Reports
Discussion Papers
No.069 Bringing Non-governmental Actors into the Policymaking Process: The Case of Local Development Policy in Thailand
by SHIGETOMI Shinichi
August 2006
ABSTRACT
During
the
past
two
decades
in
Thailand,
non-governmental
actors,
such
as
NGOs,
intellectuals,
and
people's
organizations,
have
found
widening
opportunities
to
participate
in
policy
formation
and
in
the
implementation
of
local
development.
The
government
has
facilitated
the
formation
of
civil
society
forums,
in
the
expectation
of
influencing
local-level
governance.
The
last
two
national
five-year
development
plans
were
formulated
after
taking
into
account
the
voices
of
people
in
the
provinces.
Even
though
they
may
seem
petty,
some
state
funds
are
now
transmitted
through
non-governmental
institutions
for
policy
implementation
at
the
grassroots
level.
These
changes
have
their
origin
in
a
reformation
of
rural
development
administration
in
early
1980s.
This
reformation
in
due
course
led
to
policies
that
have
allowed
the
participation
of
non-governmental
actors.
Meanwhile,
rural
people
have
proved
their
ability
to
engage
in
participatory
development
by
forming
various
local
organizations,
while
NGOs
have
grown
to
be
proficient
facilitators
of
local
development.
This
paper
describes
the
process
whereby
three
leading
actors,
namely
the
government,
local
people,
and
the
NGOs,
have
interacted
to
bring
about
a
more
participatory
system
of
local
development
administration.
Keywords:
social
movements,
local
development,
Thailand,
NGOs,
civil
society
JEL
classification:
O20,
R10
Please note that discussion papers are works in various stages of progress and most have not been edited and proofread and may contain errors of fact or judgment. Revised versions of these papers may subsequently appear in more formal publication series. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s). The IDE does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included and accepts no responsibility for any consequences arising from its use.