The Office of the Public Sector Development Commission has set up the Public Service Management Quality Award (PMQA), which aims to encourage government agencies to meet international standards.

Consultant Sangvorn Rutnarak said the commission had asked all government agencies to begin reporting on any improvements made this year. It will then use their reports to decide which agency should be awarded the first PMQA next year.

The new award has been modelled on the Singapore Quality Award, which the island-state presents to both state agencies and private companies.

However, it will be assessed on the same criteria as the private-sector Thailand Quality Award, which the Thailand Productivity Institute gives out to both Thai and joint-venture companies. The seven criteria are leadership, strategy development and deployment planning, information management, human resources planning and development, working processes, customer management and performance results.

These criteria are the same as those of America's Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, which is the prototype for almost 70 national awards around the world.

For now, the Office of the Public Sector Development Commission has said that government agencies do not necessarily have to meet all seven criteria to win the award. Agencies that do not win will be given a score and offered advice on how they can improve.

The commission score will play a role in the annual evaluation of all civil workers, especially leaders of government agencies.

"All leaders have to improve organisational culture and change the mindset of their entire organisation in order to lift the Thai bureaucratic system as whole," said Sangvorn.

The commission is currently seeking qualified people to assess government agencies for the award. The PMQA judges will then be trained by the Thailand Productivity Institute.

Nitida Asawanipont

The Nation

Singapore