BRIDGING THE MISSING LINK BETWEEN "TOP-DOWN" AND "BOTTOM-UP": A CASE STUDY OF THAILAND'S INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION IN S&T

Success in International Collaboration in Science and Technology (ICST) depends on various factors, different players and different perspectives. Governments participate in collaboration in order to meet their country's policy goals. Scientists and researchers establish their contacts through their personal channels or scientific networks in order to pursue their own academic interest. There are two significant approaches in ICST Policy making which are "top-down" and "bottom-up" approaches. Both approaches are important. One approach can not fit all. Each approach has its own advantages and disadvantages. A balance between these two approaches is necessary. The objective of this paper is to present the application of a strategic policy model for international collaboration in S&T that bridges the gap between "top-down" and "bottom-up" approaches. An example is given with the evaluation of four ICST proposals in Thailand. A strategic policy model was developed in which the characteristics of international collaboration projects in S&T and expert judgments are quantified to determine the relative importance of Thailand's national S&T vision and objectives and NSTDA's (National Science and Technology Development Agency) target sectors, and to evaluate the proposals accordingly. Four evaluation criteria are proposed in this paper: strategic importance (SI), potential impact (PI), human resource development (HRD), and matching fund from international partners (MF). Each proposal is evaluated with respect to each criterion and related sub-criteria. The value of each ICST proposal is then calculated by incorporating all of the elements at each level of the model. The output of this model is the ranking of the ICST proposals coming from the "bottom-up" approach that satisfy the national priorities and organizational requirements represented by the "top-down" approach. The model facilitates the national policymakers to make better decisions about participating in ICST research, and the researchers to have a better understanding of the entire international scientific collaboration system by identifying research opportunities to fit in.