To develop a platform to engage public in policy making process, a stakeholder consultation meeting was held on 26-27 April 2023 with participation from the government, academia, and civil society. The event was co-organized by Thailand Policy Lab, the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC), UNDP Thailand and NXPO. 

During the meeting, the work plan to develop a platform promoting public engagement in public policy making was presented. The project is a collaboration between Thailand Policy Lab, NESDC and NXPO, aiming to design a platform which citizens can engage and participate in the public policy development process, enabling public policy to address to people’s needs and effectively respond to future challenges and uncertainties.  The platform will facilitate people-centered and responsive policy design. 

This stakeholder consultation allowed the team to collect inputs for the platform design and development. In the past, Thailand Policy Lab has made improvement in the design process to make public policies more effective and citizen-driven through three main activities: 1) survey and testing of policy innovations, 2) innovation capacity building, and 3) establishment of innovator community and network. This platform will further strengthen these main activities.

Policies and issues that will be tested with this new platform are a policy to increase young population, a youth mental health policy, a circular economy and an area-based development.