การประชุ
มวิ
ชาการและเสนอผลงานวิ
จั
ย มหาวิ
ทยาลั
ยทั
กษิ
ณ ครั้
งที่
19 ประจำป
2552
R&D for Southern Thai Communities
or
Research in Support of Southern Thai Communities
A New Approach for University-based Researchers
1
The two titles aim to clarify means of supporting communities in their development,
particularly through university-based research. The following discussion deals with some
misconceptions about research and development (R&D) and community development
(CD) and highlights the role of well-executed applied research in universities involving
graduate students and in particular the role for region that includes southern Thailand.
The paper can be summarized as follow:
Among the diverse responsibilities of universities which include relevance, objectivity
and quality, university-based research must be consistent with educational objectives. Such
a challenge requires a focus on graduate research training in fields of direct regional relevance.
To ensure that applied research is relevant implies a leading role for the social sciences to
inform other disciplines so that they are oriented to social and geographical realities,
which in this region cross national borders. Past R&D and CD models and national
research planning are not designed to suit such circumstances and can even conflict with
these university-based research responsibilities. A practical means of reconciling
some such conflicts is introduced in terms of regionally focussed social and applied
science research conducted through enhanced graduate research programs adapted
from international practices and standards.
Introduction
The southern-most section of Thailand has a rich and diverse history that separates it
from the rest of Thailand. It also differs in terms of its geography, climate, natural resources and
ethnic origins. For the current purposes it is enough to note that it is part of a region with its own
characteristics, and that these set the context for a discussion about research. Of course the region is
part of Thailand, which means certain aspects of that context are prescribed by national interests –
and with progressive maturity of the nation this might be expected to shift more towards a regional
focus. Such a political context is relevant to research in general, but in this paper we are concerned
specifically with university-based research. As universities are special institutions that must take
a long-term responsibility within an educational perspective, there are a number of research foci
that may be underemphasized in a national top-down process for defining research priorities.
1
Keynote Paper Presented to the Thaksin University Annual Conference, September 24, 2009, Thaksin University,
Songkhla, Thailand, by Professor Lindsay Falvey.
