The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and its global spread since 2019 have highlighted and aggravated deep-rooted inequalities worldwide and tested the capacity of governments to respond to health emergencies in a co-ordinated fashion. In this context, public sector digitalisation has gained political traction as a means of securing the continuity of government operations and the sustainable delivery of public services, increasing openness and stakeholder participation through digital means and supporting the accountability and integrity of policies in response to the pandemic.

Thailand has demonstrated ambition and commitment to developing an open and connected government. The Digital Government Development Plan (2017-2020) and the introduction of legal instruments related to digital government, stakeholder participation and access to information demonstrate Thailand’s willingness to strengthen governance arrangements for open and digital government maturity. The assignment of institutional responsibilities to the Office of the Public Sector Development Commission (OPDC) and relevant line ministries places co-ordination of the open and connected agenda at the highest political level. However, achieving sustainable policy impact in Thailand implies mobilising resources efficiently and using governance structures to steer and co-ordinate policy actions and deliver user-driven services.

Upon request from the government of Thailand and in accordance with the country’s reform priorities, this Open and Connected Government Review of Thailand aims to promote the successful design and implementation of open and digital government policies in the country, and leverage synergies between these two areas of public sector reform.

Chapter 1 presents the OECD’s approach to open and digital government and the methodology undertaken in the Open and Connected Government Review of Thailand. It also provides an overview of Thailand's open and digital government reforms.

Chapter 2 discusses the governance elements for an open and digital government in Thailand. It identifies the efforts made by the government to date to create an institutional and policy framework for public sector openness and digitalisation, and underlines key challenges in securing a user-driven, coherent and co-ordinated approach in the design and implementation of the open and digital government initiatives vis-à-vis OECD good practices and principles.

Chapter 3 examines Thailand’s legal and regulatory frameworks and their implications for enabling the foundations of an open and connected agenda in the country. In addition, it looks into how the government of Thailand can enable greater stakeholder participation in the legislative and policy-making process and build the resilience of its regulatory environment to tackle real‑world changes and developments.

Chapter 4 discusses public sector coherence and capability for an open and connected government in Thailand. It looks at the use of the funding allocation and information and communication technology (ICT)/digital commissioning models as policy levers for digital government coherence and provides an overview and assessment of Thailand’s efforts to build a digital and “open by default” public sector.

Chapter 5 assesses the efforts taken by the government of Thailand to enable an inclusive, omnichannel and user-driven design and delivery of public services in a digital Thailand, in line with the OECD Digital Government Policy Framework. It looks at the necessary governance and the availability of key enablers and tools such as the National Digital Identity (NDID), data standards and integrated service portals to assess the country’s digital maturity in public service design, delivery and access.

Chapter 6 presents and analyses the efforts of the government of Thailand to enable and govern a data-driven public sector. It reviews its data governance arrangements as a structural foundation and considers Thailand’s current experience in leveraging data availability, access and sharing to unlock greater value in its service design and delivery. Finally, it explores how better data governance from the perspective of ethics, privacy, transparency and security could help in reinforcing citizens’ trust in relation to the use of data by the government.

Chapter 7 assesses the efforts of the government of Thailand to promote the enhanced access to and sharing of government data through open government data and related policies. It explores the Thai government’s policies open data availability, accessibility and support for re-usability in line with the analytical framework of the OECD Open, Useful and Re-usable data (OURdata) Index, which aims at promoting sound open data policies that generate good governance, economic and social value.