Defining strong ownership: Institutional Determinants and Stakeholder Interests in Vietnamese Development Planning

Sammanfattning: The current development debate emphasizes national ownership of the development agenda as a precondition for sustainable development and aid effectiveness. Vietnam is often held up as a good example of strong ownership. Yet, the ownership concept is not clearly defined or understood due to a lack of empirically rooted evidence and analysis. This study examines the key elements of development ownership in Vietnam in order to define and understand the determinants and nature of strong ownership. Arguing that ownership is both time and place specific and must be defined and understood within the confines of a national political context, this study proposes an analytical framework for analyzing ownership in which the focus is shifted from a donor-driven to a recipient perspective. In the course of this analysis, the study takes into consideration state institutions and stakeholder interests in the development planning process, with emphasis on the domestic political environment of the recipient government instead of the more common focus on aid relationships. The study argues that both historical and political factors have contributed to Vietnam's strong national ownership of development planning. Vietnam has been concerned about national independence and political unity, and established an institutional setting based on central planning to make it possible to exercise strong government ownership. The findings also suggest that this strong ownership is now changing due to profound institutional changes fuelled by increased stakeholder interests and alternation of power relationships. In this process, foreign development partners have assumed an important role similar to that of a powerful stakeholder in policy dialogue with the government.