‘Apply reverse thinking to innovate and create real results’

On December 21, the Ministry of Science and Technology organized a summary of the work in 2025 and deployed the tasks in 2026 of the General Staff; Digital technology industry and Information and propaganda.

Unlike before, this year’s conference does not take place in the traditional way. For more than four hours, instead of reading prepared speeches and reports, representatives of units in the Ministry took turns presenting presentations about an innovation and creativity in their work. The hall was also continuously heated with exchanges and discussions between the Minister and officials and employees.

During the question and answer session, the Minister did not delve into technical issues or numbers, but continuously suggested ways to approach the problem. According to him, many current limitations do not come from policies or resources, but from the habit of doing things the old way: asking questions that are too broad and safe; follow familiar procedures; Consider issuing documents or completing tasks as the destination.

The message he emphasized in many answers was “do it backwards”. Do not consider policy promulgation as the end, but as the starting point of the implementation process. Do not follow the path of previous countries, but find your own path, based on Vietnam’s specific advantages and problems. Do not do mass production, but focus on specialized products and solutions.

Along with innovating ways of doing things, there is a need to innovate approaches and ways of asking questions – indispensable skills in the AI ​​era. According to him, asking the right and specific questions is the first step to forming a different mindset and creating real innovation.

The Minister highly appreciated the units for completing a large amount of regular work, as well as doing well many new and difficult tasks, implemented for the first time, in the context of many organizational changes.

At the conference, Deputy Minister Bui Hoang Phuong also said that 2025 is a special period, when the Ministry must both consolidate the post-merger organization, stabilize the headquarters, staff life, and complete the legal corridor for the fields of science and technology, innovation, digital transformation and many other tasks according to state management functions.

According to him, the workload of the advisory units recently has been “very large, unprecedented”, in the context that the Ministry was assigned to be the focal point for implementing Resolution 57 with many new tasks, difficult operations, high requirements and a tight time frame. “There were days when the units met from 2:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., without any sleep,” he said

In 10 months, the Ministry has reviewed, developed, amended and supplemented 10 laws, bringing the total number of industry laws to 14, along with more than 20 decrees and many circulars. “All units have tried their best,” said the Deputy Minister.

Minister Nguyen Manh Hung said that, after nearly a year of consolidation, units in the bloc have made initial changes in awareness and ways of doing things, starting to use new tools and technology in their work, thereby creating specific results. These movements are the basis for creating confidence for the journey ahead.

Important innovations

From the initial results of the units after nearly a year of consolidation, the Minister spent most of the conclusion talking about the changes he considered decisive for the General Staff; Digital technology industry and Information and propaganda.

With the General Staff, the Minister emphasized the need for a fundamental shift in role, from “giving” to “serving and supporting”. According to him, the development of the Ministry and the industry does not lie in the intermediary unit, but in the implementation unit. Therefore, the sector must play its service role well so that enforcement units can work effectively and serve people and businesses.

Along with that, the bloc needs to build digital platforms and shared tools. When other units work and operate on the platform, the new Staff can monitor, synthesize, warn early, monitor and promote.

The Minister frankly pointed out common “diseases” that consulting units need to avoid, such as general thinking, choosing safe options, valuing process over results, standing outside of reality or avoiding responsibility. According to him, the ultimate goal is not to get the process right, but to produce results. He warned that in the context of rapid AI development, advisory agencies and intermediaries can easily be eliminated from the organization if they do not redefine their roles.

Regarding staff organization, the Minister requested innovation in the direction of staff management based on job position and capacity, evaluated based on results. Evaluation needs to shift from qualitative comments on an annual basis to evaluating work results on a quarterly basis, using data and tools to limit emotions. Planning and appointment work also needs to shift from the mindset of “process is key” to selecting people who “can do the job”. Staff training must be aimed at building a team for the future, instead of spreading out, while improving the attraction of experts and the use of young staff.

With the Department of Planning and Finance, the Minister said it is necessary to shift from the role of “budget management” and “expenditure procedures” to “coordinating resources for development”. The Department needs to proactively propose spending structures, how to use money effectively, and prioritize spending…

Planning does not stop at each year, but targets medium-term plans, increasing spending for major programs, strategic tasks, and long-term goals. The method of budget allocation also changed from “allocation” according to the topic to “ordering, buying results, hiring services”, so that the Ministry becomes a “smart customer”, thereby improving the efficiency of public spending and creating conditions for businesses to develop.

In addition, the Department must also innovate in risk management methods and accept controlled risks. The way to evaluate the effectiveness of spending needs to shift from “spending correctly, sufficiently, and promptly” to spending that creates capacity and impact, requiring the recipient to create results.

For the Office, Minister Nguyen Manh Hung requested to move from an administrative service unit to an operating, coordinating and consulting center, based on data and strategic tasks. The Office does not just stop at receiving, summarizing, and submitting for signature, but must participate in coordinating implementation, early warning, and changing the way of advising, from reporting the situation to supporting leaders in making decisions. The operating method needs to shift from processing work based on records to managing based on tasks and results, promoting digital applications and using operating tools, and improving staff capacity.

With the Department of Information Technology Industry, the Minister emphasized the need to manage and support businesses based on data. The Department needs to have complete information about digital technology businesses, clearly classify them into groups to have appropriate policies, and focus on supporting businesses with products and markets, which means specific results. Regarding market management, he suggested that the Department shift from promotion to creating the domestic market, from organizing booths and exhibitions to creating orders, to buying products or issuing vouchers for others to buy products, thereby creating a market for Vietnamese businesses to develop.

With the media sector, the Minister requested to shift from reporting news to leading social awareness, accompanying policies on science and technology, innovation and digital transformation. The Information Center needs to innovate to become an official, easy-to-understand and reliable source of information, moving from an electronic bulletin board to a policy information portal, with content structured in different layers.

Meanwhile, Science – Technology – Communication Publishing House is required to innovate into humanity’s knowledge infrastructure, directly serving policy development and technology development, with practical content, fast publishing, flexible in form, associated with the scientific and innovation community.

Minister Nguyen Manh Hung said the above transition requires suitable people: aspirational, good at their job, kind, disciplined, and able to use AI to change the way of working. Staff Division; The digital technology industry and information and propaganda need to be one step ahead and set an example to lead the entire Ministry of Science and Technology in a new direction.