Public Participation in Infrastructure Development Planning of Doilor Subdistrict, Chaing Mai Province

Abstract

This research has three main objectives. First, it examines strategies to enhance public participation in the development of the 5year local development plan, which directly influences policy decisions on infrastructure management under the Doilor SAO. The findings reveal that active public involvement in decision-making with the SAO helps ensure that infrastructure projects align with community needs. Second, it identifies key factors affecting public participation in infrastructure planning under the Doilor SAO. The study highlights the influential role of community leaders and SAO council members in shaping public decisions. Since community leaders act as intermediaries between the government and the public, their influence often limits independent decision-making. Third, it explores solutions and provides recommendations for effective decentralization within the local development framework and infrastructure management under the Doilor SAO. Transparency in operations fosters collaborative local development. This qualitative study relies on in-depth and focus group interviews with 55 residents of Doilor SAO. It also analyzes official documents from the 2023 annual development plan evaluation, which assessed public participation. The results show that 41.22% of respondents were highly satisfied, 55.66% were satisfied, and only 3.11% expressed dissatisfaction with public engagement opportunities.