Public Participation and Performance of Government Projects in Thailand
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53819/81018102t5095Abstract
Public participation is the inclusion of the public in the activities of any organization or project. The performance of government projects in Thailand has been slow. Some of the projects have taken a longer time than anticipated to be completed. In addition, some projects are not the priority of the citizens and they end up being of no value to the citizens. Thus, the study sought to examine the effect of public participation on the performance of government projects in Thailand. The study used a descriptive research design. The collection of the data was done using questionnaires. The study sampled randomly 1378 people in Bangkok. The analysis of the data was done using SPSS. The study findings showed public participation has a positive and significant effect on the performance of development projects in Thailand. Public participation is a basic condition in local democracy because it allows the citizen to take part and contribute to bringing more solutions to any type of problem. Most governments are called to change and give their citizens room in the decision-making processes, from the low levels of governance to the highest. The study concluded that public participation has led to the effective planning, execution, operation, and monitoring of projects. It is recommended that the project officers should encourage the participation of the community by motivating participants to offer their views on various projects. The project officers need to include locals in all relevant activities involving work sequencing, work organizing, financing and staffing. Public participation makes it possible to consider community issues. Public participation should be organized in a particular way to make sure that they contribute to the environmental, financial, and social sustainability concerns of the project.
Keywords: Public Participation, Performance, Government Projects, Thailand
References
Bouzguenda, I., Alalouch, C., & Fava, N. (2019). Towards smart sustainable cities: A review of the role digital citizen participation could play in advancing social sustainability. Sustainable Cities and Society, 5(19), 101-116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2019.101627
Cao, L. (2022). Participatory governance in China: Informal public participation’through neighbourhood mobilisation. Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space. Journal of governance 5(2), 17-32 https://doi.org/10.1177/23996544221100914
Chompunth, C. (2020). Public Participation Practice within the Environmental and Health Impact Assessment System in Thailand. Geomate Journal, 19(72), 137-144. https://doi.org/10.21660/2020.72.4608
Clark, J. K. (2018). Designing public participation: Managing problem settings and social equity. Public Administration Review, 78(3), 362-374. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12872
Das, R., Laishram, B., & Jawed, M. (2019). Public participation in urban water supply projects–The case of South-West Guwahati, India. Journal of Water research, 16(5), 119-128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2019.114989
Gil, O., Cortés-Cediel, M. E., & Cantador, I. (2019). Citizen participation and the rise of digital media platforms in smart governance and smart cities. International Journal of E-Planning Research (IJEPR), 8(1), 19-34. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJEPR.2019010102
Huang, G. C. L., Chen, R. Y., & Park, B. B. (2021). Democratic innovations as a party tool: A comparative analysis of nuclear energy public participation in Taiwan and South Korea. Energy Policy, 15(3), 122-135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2021.112251
Ianniello, M., Iacuzzi, S., Fedele, P., & Brusati, L. (2019). Obstacles and solutions on the ladder of citizen participation: a systematic review. Public management review, 21(1), 21-46. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2018.1438499
Li, L., Xia, X. H., Chen, B., & Sun, L. (2018). Public participation in achieving sustainable development goals in China: Evidence from the practice of air pollution control. Journal of cleaner production, 20(19), 499-506. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.08.046
Mees, H. L., Uittenbroek, C. J., Hegger, D. L., & Driessen, P. P. (2019). From citizen participation to government participation: A n exploration of the roles of local governments in community initiatives for climate change adaptation in the N etherlands. Environmental Policy and Governance, 29(3), 198-208. https://doi.org/10.1002/eet.1847
Mulyasari, F., Harahap, A. K., Rio, A. O., Sule, R., & Kadir, W. G. A. (2021). Potentials of the public engagement strategy for public acceptance and social license to operate: Case study of Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage Gundih Pilot Project in Indonesia. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 10(8), 312-319. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2021.103312
Nielsen, J., Eckstein, L., Nicol, D., & Stewart, C. (2021). Integrating public participation, transparency and accountability into governance of marketing authorisation for genome editing products. Frontiers in Political Science, 3(4), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpos.2021.747838
Quick, K. S., & Bryson, J. M. (2022). Public participation. In Handbook on theories of governance. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Solman, H., Smits, M., van Vliet, B., & Bush, S. (2021). Co-production in the wind energy sector: A systematic literature review of public engagement beyond invited stakeholder participation. Energy Research & Social Science, 72(9), 101-118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2020.101876
Urcuqui-Bustamante, A. M., Selfa, T. L., Hirsch, P., & Ashcraft, C. M. (2021). Uncovering Stakeholder Participation in Payment for Hydrological Services (PHS) Program Decision Making in Mexico and Colombia. Sustainability, 13(15), 85-92. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13158562
Wamsler, C., Alkan-Olsson, J., Björn, H., Falck, H., Hanson, H., Oskarsson, T., ... & Zelmerlow, F. (2020). Beyond participation: when citizen engagement leads to undesirable outcomes for nature-based solutions and climate change adaptation. Climatic Change, 158(2), 235-254. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-019-02557-9
Webler, T., & Tuler, S. (2021). Four decades of public participation in risk decision making. Journal of Risk analysis, 41(3), 503-518. https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.13250