POLICY SUCCESSES AND FAILURES: “WATERSIDE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT PROJECT”

Abstract

    “Waterside Housing Development Project” is a policy aimed at solving the problem of the housing encroachment along canals and the flood problems, the housing improvement and developing the quality of life of people in communities along the canal at the same time in Bangkok. But many factors, including first, policy factors which are discontinuous and nebulous, second, leader factors who lack skills in and knowledge of management, third, target group factors which lack an understanding of the effects and disadvantages of the policy or have a bad attitude, fourth, relevant agencies factors for which there is no legal action against opposition parties, and fifth, that lack knowledge of construction management and contract management, make the policy unsuccessful. That, the following recommendations: 1) The regulator must continually monitor the project’s progress to find the solutions that arise during the implementation and in order to have clear operational guidelines; 2) It is necessary to build skills and leadership of the community leaders who are the main driving forces of the project; 3) It is necessary to strengthen understanding and acceptance from the target group, including strictly enforcing the law; 4) The relevant agencies must perform their duties fully and execute their performance within the time frame; and 5) The regulator must strengthen the participation and understanding in the community about contract management, accounting and construction work. For future, policymakers should conduct stakeholder analysis, problems and context to establish effective guidelines or mechanisms for risk mitigation leading to the achievement of the policy.