Key Actors in Collaborating with the Development of Khon Kaen’s Smart City

Abstract

This article presents the key actors in collaborating with the development of Khon Kaen's smart city.  The authors analyzed documents about the operations of Khon Kaen smart city, conducted participatory observation, and research data of public media.The key actors used the dialogue included formal and non-formal discussion between members of the private sector, academics from Khon Kaen university, senior management of local administrative organizations, representatives from Civil Society and the public, representatives from regional government agencies, and central government decision-makers. The persons who entered into the dialogue were persons whose work and knowledge are relevant to the topic being discussed, that commonality helped give the process a sense of unity of purpose.  That also meant that the exchange of opinion was done non-judgmentally, with mutual respect and attention. All participants seemed genuinely motivated by a desire to solve persistent development programs of Khon Kaen. The result was a common vision of the direction that development interventions need to take for Khon Kaen to advance and become a “Khon Kaen Model.”  In addition to the common vision, the key success factors include the leadership of senior managers of local administrative organizations and representatives of the private sector to help drive the Khon Kaen development movement. There was advice and knowledge sharing by experts, and skillful moderation to create an enabling atmosphere. The representatives from the regional government agencies provided overall facilitation and ensured that the proceedings were in accordance with legalistic procedures. Therefore, build collaborative teams.