget delegations and planning arrangements.
• Build capacity in your own and other agencies to facilitate implementation.
• Involve the People's Committee Chairman and relevant agency representatives at all stages of the CDS.

• Ensure that the PCC and agency representatives are involved in the CDS process. You need to promote the CDS to ensure city authorities and the public are aware of the CDS process, the overall vision for the city and associated plans and initiatives.
• Where possible, integrate CDS actions into the planning and budgeting of local government organisations/city authorities.
• Remember that the CDS is for the City not just for the city administration. It is important to involve other stakeholders who may be crucial for implementation.
• When specific CDS products are developed, for example visions and strategies, ensure they are endorsed by the People's Committee and by the Communist Party.

• Refer strategies and directions to relevant party and People’s Council procedures as they are prepared.
• Link implementation to the strategies and visions (which should have been based on or linked to existing plans).
• Develop investment priorities and action plans with the involvement of the People's Committee, agencies and other Stakeholders.

• Think of implementation in terms of investments. Be aware of budget delegations with reference to the category of your city.
• Establish effective intergovernmental relations, that is, establish and maintain cooperation and coordination of CDS initiatives between different agencies.
• Think about actions that are possible without financial resources and within the authority of the city administration. It is important to identify alternative agencies for implementation.

The Nam Dinh experience in implementing and integrating their CDS can be illustrated with reference to the steps outlined above.

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Prioritised CDS strategies in Nam Dinh were broadcasted to all functional departments and agencies in the city, so that they could develop implementation plan for strategies closely linked to the mandate and responsibilities of that functional department/agency. The tentative allocation of responsibility for implementing prioritised strategies among departments was discussed with and received the blessing of the City PC Chairman.

The CDS Task Force and consultant team then assisted departments in developing action plans to implement selected strategies, using a common template that could be conveniently consolidated for progress monitoring at the city level.

The action plans of departments were developed under the following principles:

1. Participation by all staff of all departments
2. Action plans must be “actionable” (considering the resources available to that department)
3. Action plans need to be broken down to concrete activities and tasks
4. Expected outputs or results must be indicated clearly

The departmental action plans were consolidated at the city level and a set of immediate action plans for implementation during the two years of 2006–2007 were then decided (5 actions per department), again based on a number of agreed criteria.

Example of implementation of an action plan:

Method for selection of action plans in priority projects for CDS implementation in Nam Dinh

Steps 1,2,3 were carried out with intensive consultation from all civil servants in related departments. Steps 4 & 5 are the leadership decision making stages.

Source: Nam Dinh Urban Development Project Presentation – CDS in Nam Dinh.

Implementation and Integration in Hai Phong

From the CDS action plan, the CDS working group in Hai Phong developed a list of programs and projects that noted their level of priority. The working group reviewed all 28 CDS priorities and researched government programs to find relevant strategies of the central and local government. This work was quite complicated but necessary in order to ensure integration of CDS initiatives into the national development programs of ministries and sectors. Some CDS priorities were identified as conflicting with sector priorities. These were considered separately to determine if adjustment of sectors or ministries was possible.

The list of priority projects was made with the overall CDS objectives in mind. The number of projects was quite big initially. The number reduced over time as the working group held workshops and discussions with ministries and identified a smaller number of projects (although still quite high at 541) for implementation over 10 years.

It was identified that there were still too many projects. The working group developed criteria to categorise and prioritise those project and programs. A weighing scale was applied based on selected criteria. There were two lists of criteria: social, managerial projects and economic and infrastructure development projects. There were about 4–5 criteria for each list scaled from 1 to 5 (lowest to the highest respectively). Projects identified as priority projects were those with a total score higher than the selected threshold. From this process, 165 projects were selected for the 10-year planning period.