On 1 May 2018, the Cabinet of Thailand approved the plan to mobilise the country’s public sector management to the 4.0 era, aiming at increasing the efficiency of the public sector to meet the 20-year National Strategy (2018-2037) as well as the 13th national economic and social development plan (2023-2027). The public sector management in the 4.0 era requires the government to be open, citizen-centric by connecting more with them and prioritising their need over others, and be innovative as well as effective. The Office of the Public Sector Development Commission or the OPDC was therefore assigned to be the host agency and main steering organisation in this regard. The OPDC’s duties are to enhance knowledge and understanding of all government agencies on this matter, prepare every agency for the transformation, equip them with action plans as well as guideline to actualise the public sector management 4.0, and also evaluate and certify the government agencies that are capable accordingly.
To strengthen the transformation process for Thailand’s public sector management 4.0, the OPDC has developed a monitoring and evaluation framework called PMQA or Public Sector Management Quality Award. The PMQA was put into the governmental work structure and utilised by the government agencies throughout the country as a tool to evaluate, improve, and qualify their performance. There are seven categories in the PMQA: six for the process and one for the result. Category 1 is about Leadership; Category 2 Strategic Planning; Category 3 Customer and Stakeholder Focus; Category 4 Information, Analysis, and Knowledge Management; Category 5 Human Resource Focus; Category 6 Process Management; and Category 7 Results. With these categories, the OPDC has continuously supported and evaluated the government agencies in Thailand by granting the awards to the outstanding offices/agencies that are successful in transforming themselves to answer the criteria and meet citizens' needs.
Therefore, to ensure the transformation process and stimulate every government office/agency in the country to work harder in this direction, the OPDC, with the support of KAS Thailand, has realised that additional aid is requisite and the production of PMQA 4.0 Toolkits would be the most applicable supplement for government offices/agencies to abide by. The contents in the toolkits were compiled from the research and study that portray the full picture of the PMQA 4.0 process and implementation in Thailand. Then, the contents were digested and designed in the format of electronic book equipped with easy-understandable texts, infographics, and elements for target readers which are government officials and also indirectly the public. Among others, the contents also consist of lessons learned as well as performance of the organizations that have been recognised as the successful ones, guidelines for government offices to meet all PMQA-4.0 categories, and how to perform and implement the public services concerning the core values of the public sector management in the 4.0 era.
With this aid, the ODPC anticipates that the government offices/agencies in Thailand will successfully utilise it to improve their performance effectively and also sustainably, truly understand their own roles as deliverer of the public services to meet citizens’ need, be farsighted and proactive in every duty concerned with their organisation management, and always develop themselves with the innovative assistance. In doing so, the Thai public sector will manage to carry out the good governance principle, answer the citizens’ expectation, and gain more trust from the society.
The publication is available here, only in digital format and in Thai language.
