United Nations Public Service Awards Case Studies

Phitsanulok is geographically located in the lower part of Northern Thailand. Philsanulok is the major city within Phitsanulok Province. The provision has a population of 850,000 with 10% located within Phitsanulok City, and 90% located within the rural areas and other cities / towns. In essence the province is mainly rural.

The provinces location within the Indo-China region makes it an ideal gateway to other areas and as such Phitsanulok is an important socio-economic city centred within the heart of the East-West Corridor of Thailand. The cities location has in fact been strategically planned to take advantage of its location and access to the economic area of Indo-China through its East-West corridor.

Phitsanulok’s Mayor is Dr. Premrudee Charmpoonod and it under is her leadership that this initiative has been developed.

As Mayor, Dr. Charmpoonod’s administration is responsible for the delivery of public services and the Mayor puts Education at the top of her priorities.

The cities administration is responsible for a large vibrant economically developing city and its rural areas and historically the provision of educational facilities has been poor with many of its citizens not receiving access to education or their educational facilities. As such the opportunities for personal advancement was limited with only the “very best” or those place well in society were able to derive the benefits of a good education.

The municipal administration, under the guidance and drive of Dr. Charmpoonod, put education and the provision of “open to all” facilities at the top of its list of goals. The administration wanted to put education, and the acquisition of a knowledge base, as a platform to drive the development of the city and its rural areas economical and personal advancement. It wanted accessibility of educational facilities to all to include the whole family as it saw the vision that if education could be presented in leisure based manner that all members of society would benefit.

It wanted the provision of this leisure based educational facility to be both purposeful and “ground breaking.” It wanted the educational facility to be able to serve not only the major urban area but also serve the affiliated municipal primary & secondary schools in the rural areas. Some of the schools are small whilst others are large with one centre catering for in excess of 3,500 students. In total the municipality has 93 schools and some 5 universities. A further 9 universities are located in the province.

Although catered well for schools and universities, the mayor, and her administration, identified that something was missing. It concluded that the “fun aspect” was missing and that education had to be less formal and more of a family type entertainment with leisure being to key to whole family “buy-in” leading to educational development. It wanted educational facilities to be especially available to the under privileged members of the community. A place of study come Leisure Park where the whole family could partake in.

A park that the citizens and administration are proud of!

What is the initiative about? (the solution)
In a “nutshell” the benefits resulting from the introduction of the Education Park has been giving the citizens of Phitsanulok, and its surrounding areas, access to a facility that is freely available and of benefit to their educational advancement special emphasis on reading skills. The Education Park has also benefited other Thai Provinces who have experienced the “Phitsanulok model” and taken away the conceptual purpose of the innovative Park to create or replicate similar parks in their own areas. Local schools have also adapted their own grounds to accommodate a smaller model of the Education Park…as have some of the provinces universities. Other organisations, such as the Police Area 6 of Phitsanulok, have taken the concept away and adapted it for use within its training academy for new Police officers. Many governmental agencies have also visited the Education Park to “take on board” the conceptual ideas of the initiative. Because of Phitsanulok central location the Education Park is available for many Thai people, especially the under privileged, to visit and take away the conceptual ideals of the initiative. The park also benefited, and as a consequence did the people of Phitsanulok, from the transfer of resources and technological aid from other Thai provinces to include the Provincial administration regions of Nakhon Rachasima, (Korat), Roi-Et & Samutsakhon. This inter regional co-operation benefits everybody in the long term as initiatives like the Education Park can be adapted to ideal standards of the provision of education to all. Families and individuals, from “all walks of life,” are able to meet each other in the park to study, socially mix in a friendly environment or relax fully with each family member “doing their own thing.” The primary aim was to make education a family, leisure based activity aimed at students from primary to university level. It was aimed at families as a whole…to especially appeal to the under privileged and those who had left education behind many years ago. The initiative wanted to embrace the entire community! Through the provision of a fully integrated library the Education Park gives information access fully to the community. With the library located within the Education Park it provides an environmentally appealing place to access information, study or generally meet other people and families to share views in general. It is not “stuffy” like formal libraries but adapts to the principal of “leisure based education” with access to the whole community. Within the Park Environment the whole families can relax, take a coffee, eat a snack or read in a very friendly area. The can access books from both academic and entertainment based sources. The young or youth groups like the Education Park because they prefer to meet in “outside locations” given Thai weather conditions. Providing these groups with an outside location for study achieves want the young want…a place to study and meet socially. In essence the park benefits all of the community and aids the educational advancement and knowledge base of its numerous citizen groups

Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
All government and provincial officers come into public service with a sense of “public service” and the willingness to “make a difference” to the citizens they go on to serve. Most politicians’ intentions are honourable and as such key policy decisions are made at all levels of government that make the citizens life better and enrich society as a whole. With this need to “make a difference” Dr. Premrudee Charmpoonod came into office with set ideals and goals to achieve. As mayor it was her responsibility to galvanise the government team to implement policies and procedures to benefit the community of Phitsanulok city and its provincial areas. As such it was through the visionary leadership of Dr. Premrudee Charmpoonod that the Education Park was devised and brought to fruition. Her governmental team, ranging from local officials, education staff to building and construction departments then had to “take up the reigns” of the initiative to “make it happen.” One person’s idea generally feeds down into many branch ideas…not unlike tress. In this instance the conceptual idea was the mayors but through “root & branch” thinking the idea moved on and was fully developed by all the subsequent stakeholders. Many concerned people and bodies were finally responsible for the idea to develop into the finished product…The Education Park of Phitsanulok. Initially the idea came via the mayor and her office. It was then debated and taken forward by the cities officers and educational department. However, bringing the idea to fruition required the input of many more stakeholders. Any community project needs focus and as such the mayor sort the opinions and input from the citizens of Phitsanulok. Many focus group meetings were held to hone the idea into reality. The input of the citizens proved invaluable and they contributed fully as they were the intended recipients of the scheme and its primary stakeholder. To enjoy the benefits that the Education Park can bring, the citizens of Phitsanulok join as Education Park members. The membership fee is modest…inline with the Mayors vision of “educational availability to all” and currently costs each member a figure of THB 100 or just under $4 per year. Members and non members are welcome. The Education Park has 9,000 members. Presently 600/700 people use the park daily. The membership grows by “word of mouth” amongst the citizens who spread the benefits of the Education Park around. It is planned to encourage the enrolment of all the students of Phitsanulok and the cities Director of Education has signed a memorandum of understanding to that effect. The business community of Phitsanulok are also stakeholders as they have generously donated materials to aid the parks construction, provided monthly journals, books and other reading materials. The Universities had given access to reference books and research documents / post graduate thesis’s to aid and develop the academic learning of the Education Parks members. In essence the to be non-profit making. community is the major stakeholder and as such the park is intended

Describe how and when the initiative was implemented by answering these questions
a. What were the strategies used to implement the initiative? In no more than 500 words, provide a summary of the main objectives and strategies of the initiative, how they were established and by whom.
Via the leadership of Mayor Dr. Charmpoonod the government of Phitsanulok is well grounded in a firm philosophy of good governance via a policy of transparency, service minded and environmentally friendly initiatives. As mentioned previously Mayor Premrudee Dr. Charmpoonod had a visionary outlook in educationally matters. She wanted education to be available to all the citizens, be they young or old. She wanted the educationally reforms to reach out to everybody and embrace both the academic and those with special educational needs such as physical or mental impairment to include the under privileged. Her conceptual strategy was first outlined to concerned stakeholders and was eventually incorporated in the Municipalities Development Plans from 2005 with the aim to “build a knowledge based society in response to the needs of all people and age groups.” The plan also embraced National Educational policies. Once the conceptual strategy was established the initiative progressed from working parties to fruition. These working parties and citizen focus groups involved the full commitment of the public, (the cities population), with participatory roles for senior government officials, management, staff members in general and the local business community. As the mayor stated “a plan is just a piece of paper unless you implement the plans concept and end result.” In this instance the end plan was a fully functioning Educational Park. The initiatives strategy and objectives was to create a facility that matched the community’s needs, which provided an environmental location for the Education Park that was clean, beautiful and a shady, pollution free, parkland area. It needed to have an ultra modern building that provided educational resources that incorporated modern and well equipped IT solutions that would attract the populous to its facility. Apart from the physical aspect of the initiative the strategy provided for diverse, activity based education, that was both technical and cultural; that would appeal to all groups…be they the very young or elderly. It needed to be both academic and leisure based so that students or housewives could avail themselves of the learning activities and opportunities. The strategies objectives needed to be flexible so that once open the Education Park could adapt to changing needs of the initiative & react to membership feedback. This flexibility has lead to a 7 day operation that is available 11 hours per day up to 8.00pm at night. The strategy was based on accessibility to all and staff members needed to embrace extended working. The Library is currently being extended by a second floor devoted to training and vocational activities. The initiatives objectives included access to leading learning sources to include media such as the internet, books, documents, research papers, local information and all forms of IT Multi-media. The full involvement of community leaders was key to success…as was the need to take “on-board” feedback from the public. The plan involved a holistic approach to education and the involvement of families in general. In summary the strategy was to provide a modern facility for a new style of education.

b. What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
The vision came from Phitsanulok’s Mayor. She outlined a vision of education that would embrace students, adults that had long stopped attending educational institutes and families. Her vision was well grounded via working parties and focus community groups. The vision developed into an objective and strategic initiative that was incorporated into the Municipalities Development Plans for 2005 with the aim to “build a knowledge based society in response to the needs of all people and age groups.” Once the conceptual idea was embraced other considerations were taken into account. • How much would the scheme cost and was it affordable? • Where would the facility be located? • Who would be the targeted members and how would they be encouraged to participate in the venture? • What form would the venture take and how would its success be measured and how would it be managed? • Would the benefit to cost ratios pass the “common sense test?” Could it become non profit making and act as a service to the community?. • Would the Educational Park duplicate existing facilities or genuinely be a new initiative? After many working parties, & general discussions, the initiative “ticked all the right boxes” and the mayor gave the “go ahead” or “green light” for the initiative to move from the visionary conception to construction and full implementation. The implementation plan started with location. A site was chosen 6 kilometres from the centre of Phitsanulok and was set in 5 acres of land. This land was formerly barren, isolated and a venue for non socially acceptable activities. It made good sense to redevelop this “wasteland” and turn it into a facility that benefited the community as a whole. Construction then began with the building of the educational facilities and library and landscaping of the now “parkland area.” IT and media equipment was ordered and installed…as was the procurement of reading materials. Pre-launch Public Relations activity ensured that upon completion the Education Park would “hit the ground running.” Prior to opening management and staff were recruited and trained so that they were a fully functional unit that was ready to serve the communities needs. Since construction was completed the most important implementation stage “swung into action.” The active participation of the community! The Educational Parks staff devised activities that would engage the community. Activities such as family bikes rides, Thai and Western cooking lessons, Language courses as well as Thai cultural lessons were organised. Fun exercises like “Waist Size Story”, were organised to take part in weight loss programmes and learn about calorie control and good eating. Local “experts” gave lectures on local history, Thai cultural and health related matters. A mobile library and museum took the Educational Parks outside of the facility to widen the public’s perception. These mobile units proved extremely popular and fully met the mayors vision of “education for all that is fully accessible to all.” The Education Parks growth demonstrates that the planning, construction and implementation stages have been a success!

c. What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
With proposal that was not only innovative but “ground breaking”, there are many obstacles to overcome. Not least the obstacle to the development of the vision in the first place! The first obstacle was to bring the visionary idea to those who would listen, take the conceptual idea on board and then support it. The mayor of Phitsanulok readily saw that the community, post education, did not have good access to educational facilities or activities. Only the more formal of educational facilities existed and she wanted to bring the concept of “education for all that is fully accessible to all” to fruition via the construction of a community project called the Educational Park. Getting others “on board” was going, and indeed proved, to be difficult. Fortunately Mayor Dr. Charmpoonod is strong willed and she was able to persuade local officials to support her visions. Support, however, is not the only obstacle to be overcome. Competing projects from general infrastructure needs are powerful obstacles to “get around.” Again the mayor was able to refer to the municipalities already good infrastructures like roads, building, electrical installations, water and drainage and therefore put the authorisation of the Educational Park at a top community need and an initiative that demanded funding and approval. Again the mayor’s strong will pushed the project through the community funding stage. As the project was a brand new initiative the fact everyone was “steeping into the dark” proved to be an obstacle in itself. Everybody needed to be fully focussed on the strategy and objective of the initiative and adapt to changing conditions and practices. Taking education “outside” took many staff outside of their comfort zones. Much work was needed on the administrative structures of the municipality and its departments…especially the education department. The team needed to learn new skill sets and endorse new working practices. Through good governance and management skills the training needs of all officials were fully adjusted and catered for. Staff fully participated…as did the local community. Training was important. The Human Resources Departed overcame huddles that needed to be crossed. Outside consultants also played a part in this new venture. The officers of the municipality needed assistance but all worked tirelessly to ensure the ventures success. Networking with both internal & external sources was vital as many people needed to participate and input knowledge at key stages. The venture wanted the active participation of all members of society in education advancement and leisure based community activities. It was aimed at the very young up to the very old. Upon opening the staff found that parents would generally attend the Park with their children. Older children would engage in the activities…as would there parents. Students would study and young people would mix socially. The problem was the very young children who the parents abandoned to the care of the Parks staff. This proved burdensome to key educational staff members. The Park has now overcome this with the provision of crèche and nursery faculties.

d. What resources were used for the initiative and what were its key benefits? In no more than 500 words, specify what were the financial, technical and human resources’ costs associated with this initiative. Describe how resources were mobilized
For this project and initiative there were several key resources used to include:- • Internal and external people resources to include necessary consultants. • Budgetary allocation and adjustment of capital project priority. • Existing skill sets from staff in the education, construction & procurement departments. • Land to build the Education Park on. The project was built on a wasteland area some 6 kilometres from the centre of the city…and is now set in 5 acres of landscaped parkland. The wasteland was not being used for the benefit of the community and as such the authorities acquired the land for general recreational and educational use. Clearly it is beneficial for wasteland to be recycled into community usage rather than to allow lay waste or be used for non moral or illegal purposes. The park has benefited 5 local communities directly totalling some 18,635 citizens. A resource well re-used! Once the initiative was given the go-ahead by the mayor and the land acquired then human resources came back into play. Prior to the project go-ahead many staff had been involved in bringing the mayor conceptual idea to the planning stage. Key officials and members of the management team came together to look how the vision may be turned into reality. They had to examine all the key elements of any plan might be. In this instance:- • Was there a need in the community for an Educational Park? • Would it serve the community as a whole and bring new avenues of education and leisure to the general populous? • Would it duplicate existing facilities? • Was it affordable and would additional budget resources be needed? • Would the community “buy-in” to the facility and ensure that it would be fully utilised and not become a “White Elephant?” • Did the city need outside consultants to assist with the initiative? Would the Education Park fulfil the mayor vision of education for all that is fully accessible to all.” Luckily the answer to the above considerations was YES. Many general purpose meetings and sub committee meeting were held to answer each and every preliminary question. Focus groups were held to cage the views of the public on this project. Accountants within the various departments ensured that budget allocation was forthcoming and available at the time of need. They also seamlessly arranged the procurement of materials and awarded construction and landscaping contracts. Regular meeting and reviews took place to ensure an on time and on budget performance. Educational Department staff were called upon to devise the learning experience. Their vision allowed for the project to split into academic and leisure education. Technical and engineering resource was used to ensure that the IT & Media solution was right. Networking other provinces and cities allowed for a sharing or pooling of knowledge that could take the project through to fruition and implementation. In essence every resource needed was mobilised via the mayor office and used fully to ensure the success of the Park.

Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
The Education Park concept is very sustainable and easily transferrable initiative that can benefit the community in the long term and allow other communities to replicate the concept elsewhere. The range of educational activity is flexible and can be adapted to an ever changing world and local environment in which the citizens live. The project allows for growth in economic, social and political areas that affect society as a whole. As membership of the Educational Park increases then extra staff or facilities can be added given the 5 acres of parkland that the scheme is set in. Likewise updates in IT or Media equipment can be taken on-board as the technology advances. Individuals find it hard to adapt to these new advances in technology but given the size of this project and the fact that the community is fully committed to it, then the Educational Park can grow with technological advances. Health is becoming a vital part of people’s lifestyles. The lifespan of the average person is increasing all the time. The Educational Park can adapt, and via the National Health Promotion Organisation, can bring health related activities to the list of educational functions. Concerns over the rise in obesity and diabetes can be addressed during lifestyle activities. Health awareness can be promoted via cooking courses and dietary education. This adaptability to take on board health related issues going forward gives relevance and meaning to the mayor concept of education. As the land was previously wasteland, it has now been transformed into a community Educational Park that has directly benefitted 5 local communities to include local workers and vendors. The park is sustainable and of direct benefit to the community. Equally as the park is landscaped wildlife will naturally use it to their own benefits. The library and museum is a valuable resource that can also adapt as times change. Media changes everyday and the adaptability of the Educational Park can change quicker than smaller educational institutes and the change is more affordable. Also the mobile library & museum transfer its facilities outside of the park bring the concept to a wider audience. As stated previously, the Educational Park is not just a seat of academic learning. It is one that also takes account of the communities needs. It promotes leisure activities fully. It also makes available courses that benefit people’s careers. These courses accommodate language skills in English, Chinese and French. People can use the park as a language centre and gain skills at the modest cost of $4.00 are a year. Private or independent language teaching is beyond most peoples grasp. The park “fills the gap” for their needs. The Educational Centre also runs courses on occupational needs to cover finance or business needs. The park runs many other vocational courses and the students who avail themselves of these courses can go back into the community and put their newly acquired skills to full use. In summary the Educational Park is fully sustainable and its resources are transferrable.

What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
With any new conceptual idea there are many lessons to be learnt along the way from concept, to construction to final implementation and adapting to future needs. The first lesson learnt, given the eventual success of the Educational Park, was…”why did the authorities not do it sooner?” Fortunately Mayor Dr. Charmpoonod had the vision and impedance to drive the vision forward to a completed project that fully meets the needs of the community. Her vision of “thinking outside of the box” is a perfect platform for future governance. The lesson of turning “brown field” wasteland into a area for community use that is not only educational but is also ascetically pleasing to the eye, is a model for examining other wasteland areas of the city. Communities sometimes do not always use the resources available to them fully. Thankfully this has not proved the case in this instance! As the project was totally new there were organisational issues and obstacles to overcome. The resources and solutions found in the Educational park initiative puts the municipalities officers and mayor in a good position to drive other like minded project forward in the future. New thinking was required to bring the concept of education and leisure together and many staff needed to be recruited and retrained to accommodate the “learning needs of the community” in a non formal style of education. The lesson learnt was to make education a family integrated activity that would bring education to a wide variety of persons to include the very young, students with academic needs and to those who have left formal education long behind. People have a thirst for knowledge and we, as humans, never stop learning. The lesson learnt here was if you make education affordable for academic, leisure and vocational needs then the community will fully support the initiative. The authority learnt that by providing an environmental pleasing sanctuary for learning that there would be a very good “community buy-in” and that society would benefit as a whole. They learnt than by being totally diverse in their approach to education that the Park could incorporate educational, leisure related, health related and vocational activities that would appeal to a very wide group of citizens. It also learnt that its educational offering was totally adaptable and as such it was able to incorporate specialised activities like Dharma Meditation for example. Another important lesson learnt was how transferrable was the concept of the Educational Park. The authorities learnt that the concept could be scaled down and moved to individual schools, colleges and universities. It could also be used by institutions of the state and the cities Police College adaptation is a prime example of the schemes transferable concept. The initiative also learnt to listen to the needs of the community and come up with new educational thinking and provision. It effect it learnt the lesson that good governance is not always control and administration but involves listening and community service actions. Provision of good services is essential.


Institution Name:		Phitsanulok Municipality
Institution Type:		Government Agency
Contact Person:		Dr.Premrudee Chrampoonod
Title:		Mayor
Telephone/ Fax:		+(66)55231400
Institution's / Project's Website:		+(66)55253022
E-mail:		ket_2020@hotmail.com
Address:		1299 Baromtrilokanad2 rd,Muang
Postal Code:		65000
City:		Phitsanulok
State/Province:		Phitsanulok
Country:		Thailand

The Problem

Solution and Key Benefits

Actors and Stakeholders

(a) Strategies

(b) Implementation

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

(d) Use of Resources

Sustainability and Transferability

Lessons Learned

Contact Information