Training course on sub-sectoral industrial analysis and strategy for policymakers from Viet Nam

As part of the ongoing UNIDO project “Support to the Government of Viet Nam in the formulation of sub-sector industrial strategy and of the related implementation policy through institutional capacity building”, a training course for mid-level policymakers from several relevant Ministries and Departments in Vietnam was organized on the topic of evidence-based industrial policymaking. The course took place from 16-19 January in Hoa Binh province and was titled “Enhancing the Quality of Industrial Policy in Viet Nam”.

The programme gathered over 15 policymakers from different Ministries and Departments engaged in implementing Viet Nam’s industrial policy. It conveyed to them some of the basic principles and methodologies of evidence-based industrial policymaking, particularly in regard to sub-sectoral analysis. The underlying methodology, known as the Enhancing the Quality of Industrial Policy (EQuIP) Toolkit provides a comprehensive set of instruments to analyse industrial data, interpret it and develop dynamic industrial policies. EQuIP was developed by UNIDO in cooperation with the German Federal Enterprise for International Cooperation (GiZ).

The training used selected indicators from EQuIP Tool 2 (“Sub-sector competitive performance”) and EQuIP Tool 5 (“Industrial employment and poverty alleviation”) to analyze available subsector level data for Vietnam with the objective to inform the country’s industrial development strategy.

The training focused on calculating baseline indicators of Vietnam’s current economic and social performance on the sub-sector level. It covered indicators that measure the scale and structure of industrial production, export, import, employment and wages in order to understand how industrial sub-sectors currently contribute to the “expansion of industrial production” and the “domestic benefits from production”.

In compliance with Vietnam’s priorities (as stated in the Decision of the Prime Minister approving the strategy on Viet Nam’s industrial development through 2025, with a vision toward 2035, Number 879) the focus was on three sectors, namely: food, textile and machinery.