Coordinating communications between policy, research and civic engagement will be key to meeting UN sustainability goals in Thailand and beyond
As Thailand shifts its political agendas towards meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Thammasat University has become central to coordinating research and policy while helping to prioritise the country’s social mobility.
Leading the way is Chol Bunnag, director of Thailand’s SDG Research and Support programme, SDG Move. As assistant professor of economics at Thammasat, Professor Chol is well versed in the fact that “development is not just about the economy. In the past, there has been much focus on finance and politics, and a lot less on societal or environmental policies,” he says, “but SDG-led agendas can lead to more balanced development objectives.”
In committing to the UN targets, Thailand has joined with other member states to end poverty, promote peace and reduce the impacts of climate change by 2030. SDG Move was set up by the Thailand Research Fund with the aim of providing directions for the allocation of research grants that support the country’s SDG implementation and a continuing review of its progress towards meeting these goals.
This includes reviewing the research into and the implementation of the strategy at a national and global level. A key aspect of Professor Chol’s job, therefore, is to act as a mediator between government agencies and civil society, proposing new research topics that can be allocated research grants each year.
“We have been working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other partners to create a platform where representatives from all areas of society can come to meet and discuss regularly,” he explains. “Trust between government and civil society is increasing, and it’s good to be part of that.”
SDG Move focuses on two key areas of research: the first determines the status of each SDG in Thailand, the second looks at “localisation” – that is, how the policy changes in meeting SDGs will have an impact on each region and aspect of Thai society.
To do this, Professor Chol’s team works with a range of government departments and independent bodies to ensure that data are built up to support any policy recommendations they make. “If we want to see a real improvement in national indicators, we need to make it an inclusive process,” he says.
A number of government policy decisions have been influenced by SDG Move’s work. Inputs for the National Science Research and Innovation Plan for budget year 2022 at the regional level are formulated through the use of an SDG framework, Thailand’s Sustainable Consumption and Production Roadmap has been revised to be more aligned with the SDGs, and the draft version of the National SDGs Indicators produced by the National Statistical Office became more inclusive as a result of the workshops designed by the SDG Move team.
A total of 24 research projects funded under the SDG Move initiative are currently under way at universities and research institutes across Thailand. Ensuring clear communications between institutions as well as policymakers and private stakeholders remains a challenge, however.
“The academic sector has also been slow to adopt SDGs,” says Professor Chol. “People have been working in silos, with too much focus on their own disciplines. To make research more aligned with SDG targets, we need to collaborate with each other and with vulnerable groups likely to be impacted by new policies.”
The solution to these problems, he believes, is the implementation of Thailand’s own Sustainable Development Solutions Network – an initiative linked to a larger, global network of institutions that aims to bring together scholars, policymakers, private stakeholders and community leaders across all areas of society.
Thammasat plans to host a series of online seminars through the network, particularly in light of how the Covid-19 pandemic might impact SDG progress. “We will ask questions about how the SDG programmes might need to be adapted to our new world,” Professor Chol explains. “Do we need to shift some priorities? Is it going to make achieving SDGs more difficult?”
By the end of 2020, Professor Chol wants to produce an in-depth report on Thailand’s progress. It will be the first report of its kind for the country, and will provide a valuable steer for policymakers.
Meanwhile, Thammasat University is leading by example in setting its own targets to become a fully sustainable “smart university”. To this end, its Rangsit Campus has installed enough solar panels to provide one-third of the energy needed on campus, and, at the beginning of 2020, the university won the International Sustainable Campus Network’s “Cultural Change for Sustainability” award for its campaign to reduce single-use plastics.
“It’s clear that university leaders are beginning to recognise that the world is watching their progress,” Professor Chol concludes. “Increasing research outputs on the topic of sustainability and social mobility, and putting that research into action, is good not only for their reputation but for Thailand.”
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