PATHUM THANI, 10 April 2014 – Prime Minister and Defense Minister Yingluck Shinawatra yesterday attended a meeting on the direction of Thailand’s research projects at the National Science Museum.
According to the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) which was hosting the event, the meeting focused on integrated efforts by 7 agencies to ensure that their projects would be implemented in line with the planned economic and educational development guidelines.
Prime Minister Yingluck later said on her Facebook page that currently the budget allocated to the nation’s research projects is rather small. She added however that her administration aims to raise research funding to 1% of the national GDP, a significant jump from the current 0.37%. The government also encourages the private sector to invest at least 70% of the country’s overall research projects. The remaining 30% will be funded by the government.
Miss Yingluck explained that the government’s research spending is based on three guidelines. One of them is to ensure that research will not duplicate others funded by the government. Funding allocations are then divided according to the subject and content of each research and its application suitability to geographical areas within the country.
She said the nation would push for researches that contribute to long-term commercial viability both in large and small-scaled businesses, including OTOP operators.
