A thesis submitted in partial fulfillments oi the requirements for the degree of Master or Science

Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1984

This study investigates the relationship between the governmental organizations (Gos) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) at the local level which includes the district and tambon levels in 34 districts in 19 provinces of Thailand. The study explores the coordination between the Gos and NGOs in five dimension : the need, the purpose, the methods, the frequency and the area of coordination ; also it investigates the coordination problem as well as the way to solve these problems. It was found that, at the local level, the need for coordination is felt by both the GO and NGO officials and, in practice, there is communication and coordination between the GOs and NGOs. The Go and NGO officials coordinate with each other, for the government officials, to make sure that the NGOs follow the government's policy and plan, while for the NGOs, it is to gain support from the government and to follow the rules and regulations as required by the government. The more important areas of coordination are at the implementation level, and the less important areas of coordination are at the planning and policy formulation level. The most important method of coordination for the GOs is through personal relationship. This method comes second to the formal coordination in the name of their agencies for the NGOs. The most important coordination problem for the GOs is that the contact made by the NGOs is too weak and inadequate. The most important problems for NGOs are the differences in the development concept and methodology and the constant changes of the government officials whom they had contacted. These problems and the disagreement between the GO and NGO officials on several factors and the negative attitude that they have for each other leads to a conclusion that though coordination and communication exist, the relationship between Gos and NGOs is one of mutual suspicion and tension. Both the GO and NGO officials suggest the decentralization of power as the most important solution to solve the coordination problems. Other suggestions are that there should be some policy guidelines and an implementation plan on Go-NGO coordination at the national, provincial and district levels.