On 22 February 2026, Dr. Surachai Sathitkunarat, President of NXPO, presented the draft framework of a Social Innovation Index tailored to Thai higher education institutions at the General Meeting of the Council of University Presidents of Thailand (CUPT) and the CUPT Association, held at Mahasarakham University.

The proposed Social Innovation Index is designed as a strategic tool to strengthen the role of universities in advancing social innovation. It assesses institutional readiness, enabling support structures, and contributions across teaching, research, and community engagement. The framework aims to align university missions more closely with national development priorities and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Universities were invited to collaborate in refining the indicators to ensure their relevance to the Thai higher education context and to participate in pilot data collection.

The meeting featured extensive discussions. Participants agreed that the Social Innovation Index has the potential to better capture the social and economic value created by universities beyond conventional ranking systems, with a stronger focus on tangible national development outcomes. At the same time, measuring social impact remains challenging and requires clear methodologies and appropriate support mechanisms. While many universities are already undertaking significant social initiatives, systematic data collection is still needed to effectively demonstrate outcomes to government agencies and budget authorities.

The meeting acknowledged the draft framework and encouraged universities to work closely with NXPO in refining the indicators and piloting data collection, with the aim of developing a practical and robust tool to elevate the role of Thai universities in generating sustainable social impact.