On 18 February 2020, NXPO organized a special talk on Systems Research for Public Safety by Dr. Somsak Chunharas. Dr. Somsak is president of the Board of the National Health Foundation of Thailand and has previously held the positions of Deputy Minister of Public Health and Executive Director of Health Systems Research Institute. He has played a key role in driving the policy and implementation of the national health security system, building the foundation of Thai health systems research and aligning the implementation of the national public health policy with that of the World Health Organization (WHO).  

In sharing his thoughts and experience, Dr. Somsak underlined the importance of having both scientific research and systems research performed in parallel. Systems research involves gathering intelligence of complex systems to support the decision-making process, implementation, as well as policy design. Success factors of systems research include the establishment of system framework, responsible organization, full-time staffers and most importantly stakeholder engagement. Systems research should be done alongside system reform. 

NXPO is embarking on a project entitled Systems Research for Transformative Changes which involves 9 topics: 1) transition to a circular economy, 2) higher education reform, 3) science, research and innovation reform, 4) innovation and entrepreneurship development, 5) food research and innovation system, 6) agricultural reform, 7) energy system of the future, 8) grassroots economic development, and 9) population and multi-stage life.