17.2.1 Relationships with regional NGOs and government for SDG policy

government for SDG policy

Shaping Policy Together: SWU's Partnerships with Government for the SDGs

In 2025, Srinakharinwirot University (SWU) maintained direct involvement in, and input into, national government and regional SDG policy development. Working with national government agencies, provincial authorities, local government, the national legislature and a national health-promotion agency, SWU contributed its research, technical expertise and convening capacity at every stage of the policy cycle: identifying problems and challenges, developing policies and strategies, modelling likely futures with and without interventions, monitoring and reporting on interventions, and enabling adaptive management.

This work is part of SWU's institutional commitment to the SDGs. The University World Ranking Steering Committee coordinates and monitors sustainability work across all faculties and aligns SWU's SDG initiatives with national policy and international frameworks. The results are reported publicly each year in the SWU SDGs Report, which documents SWU's partnerships with other sectors. In 2025, three partnerships show this policy role most clearly, a fourth shows SWU’s work with a regional NGO, a fifth brings national and provincial government together with local social enterprises and agricultural NGOs in Khon Kaen Province, and a sixth links SWU research with the national legislature:

• Flood-risk governance in Nan Province, with the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) and provincial, district and local government agencies.

• The village water supply “3C” standard in Nakhon Nayok Province, with the Nakhon Nayok Provincial Public Health Office (Ministry of Public Health) and local administrative organisations.

• The “Ongkharak Model” for holistic well-being, with the Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth) and a network of eight schools.

• The Samurai Curry Project, with the Sikkha Asia Foundation (an NGO), Spice Up (Thailand) Co., Ltd. and Japanese university students.

• Drought-resilient water management in Khon Kaen Province through the ChiWaree project (2025–2026), with NRCT, the Khon Kaen Irrigation Project, the Khon Kaen Provincial Agriculture Office, four District Agriculture Offices, reservoir Joint Management Committees, and representatives of local social enterprises and agricultural NGOs working in Khon Kaen Province.

• Research and evidence for the legislative process, through a Memorandum of Understanding with the Secretariat of the Senate.

1. SWU, NRCT and Nan provincial agencies: co-developing integrated water management and flash-flood early warning

SWU researchers with NRCT and local officials at a flash-flood warning station (top), and the handover of the Flash Flood Warning Device to local authorities under the NRCT “water security” programme (bottom).

In 2025, SWU worked with the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT), a national government agency under the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, and with government agencies in Nan Province on a research programme to improve water management and reduce flood risk. Together with provincial and district offices, local administrative organisations and communities, SWU researchers identified the area's flood hazards and the gaps in existing warning and response arrangements, and then developed water-management strategies and disaster-response measures with these agencies.

The programme produced the Flash Flood Warning Device Innovation, an early-warning system that monitors water levels and gives tiered alerts. The system lets local agencies anticipate likely flood conditions and act before impact, rather than respond after flooding has begun. Alongside the technology, SWU and its partners set out joint operating procedures between agencies and communities for surveillance, warning and emergency response.

The work started in 2025 and was scaled up in 2026, when warning systems were installed and handed over in Wiang Sa District, Nan Province. SWU also convened exchange forums for researchers, government agencies and communities to review how the systems performed. These forums are used to monitor and report on the intervention and to adjust risk-management practice over time (adaptive management). The partnership shows SWU's direct input into how government agencies design and carry out water and disaster policy, in line with the national water strategy of “secure water – no floods, no droughts”. It contributes to SDG 6, SDG 11 and SDG 13. – view source

2. Partnership with provincial government on SDG policy: the village water supply “3C” standard, Nakhon Nayok

MOU signing on raising village water supply quality to the 3C standard, between the Nakhon Nayok Provincial Public Health Office, the Faculty of Physical Education, SWU, and local administrative organisations, 19 September 2025.

In 2025, SWU's Department of Public Health, Faculty of Physical Education, worked directly with provincial government and local government to raise the quality and safety of village water supply systems in Nakhon Nayok Province. On 19 September 2025, SWU signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Nakhon Nayok Provincial Public Health Office, the provincial arm of the Ministry of Public Health, and local administrative organisations. Under the MOU, the partners jointly introduce the “Clean Village Water Supply 3C: Clear, Clean, Chlorine” standard into the way village water systems are managed across the province.

SWU brought its public-health and environmental-sanitation expertise into this provincial policy process. Together with government partners, it identified the main problems in village water systems (infrastructure, water quality and disinfection) and turned them into a practical standard with three clear criteria:

• Clear – the structure and equipment of the water supply system are maintained so that it can produce clean water;

• Clean – water quality is controlled so that it is clean and safe to use and drink;

• Chlorine – residual chlorine in the water is kept at no less than 0.2 mg/L, so that water is still safe when it reaches households.

SWU also helped build the delivery mechanism with government and local partners. It trained the local officers who operate village water systems, transferred sanitation knowledge, and provided water-quality monitoring tools. With these tools, local agencies can check conditions, find water-quality problems early, and use monitoring data to adjust the management of each system to local conditions. This creates a continuing cycle of monitoring, reporting and adaptive management.

This partnership goes beyond academic service to the community. It is direct involvement with provincial government and local government in identifying problems, developing a standard, supporting its implementation and building a monitoring system. It supports national public-health policy and contributes to SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) by improving people's access to clean, safe water. – view source

3. SWU and ThaiHealth: developing the “Ongkharak Model” for holistic community well-being

The Ongkharak Holistic Health Cup, 4 July 2025, at the Sirindhorn Sports Centre 1, SWU Ongkharak: participating school teams at the opening (top) and SWU staff with a student team (bottom).

In 2025, SWU worked with the Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth), a statutory public agency set up under the Health Promotion Foundation Act B.E. 2544 (2001), and with a network of schools in Ongkharak District, Nakhon Nayok Province. Together they developed a holistic well-being approach through the “Integrated Social Mission Project for the Development and Management of Holistic Well-being (Ongkharak Model)”. The project applies SWU's knowledge and resources, with partners, to promote the well-being of children, young people, schools and communities in a systematic way that fits the local context.

Under this partnership, SWU and ThaiHealth brought together several SWU units: the SWU Well-Being Club, the Faculty of Physical Education, the Institute for Research, Development and Educational Demonstration, and the SWU Centre for Older Persons. These units worked with local schools to identify well-being needs and develop a well-being management model covering four dimensions: physical, mental, intellectual (spiritual) and social well-being. This is the framework ThaiHealth uses for long-term health promotion and community resilience.

The model was put into practice across eight schools: Wat Santitham Rat Bamrung School, Wat Chiao Osot Community School, Wat Pho Thaen School, Ban Klang Khlong 30 School, Ban Pak Khlong 31 School, Wat Prasitthiwet School, Wat Sawang Arom (Sriwattananukul) School, and the SWU Prasarnmit Demonstration School (Ongkharak). A key mechanism was the Ongkharak Holistic Health Cup, held on 4 July 2025 at the Sirindhorn Sports Centre 1, SWU Ongkharak. It was a shared platform where the University, health-promotion partners and schools took part, learned together, and reviewed progress and agreed next steps for the model.

The partnership between SWU, ThaiHealth and the school network shows SWU's role in turning academic knowledge into health-promotion strategies and mechanisms that a national agency can use, linking partners and putting the approach into practice in real settings. The Ongkharak Model now works as a lasting link between the University and external partners. It gives ThaiHealth and local stakeholders a tested district-level model for future health-promotion work, and it contributes to SDG 3, SDG 4 and SDG 17. – view source

4. SWU, a regional NGO and private-sector partners: the Samurai Curry Project

SWU also works with regional non-government organisations (NGOs) and the private sector on SDG-related activity. The Samurai Curry Project is a practical partnership between the Faculty of Humanities, SWU; Spice Up (Thailand) Co., Ltd.; students from universities in Japan; and the Sikkha Asia Foundation, an NGO. The project links language and cultural learning with real business practice, volunteering and the mobilisation of resources for social causes.

The partnership grew out of SWU's academic links with Japan. Mr. Sumi, President of Spice Up, attended a seminar between Rissho University, Asia University and the Faculty of Humanities, SWU, at the invitation of Prof. Takahashi of Rissho University. After the seminar, held in February 2024, he discussed the Samurai Curry Project with Asst. Prof. Dr. Phatorn Pipattanakul of the Faculty of Humanities. In 2025, Mr. Sumi met the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, and the Faculty agreed to co-organise the eighth Samurai Curry Project in August 2025.

The eighth round was held at the SWU campus market on one Thursday and at the Friday evening market on one day. Two fourth-year students of Japanese acted as project coordinators, and seven second-year students took part. Through the project, students used their Japanese language and cultural knowledge in a real enterprise setting, alongside a company and an NGO, while helping to raise resources for social causes.

The partners plan a further round in March 2027, which shows their intention to continue the collaboration. The project contributes to SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). view source

5. SWU, NRCT, the Khon Kaen Irrigation Project and the Khon Kaen Provincial Agriculture Office: redesigning reservoir water management for drought resilience (ChiWaree project, 2025–2026)

Under the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) programme “Innovation for Water Security: Research for Area Development and Integrated Water System Solutions” (grant no. N84E1680029), an SWU research team led by Asst. Prof. Chaiwatchara Phromchittipong carried out the 12-month project “ChiWaree: Smart Water Management Innovation for Tackling Flood and Drought through Community Engagement in Irrigation Reservoirs of the Chi River Basin, Khon Kaen Province”. The project began in mid-2025, and its first two progress reports, on the problem situation, field activities and partnership mechanisms, were submitted to the programme in July and November 2025. SWU worked with the Khon Kaen Irrigation Project (Regional Irrigation Office 6, Royal Irrigation Department), the Khon Kaen Provincial Agriculture Office, the District Agriculture Offices of Mueang Khon Kaen, Ban Phai, Phon and Mancha Khiri, and the Joint Management Committees (JMCs) of four reservoirs: Huai Toei, Huai Sai, Laloeng Wai and Huai Yang. Together these reservoirs serve 21,000 rai of irrigated land, about 7.1% of the irrigated area of Khon Kaen Province. The project also brought in representatives of local social enterprises and non-government organisations (NGOs) working on agriculture in Khon Kaen Province, together with community enterprises such as the Ban Sok Chan Community Enterprise and the Sannam Khong Hom Thong Banana Community Enterprise Group. These regional non-government partners linked the policy work of government agencies with the farmers, producer groups and local markets that would carry it out. The project was therefore a partnership between national government, provincial government and regional non-government organisations, not only between a university and the state.

Participatory workshops with Joint Management Committees and residents at the four reservoirs of the Khon Kaen Irrigation Project: Huai Sai, Huai Toei, Huai Yang
and Laloeng Wai.

Identifying problems and challenges with government and water users. In 2025, the team held focus groups with officers of the Khon Kaen Irrigation Project, water-user groups and District Agriculture Office representatives at each of the four reservoirs, and collected data from 400 JMC members (farmers, local residents, local government officers and private-sector representatives) and 16 officers of the irrigation and agriculture agencies. Representatives of local social enterprises and agricultural NGOs joined these discussions. They added evidence on farm costs, access to markets and the problems small producers face in the dry season, so that the problem analysis did not rest on government and survey data alone. The survey tools were adapted from the IPCC AR6 risk framework, covering hazard, exposure, vulnerability and capacity to respond. The project had first assumed that flooding was the main problem and planned to install CCTV-based AI water-level detection and Cell Broadcast warnings. The evidence from water users and officials pointed elsewhere. Existing warnings through village heads, village loudspeakers, water-level flags and community LINE groups were working well, most floods were short flash floods, and damaging floods occurred only every 10–20 years. Drought, by contrast, affected farms almost every year, especially upstream and upland plots, and many farmers could grow nothing between January and April. Based on these findings, the team changed its direction from flood warning to drought adaptation and the management of stored water. This revision of the intervention on the basis of field evidence is a clear example of adaptive management.

Developing a strategy together. In the “Water Future, Community Future” workshop, SWU researchers led a STEEP analysis with water users and agricultural officers, and participants drew water maps for their own areas. A radar-chart assessment showed that communities were most concerned about economic and social security, because they had no income during the dry season. Officers of the Khon Kaen Provincial Agriculture Office advised that several high-value crops can be grown in the dry season, and the partners chose Hom Thong banana grown with drip irrigation. The choice has a clear market basis. Japan grants Thailand a duty-free import quota of 8,000 tonnes of bananas a year, but Thailand currently produces only about half of that amount at export grade, largely because climate change and drought reduce yield and quality. Drip irrigation addresses this problem: it can cut water use by 50–70% compared with traditional watering, keeps soil moisture close to field capacity, improves fertiliser efficiency, reduces leaf disease and can raise yields by 25–30% (Abraham et al., 2023). Water-user representatives and agricultural officers then visited a model plot together, and farmers in the four districts formed groups to prepare their own demonstration plots. Local social enterprises and agricultural NGOs took part in this step as well. They advised on production costs, fruit grading and market channels, and agreed to support the new farmer groups after the project ends. This gives the strategy a non-government delivery channel that works alongside the government extension system.

Piloting the intervention in public learning spaces. The project installed two demonstration plots of 1 ngan (400 square metres, 100 plants) each. The first is in Tha Phra Subdistrict, Tha Phra District, on the plot of the village headman, which is where residents of the village and nearby subdistricts regularly come to collect seedlings and seeds. The second is at the Agricultural Production Efficiency Learning Centre of Ban Phai District (Ban Sok Chan Community Enterprise), Nai Mueang Subdistrict, a centre that already hosts study visits on many forms of farming. Both plots have a complete drip system, with a 1,000-litre water tank, main supply pipes, 16 mm drip lines and valves for each row, and the soil was prepared with chicken manure, rice husk and fertiliser to a set formula. The two plots now serve as public learning spaces where nearby farmers can see the system working and apply it on their own land.

The demonstration plot of Hom Thong banana under drip irrigation (top), and the project’s dissemination event, where the drip-irrigation innovation was handed over and the handbook distributed (bottom).

Turning research into a practical tool: the Pocket Handbook. The project produced the Pocket Handbook: Growing Hom Thong Banana with Drip Irrigation, published under the NRCT programme. The handbook draws on technical input from Mr. Jeerapong Tasaeng, a professional-level agricultural extension officer of the Khon Kaen Provincial Agriculture Office, and from Mr. Jakkarin Phophrom of the Sannam Khong Hom Thong Banana Community Enterprise Group, so that it combines research findings, government extension expertise and farmers’ own experience. It explains how drip irrigation supports fair, plot-level water allocation in dry periods, advance water planning, links to soil-moisture sensors for smart water management, and long-term water security for the community. It also gives farmers a full cost model (26,414 baht per rai for 400 plants in the first cycle, with lower costs in later cycles), an estimated income of about 79,200 baht per rai, and step-by-step guidance on soil preparation, planting, watering by plant age, fertiliser schedules, biological control of pests and diseases, and a 20 x 20 metre plot layout. The handbook and banana seedlings are given free to visitors at both demonstration plots, so that the knowledge reaches farmers in a form they can use straight away.

The Pocket Handbook: Growing Hom Thong Banana with Drip Irrigation (in Thai), produced by the project and distributed to farmers and partner agencies.

Modelling likely futures with the Khon Kaen Irrigation Project. Building on the 2025 fieldwork, the team transferred the FastFlood platform to the Khon Kaen Irrigation Project. FastFlood is a web-based tool that simulates floods and flood-control structures in real time, using global terrain, soil and land-cover data. On 20 March 2026, SWU held a hands-on training session for irrigation officers at the Khon Kaen Irrigation Project office and handed over a user manual prepared for the project. Officers can now use the tool in three ways: to estimate the area and depth of flooding downstream before increasing reservoir releases, to simulate reservoir dredging and test how much more water could be stored for the dry season, and to show communities around each reservoir an interactive 3D map when explaining water management decisions.

Policy input and why it matters for SDG policy. Drawing on the project results, the SWU team proposed three policy recommendations in its report to the NRCT programme: (1) regional and provincial irrigation offices should adopt rapid flood-simulation tools such as FastFlood as a standard for planning reservoir releases and communicating with communities; (2) the drip-irrigation demonstration model for high-value crops should be scaled up through the national network of Agricultural Production Efficiency Learning Centres, especially in areas with repeated drought, in support of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives’ “One Locality, One High-Value Agricultural Product” policy; and (3) the reservoir Joint Management Committees should become a permanent mechanism with a regular budget for their activities and capacity building. These recommendations were developed with input from both the government agencies and the regional non-government partners. The local social enterprises and agricultural NGOs also remain part of the follow-up: they help track how farmer groups use the drip-irrigation model and report problems back to the Provincial Agriculture Office and the research team, so the model can be adjusted after the demonstration phase. The project therefore covers the full policy cycle described in the indicator: identifying problems with government, regional NGOs and communities, developing a strategy, modelling likely futures with and without interventions, piloting and handing over interventions, and revising the plan as new evidence emerged. The work contributes to SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals)

6. SWU and the Secretariat of the Senate: bringing research and evidence into the legislative process

On 14 May 2025, SWU signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Secretariat of the Senate to promote the use of academic work and research findings in the legislative process. Under the MOU, SWU has a formal channel for sharing its research, academic expertise and evidence with the Senate and its committees.

Signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Secretariat of the Senate and Srinakharinwirot University on the use of academic work and research findings in the legislative process, 14 May 2025 (top); the exchange of the signed agreements (bottom left) and representatives of the participating organisations (bottom right).

The evidence SWU provides is intended to inform planning, development recommendations and legislative deliberations on national development priorities, so that the problems and options lawmakers consider are grounded in research. The partnership also brings SWU researchers and academics together with public officials, which connects research production with public decision-making.

Through this agreement, SWU gives national lawmakers access to research-based evidence and supports evidence-informed policymaking at the national level. The partnership contributes to SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

Conclusion

Taken together, these partnerships show that SWU’s input into SDG policy is ongoing and institutional, not limited to single projects. SWU works with national government agencies (NRCT, the Ministry of Public Health through its provincial office, the Royal Irrigation Department through the Khon Kaen Irrigation Project, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives through the Khon Kaen Provincial Agriculture Office, and ThaiHealth), with the national legislature through the Secretariat of the Senate, and with provincial and local government across the whole policy cycle. It identifies problems with the people affected, develops strategies, standards and models, helps anticipate likely futures, supports implementation, and builds monitoring and feedback systems that allow adaptive management. It also turns research into practical tools that government partners can use and share, such as the Pocket Handbook on Hom Thong banana grown with drip irrigation, which helps provincial agencies and farmers extend a water-saving livelihood model to other reservoir communities. SWU also extends this work to regional NGOs, as in its partnership with the Sikkha Asia Foundation through the Samurai Curry Project, and with local social enterprises and agricultural NGOs in Khon Kaen Province, which worked alongside national and provincial agencies on drought policy in the ChiWaree project.