Dr. Kitipong Promwong has been appointed by Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha, following the recommendation made by the Selection Committee, to serve as NXPO President for the next 4 years, from 31 May 2020 onwards. It is the 2^nd term that Dr. Kitipong has been entrusted with this important assignment.   

During his 1^st term, Dr. Kitipong has overseen the organization’s major transformation from the National Science Technology and Innovation Policy Office (STI Office) to the present the Office of National Higher Education Science Research and Innovation Policy Council (NXPO). In addition, he has been leading NXPO to design and employ strategy and policy to drive the development of higher education, science, research and innovation for national social and economic development. The following developments have taken place during his tenure: 

1. Translation of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Policy and Strategy to implementation plans including Science, Research and Innovation Plan, Higher Education Plan, Manpower Development Plan, Bio – Circular – Green Economy (BCG) Plan and Artificial Intelligence Plan. 

2. Employing systems research to investigate 10 target areas: agriculture, food, energy, grassroot economy, poverty alleviation, SMEs, circular economy, Industry 4.0, social sciences and humanities, and education and lifelong learning. 

3. Introducing management systems and mechanisms to support the implementation plans of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Policy and Strategy, which include unlocking the procurement process to support local innovations, enabling the establishment of holding companies by universities and research agencies to facilitate technology exploitation, proposing Thai Bayh-Dole Act, establishing regulatory sandbox (starting with food & agriculture and circular economy as pilot projects), setting up a higher education development fund, re-organizing research funding management system, reforming budgeting system to enable block grant and multi-year grant, developing a system integrating data on higher education, science, research and innovation from various sources, proposing supporting mechanisms for SMEs, and constructing a national monitoring and evaluation system for higher education, science, research and innovation. 

4. Proposing the establishment of program management units for efficient management and utilization of research fund and strengthening the national research and innovation system 

5. Building NXPO’s capacity in policy development and implementation.