16.2.4 Participatory bodies for stakeholder engagement
Srinakharinwirot University (SWU) recognizes that meaningful engagement with local stakeholders is central to its mission to remain socially responsive and accountable to the communities it serves. To this end, the university convenes formal participatory bodies that give local residents, local government authorities, businesses, and civil society representatives a structured mechanism for participation in decision-making. These bodies serve not only as consultative forums but also as channels through which community perspectives are integrated into university priorities and long-term planning. In this way, community voices are institutionalized rather than incidental, and the university's governance processes reflect the shared interests of academia, government, the private sector, and civil society. The university's principal participatory body for local stakeholder engagement is the SOOK ASOK Network, for which SWU serves as academic lead and convener.
SOOK ASOK Network: A Multi-Stakeholder Participatory Body for the Asok District
The SOOK ASOK Network brings together educational institutions, businesses, and civil society organizations along Asok Montri Road to make the Asok area a more livable district. On April 3, 2024, network partners signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) at SWU’s Prasarnmit Campus, witnessed by Assoc. Prof. Chadchart Sittipunt, Governor of Bangkok. Under the MOU, the partners jointly develop the Asok area through four well-being pillars: Happy Mobility, Healthy Lifestyles, Environmental Well-being, and Engaging Activities.
The network was founded by a coalition of organizations based in the Asok district, which recognized the importance of revitalizing Asok as one of Bangkok's key financial districts. Alongside Srinakharinwirot University, the founding partners are:
Kiatnakin Phatra Financial Group (KKP)
Sino-Thai Engineering and Construction Public Company Limited
Rutnin Eye Hospital
Heritage Estates Co., Ltd.
FICO Corporation Co., Ltd.
GMM Grammy Public Company Limited
Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited
The Siam Society Under Royal Patronage
The Siam Society Under Royal Patronage is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation, and represents civil society in the network alongside businesses, residents and local government agencies.
Source: https://sso.op.swu.ac.th/SookAsok
Source: SOOK ASOK Network Facebook page
The SOOK ASOK initiative began in late 2022, when partner organizations held joint consultations to plan and set directions for area development. The partners then conducted comprehensive studies, including data collection, on-site environmental analysis, target-group interviews, and stakeholder workshops, to understand the needs and challenges of people who live and work in the area.
A needs assessment of 555 respondents in the Asok Montri area, including business operators, space users, and residents, found that public safety was the most frequently cited concern, particularly the condition of sidewalks and pedestrian crossings and inadequate lighting at key locations. Respondents also raised concerns about physical infrastructure, such as the quality and width of walkways and the adequacy of amenities, as well as environmental issues, including air quality, noise, cleanliness around commercial premises, and the lack of a systematic waste management system.
SOOK ASOK Network in 2025: Continued Participatory Decision-Making
The SOOK ASOK Network remained SWU’s principal participatory body for local stakeholder engagement throughout 2025. On September 24, 2025, the university hosted the fourth SOOK ASOK Network meeting of 2025 in the Sri Sa-nga Mahanakhon 70th Anniversary Meeting Room, 18th Floor, Professor Dr. Saroj Buasri Innovation Building. The meeting, which reviewed progress on the SOOK ASOK project, was chaired by Prof. Dr. Cholvit Jearajit, President of Srinakharinwirot University, and brought together:
SOOK ASOK Network partner organizations
BMA Public Works Department
Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA)
Metropolitan Waterworks Authority (MWA)
Watthana District Office
Thong Lo, Din Daeng, Huai Khwang, Lumphini, and Makkasan Metropolitan Police Stations
Representatives of residential buildings on Asok Montri Road
Contractors for the SOOK ASOK project works
The meeting agenda covered:
A progress report on the Asok identity manhole cover design competition
A progress report on SOOK ASOK communications and public relations
The appointment of SOOK ASOK Network representatives to the judging committee for the manhole cover design competition
Details of the road surface and sidewalk repair project on Asok Montri Road, from Sukhumvit Road to the Khlong Saen Saep bridge in Watthana District, and the water pipe installation project along the same section
The network’s influence on local decisions was also visible earlier in the year. On March 19, 2025, the Governor of Bangkok inspected the Asok sidewalks and confirmed that the BMA would proceed with sidewalk improvements using the design co-developed with the SOOK ASOK Network, with a contractor expected by July 2025. The road and sidewalk repair works reviewed at the September meeting are the direct continuation of this co-designed project.
Network partners also led environmental initiatives in the area in 2025. The SWU Zero Waste Club, representing the We Love Asok group, worked with the PP Reborn project by HMC Polymers to collect recyclable waste and clean polypropylene (PP) plastic. Over the course of the project, partners collected a total of 3,955 kg of waste, equivalent to avoiding 14,495.39 kgCO2 in emissions, or the carbon absorption of 1,519 trees, and raised 350,000 baht in donations for solar panels at Bo Kluea Hospital in Nan Province. In July 2025, Indorama Ventures held its ninth quarterly PET Collection event at its headquarters, inviting employees and nearby residents to return used PET bottles; more than 300 kg were collected in just a few hours.
SOOK ASOK Network Decisions in December 2025
On December 2, 2025, SWU announced the results of the Asok identity manhole cover design competition. SOOK ASOK Network representatives, appointed at the September meeting, took part in the judging committee. Entries were judged in two groups, the general public and school and university students, under the network’s four well-being pillars.
Announcement of the results of the Asok identity manhole cover design competition, December 2, 2025.
Source: https://sso.op.swu.ac.th/event-news/ประกาศผลการตัดสินการประกวดออกแบบฝาท่อสะท้อนอัตลักษณ์ย่านอโศก
On December 8, 2025, SWU hosted a further SOOK ASOK Network meeting in the University Council meeting room, 22nd Floor, Professor Dr. Saroj Buasri Innovation Building, chaired by the President of SWU. Network partners, including the Siam Society Under Royal Patronage and private-sector members, attended together with representatives of the Watthana District Office and the BMA Public Works Department. The meeting reviewed the competition results and judging criteria, and the partners agreed that SWU will host the award ceremony on February 24, 2026. Selected designs will be produced as manhole covers in the Asok area. These decisions were taken jointly by the university, local government, businesses and civil society through the network.
The President of SWU chairing the SOOK ASOK Network meeting with civil society, government and private-sector partners, December 8, 2025.
Source: https://sso.op.swu.ac.th/event-news/มหาวิทยาลัยศรีนครินทรวิโรฒ-มศว-ร่วมกับภาคีเครือข่าย-สุขอโศก-sook-asok
SOOK ASOK Network meeting in the University Council meeting room, SWU, December 8, 2025.
Source: https://sso.op.swu.ac.th/event-news/มหาวิทยาลัยศรีนครินทรวิโรฒ-มศว-ร่วมกับภาคีเครือข่าย-สุขอโศก-sook-asok
How the Network Informs University Decision-Making
These activities show that the SOOK ASOK Network functions as a meaningful participatory mechanism rather than a one-off consultation. Because the network meets regularly under the chairmanship of the University President, local government agencies, public utilities, police, businesses, residents, and civil society have a direct channel to the university's top leadership. Network partners also take part in joint decisions, such as serving on the judging committee for the manhole cover design competition, and the sidewalk design co-developed by the network was adopted by the BMA. In turn, the network's needs assessment and ongoing feedback inform the university's own priorities for social engagement in the Asok area, most notably the ASOK Model project described below. At the December 8, 2025 meeting, the partners also reviewed the competition results together and agreed on the next step, the award ceremony to be hosted by SWU in February 2026.
Sources: SOOK ASOK Network meeting No. 4/2025; SOOK ASOK Network posts of February 6, March 19, and July 22, 2025 (https://www.facebook.com/WELOVESOOKASOK); SWU announcement of competition results, December 2, 2025; SOOK ASOK Network meeting of December 8, 2025 (https://sso.op.swu.ac.th/event-news/มหาวิทยาลัยศรีนครินทรวิโรฒ-มศว-ร่วมกับภาคีเครือข่าย-สุขอโศก-sook-asok)
Integrated Development Project for Holistic Health Management: ASOK Model
Srinakharinwirot University, an urban higher education institution located on Sukhumvit 21 (Asok), recognizes the seriousness of local issues in the area. These include unsafe sidewalks and boat piers, limited awareness of waste management, health risks faced by street-level service providers (such as sanitation workers, police officers, motorcycle taxi drivers, and street vendors), and limited healthy food options in shopping centers with large workforces. The area also lacks supervised exercise spaces that offer proper guidance on well-being. In response to these issues, which closely match the concerns raised in the SOOK ASOK needs assessment, the university is developing Sukhumvit 21 (Asok) as the “ASOK Model.”
ASOK Model activities continued in 2025 in partnership with local businesses. In March 2025, the SWU Social Services Office partnered with Singha Complex to host free D.I.Y. workshops open to the public on March 15, 16, and 20, featuring beadwork and tote bag painting, woodblock fabric printing and hair clip making, and cactus pot painting and phone strap making.
