In response to a request from the Vietnam Monitoring Office of Program 165 of the Central Committee of Organization and Personnel, GRIPS conducted a special three-month training and research program for senior officials of the Vietnamese government from April 3 to June 29, 2015. Five senior officials (from Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Central Women’s Union of Vietnam, Ministry of Planning and Investment, Ministry of Justice, and Office of National Assembly of Vietnam) selected by Program 165 participated in the program.

During the program, each participant selected and attended some of the regular courses of GRIPS related to their research themes. The program director, Masahiro Horie (senior professor and director of the Executive Development Center for Global Leadership), Vice-President Prof. Kiyotaka Yokomichi, Academic Fellow Prof. Yonosuke Hara, Prof. Emeritus Hisayoshi Hashimoto, Prof. Ryosuke Nakata, Prof Toshihiro Kudo, and Mr. Satoshi Kumagai from IDE-JETRO supported each participant’s own research as special advisor by providing advice on methodologies as well as the contents of the selected issue.

The participants also attended special lectures given by Prof. Ryoko Toyama (Graduate School of Strategic Management, Chuo University), Senior Prof. Horie, Prof. Yokomichi, Prof. Mikitaka Masuyama (vice president of GRIPS), Prof. Kenichi Ono and Assis. Prof. Yusuke Takagi. Through these lectures, the participants learned about a number of topics, including progress toward knowledge-based management with an examination of “Knowledge Management”, leadership and management skills, local governance and intergovernmental relations, electoral systems and Japan’s party politics, economic development of Japan, an approaching middle income trap & industrial policy quality in Vietnam and institutions in policy making.

In Tokyo, participants visited the National Diet and Nishi-Tokyo City Hall. They also took a field trip to Fukui and Kanazawa in Hokuriku area and visited SMEs and factories which are expanding (or planning to expand)business in Vietnam as well as farm. Through exchange of opinions with entrepreneurs, they learned a lot of possibility of cooperation between Vietnam and Japan.

Participants completed the training program by writing and presenting their respective research paper.