CHALLENGES OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION RESEARCH FOR LOCAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE UPPER NORTHERN THAILAND

Abstract

The purposes of this article were to present problems, to identify challenges, to suggest, and to share opinions about trend of public administration research for local development in the upper northern region. Public administration research, especially research that serves local development, has experienced with lacking of coordination between funding agencies and between research institutions and private sectors, lacking of clarity on what needed to be study, and not being brought to utilize. Although, the research has confronted lots of problems, there were awaited many challenges which were 1) challenges for researchers themselves to consider what should be studied, what should be continued, and what should be choose carefully and 2) challenges to determine questions of research. Furthermore, in order to utilize any researches responded to every sector ought to build linkage between funding agencies from both public and private sector and national research strategies into local development strategies and local problems, clarify in what should be studied for concrete solving to local area, build collaboration between the locals, communities and local administrative organizations to reach development goal together.  However, trend of doing public administration research in the future intends to continue beneath 20 years of research and innovation strategies 2017-2036. Particularly, It is expected to run under 2^nd strategy-Research and Innovation for Social and Environmental Development-and 3^rd strategy-Research and Innovation for the Establishment of basic knowledge of the country.