Systems Approach to Training Curriculum for Provincial
Development Planning in Thailand
Orasa Suksawang
Faculty of Social Sciences, Kasetsart University
E-mail : fsocoss@nontri.ku.ac.th
Abstract
Development Planning in Thailand occurs at national, regional, provincial and sectoral levels with
common forms of planning process - understanding problem situations, formulation of goals and
objectives, translating these into quantified targets, identification and appraisal of alternative courses of
action, supervising efforts made to implement plans and evaluating performance and its outcomes.
However, these plans are poorly co-ordinated and the harmonisation of diverse planning operations has
not been viewed. Sectoral plans are prepared with little regard for their impact on other sectors since
the systematic relationship between these fragmented plans has not been captured by planners. It was
reported that although they have been trained in planning but do not yet feel capable to identify
development problems and potentials, to formulate development goals, to co-ordinate organisational
actors on planning issues and to analyse socio-economic impacts of regional development programs.
This paper presents and discusses the system dynamics approach to curriculum design for training the
local planners of the Ministry of Interior. This program is to prepare the planners at provincial level to
improve their skills in planning for future decentralisation promotion. Trainees were selected from
young planners of each province of Thailand to attend the 5-day workshops. Based on experiences,
none of them had background of system thinking and knew how to make use of abundant data. After
being approached to studying systems emphasising the connections among the various parts that
constitute a whole at the workshop, the trainees were evaluated to be energetic in discussion among
themselves the strategies regarding planning process for approaching to provincial development
planning.
INTRODUCTION
Thailand has adopted plan as tool for national development since 1961. The first to fourth national
plans (1961- 1981) emphasised basic economic infrastructure investment as a foundation for other
sectoral development. The fifth national plan (1982-1986) focused on rural development and quality of
life which aimed to reduce the income gap between the population in agriculture and other sectors
(Uswarangkul,1997). The growth of urbanisation particularly in the metropolitan area influenced more
interest in the issues of decentralisation, participation and grass roots development in the sixth and
seventh national plan (1987- 1996), in order to reverse the concentration of power and resources at the
centre. As part of decentralisation efforts, the government aims at strengthening regional and local
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levels of administration to take over new functions relating to the planning and implementation of
development programmes and projects (Poppe et al, 1996). Instead of acting as a collector of sectoral
plans from various organisations, the provincial planning unit is expected to guide and co-ordinate
plans at regional and local levels. The provincial development plan as stated in the Priminister Office’s
Regulation No. 5 under the Administrative Organisation of the State Act B.E. 2534 (1991), is the
social and economic development plan of which policies, direction, development guidelines and co-
ordination between sub-plans and projects of the province in relation to the national plan are defined by
the provincial development committee (NESDB,1996:2). The Policy Analysis and Planning Officials
(PAaPO) under the provincial offices are also included in this committee. At present, 890 PAaPOs
together in central and provincial units play the key roles in planning and monitoring and evaluation.
Regarding the need to improve planning capacity of these officials, two 5-day planning workshops
‘were organised in March and May 1997 by the Ministry of Interior to train eighty-one PAaPOs-
seventy-two local planners from seventy-two provinces and nine planners from the central government-
in planning theory and system-oriented planning process, This paper describes how system dynamics
contributes to the planning process and the changes of trainees’ attitudes and skills in problem
conceptualisation.
SYSTEM DYNAMICS APPROACH TO PLANNING PROCESS
The planning workshops aimed to provide basic system thinking training in planning process
emphasising system approach to addressing the problems. It was found that although the officials have
been trained in planning issues but do not yet feel capable to identify development problems and
potentials (Poppe et al,1996). The stages in planning process include understanding problem situations,
formulation of goals and objectives, translating these into quantified targets, identification and appraisal
of alternative courses of action, supervising efforts made to implement plans and evaluating
performance and its outcomes. The first day of the workshop started with a lecture on planning theory
and ended with watching video discussing problems in Phuket province (a case study) for an hour.
Another four days focused on learning by doing in the system- oriented planning process starting with
understanding the problem system. The trainees were assigned to read the training materials in advance
concerning dynamic problems, system definitions including opened and closed system, structure and
behaviour of feedback systems; graphing data and behaviour pattems. After a lecture in relation to the
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reading assignments, some system dynamics’s applications were illustrated. Followed by watching the
same video again but this time they were asked to have group discussions and write down their
perception of the problem system in the form of feedback loops. With system thinking training, the
trainees could gain more relating information of the problems than the first watching. Figure 1 shows
Fig, 1 Feedback Structure of the Problems Discussed in Video
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( y o
aa .. aan — ey tt
A el Tncome
i
Wace Croviding
oD for
Environmental Reservatior,
Enel Be ates (oy +
mpi seca —
Damage, +
People Participation in
Environmental Reservation
Policy : Promotion of Ecotourism
Objectives are 1) to increase tourism income, 2) to create local jobs, 3) to improve
natural areas for tourism, 4) to improve local art and culture, 5) to support the investment
for environmental management, 6) to improve quality of life and 7) to encourage people
participation in environmental reservation.
Key Policy Indicators : growth of tourism income, absorption of labour force in tourism,
quantity and quality of natural areas for tourism.
Proposed Plans : 1) Provincial land use and infrastructure development plan 2)
Investment plan for tourism, 3) Natural resources development plan 4) Quality of life
improvement plan 5) People participation development plan.
the final feedback loops integrated and developed from all groups. Then every group adopted this
problem structure as a basic framework to identify required data used for analysis and potential policy
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statements, policy objectives, policy indicators and proposed plans for provincial level as an example
shown in the box at the bottom. These plans further led to fragmented action plans in terms of
altemative projects based on disciplines or functions of organisations, They were asked to identify a
hierarchy of objectives and indicators and targets stated at policy formulation (macro and sectoral
levels); and choice and implementation of investment (micro/project levels) in order to maintain the
feedback between these stages. The feedback system concepts were found to be useful fundamental of
thinking process in the planning workshops.
DISCUSSION
The system dynamics approach in the planning process helps the intuitive understanding of a problem
and ability to connect among the various parts that constitute a whole which is the important role of the
provincial planner. Since this helps increase capacity in co-ordinating among various organisations to
formulate the development and action plans with the same direction in operations at national ,
provincial and sectoral levels. However, the system approach is new to the trainees and their
backgrounds, only 5-day training is not adequate to gain operational skills in real applications. In-
service training or on the job training should be followed up. What they have leamed from the
workshop based on their assessment are the knowledge of system thinking and their new attitudes
towards the way of looking at problems as a whole which can help them in dealing with their assigned
tasks and diverse actors in the provincial development planning.
REFERENCES
1) NESDB (1996). Regulation of Priminister Office on Management of Development for Growth
Distribution to the Region and Local Area B.E. 2539.
2) Poppe et al, (1996).” Training for Development Administraion -Towards an Integration of
Training Needs and Training Capacities for Regional Development Planning in Thailand.” (draft
document).
3) Uswarangkul, U.(1997). Plan as a Tool for Bureaucratic Administration. Document for a lecture
in the planning workshop held at Ministry of Interior in March and May 1997.
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