Mrs. Leila Seth, jurist, judge of the Delhi High Court, COMEST member (India), co-chair, suggested that the government is like a parent and science and technology is one of the children. Thus, good governance makes good parents and helps children to develop with fewest risks.
H.E. Korn Thapparansi, Minister of Science and Technology, recognized that advancement in science and technology has created a wave of global change. Every country accelerates its process of science and technology development as this is the leading factor of production. Thus, it is important to build a framework to support and guide the development of science and technology. Thai government has put forth a reform of science and technology that is built upon: research and development, manpower development, technology transfer and science and technology infrastructure. To ensure the benefits of all Thai citizens, the government is pursuing two approaches: (1) applying more public control over science and technology development and (2) encouraging scientists to reach out to the public. This means that scientists must perform their duty based on the public needs. The minister's biggest concern is on the fair distribution of benefits from recent advancement in science and technology. Efforts to promote developing countries access to new technologies are countered by sanctions from those countries that hold proprietary rights. Lastly, the minister called for the scientific community to exercise principles of ethics and good governance not to allow wealthy nations and large corporations to subject knowledge and human creativity under their economic interests.
During discussions, the minister added that the government is trying to integrate all scientific researches under one roof in order to eliminate duplications of research work because currently “the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing.” This will also promote efficient use of the budget and to ensure that all scientific researches develop in the same direction and serve the public needs. In response to concerns regarding intellectual property rights, the minister said that Thai scientists should concentrate on emerging technology such as alternative energy (bio-fuels, etc.), organic agriculture and organic health products by developing research partnership with developed countries in hope of eventually capitalizing on their demands.
Mr. Jens Erik Fenstad, Professor of Mathematical Logic, University of Oslo, Chairperson of COMEST (Norway), responded to Minister Korn Thapparansi on the issue of good governance that good governance depends on understanding of knowledge. Good policies require balance of three aspects: (1) the cultural aspect, which is the need to know nature, (2) the critical aspect, which is the need to keep an eye open to the development of society and (3) the instrumental aspect, which is the use of knowledge to benefit mankind. In order to achieve good governance, we need to promote the right kind of skills and management of knowledge among scientists and the government. Since the relationship between sciences and the market is complex, it is not easy to set up a mechanism for good governance. We need involvement of all stakeholders, scientists and policy makers to set priority and to judge the benefits of science and technology.
Ms. Orapin Sopchokchai, Commissioner, Public Sector Development Commission, Office of the Prime Minister, stressed that the public sector could play an important role in science and technology development. There are two approaches to promote good governance of science and technology, namely the inside-out and the outside-in approaches. The inside-out approach includes political check and balance mechanisms, fair laws and regulations, reformed administrative mechanisms and the promotion of good governance core values and ethics. The outside-in approach includes the enhancement of the public rights to know and their understanding of science and technology, empowering the public voice of concerns and encouraging public participation in decision-making processes. Examples of current practices of good governance in Thailand are the 1997 constitution, the State Administration Act of 2002 and the Royal Decree on Principles and Procedures of Good Governance of 2003, which lead to the restructuring of the governmental organizations to be more accountable and responsible to the public.