Abstract
The consumer empowerment system synthesis research project is part of project series of the action plan of Public Health System Research Institute during 2002 - 2004. The project aims to create an empowerment system of the health community in order to achieve the academic potential and to establish a coordinating network for monitoring advantage-taking of consumers with respect to health products and services. Currently, the situation is that the consumers are greatly affected by both globalization and circumstantial factors that encourage the borderless free trade ideas, promotion of the limitless sales promotion and the exaggerate commercial advertisement. The high trade competition leads to stimulation of sales promotion without considering impact to the customers, whereas the government agencies are confronting problems and limitation of their operations. This due to the absent of clear measures and lack of checking and monitoring systems. Ignorance of the public and NGOs also causes weakness of consumer power. Apart from this, the NGOs that work in the area of consumers' rights are not prepared to work consistently with their own knowledge and clear activities, and they are limited in expanding their operation networks due to inadequacy of budgets and resources. Furthermore, in mass media sector, which is also another party relevant to consumer affairs, it has been found that they have insufficient attention to consumers due to their dependence upon financial support from businesses. And also, for academic circles, most of scholars have very few works, researches and knowledge creating process that promote the consumer power. Due to this situation, 5 objectives for development of The Customer Empowerment System Synthesis Research Project have been set up: 1. To analyze and review the knowledge and situation of consumers and factors relevant to the consumer empowerment; 2. To analyze roles, responsibilities of all parties relevant to the consumer process in order to know the hard and weak points, obstructions and opportunities to empower the consumers; 3. To propose the possible roles and responsibilities of all relevant parties and to offer suitable examples for strengthening and stabilizing of the consumer process; 4. To propose mechanism, policies, tactics and guidelines, including necessary measures for developing of the consumer process to achieve practical effectiveness; 5. To create support, promotion and development systems to empower consumers with continuity and stability; Three goals of the Project development are: to review the knowledge with respect to consumer empowerment process and to create the know-how knowledge; to prepare plans, processes and operational techniques for consumer empowerment; and to form a coordination network in consumer process; and to establish an institution focusing consumer empowerment. The works include to convene meetings amongst relevant parties, i.e. the researchers who act as external coordinators, Health Systems Research Institue’s (HSRI.) researchers and co-researchers and also to hold a forum to give opportunities to consultants to opine. In addition, a workshop will be convened in order to coordinate with relevant target organizations, to collect data in the areas and to gather academic forum. These particular works are tools necessary reaching the objectives. The works are 5 year-period programme with these following stages: Year 1 - To review the knowledge, situation with respect to both domestic and international consumers and to analyze the hard and weak points, obstructions and opportunities of consumer organizations in Thailand including to coordinate formation of the network;Year 2 - To propose vision, to stipulate policies, action plans, strategic plans and to continuously promote the collective learning process of the network organizations; Year 3 - To develop patterns, guidelines and mechanisms, including measures and techniques of implementation in order to empower and protect consumers and to promote activities of all consumer organizations;Year 4 - To create support and promote systems to develop the processes in order to strengthen consumers with continuity and stability;Year 5 - To promote establishment of a consumer empowerment institution that allows the participation of all parties relevant to consumer affairs, especially the public sector.
