PARTICIPATORY GOVERNANCE: FROM THE CONCEPT TO THE PUBLIC SECTOR DEVELOPMENT IN THAILAND 4.0

Abstract

This academic paper has the purpose to present the participatory governance concept for supporting changes in entering Thailand 4.0: changes to citizen-centric bureaucracy under the participatory governance concept, application of various bureaucratic models in adapting the bureaucracy, and application of innovation in digital technology as an instrument. The framework is used for analyzing the participatory governance concept used by the government sector as the mechanism for driving the implementation in Thailand 4.0. According to the analysis, the participatory governance concept is applied by emphasizing on public participation in Thai bureaucracy under the economic policy in the Thailand 4.0 model. Accordingly, the government sector needs to adapt their roles, set direction, and use innovation for better responding to the people’s needs. Therefore, the operational process of the government agencies has to be adjusted by using the participatory governance concept in making decisions on official matters both in a direct or indirect way for the highest public benefits. In addition, the changes in the bureaucratic system according to Thailand 4.0 result in changing roles of the government sector by focusing more on public participation in the implementation of the people-centric government.