Developing Multi-Stakeholder Coordination Mechanisms for Educational Equity: Insights from Thailand's Inter-Agency Collaboration Experience

Background/purpose. Educational inequality in developing countries requires coordinated responses across multiple agencies, yet existing collaboration frameworks inadequately address capacity disparities and resource constraints common in these contexts. This study explores patterns of multi-stakeholder collaboration for educational equity promotion in Thailand and develops a preliminary coordination framework to enhance partnership effectiveness in resource-constrained environments.

Materials/methods. A qualitative case study examined coordination patterns across Thailand's educational equity ecosystem through 64 semi-structured interviews with representatives from government agencies, civil society organizations, the private sector, academic experts, and implementation-level actors. Data collection included document analysis and meeting documentation, with systematic thematic analysis identifying emerging coordination patterns and framework mechanisms.

Results. The analysis revealed three interconnected coordination mechanisms: integrated policy coordination, collaborative resource management, and cross-sector capacity development. These mechanisms address common coordination challenges, including procedural fragmentation, resource distribution asymmetries, and monitoring system disconnection. Key patterns suggest that effective partnerships maintain organizational autonomy while enabling collective action, require graduated participation mechanisms accommodating varying organizational capacities, and benefit from explicit linkage between resource allocation and capacity development.

Conclusion. The preliminary framework suggests potential directions for adapting collaboration theories to developing country contexts, emphasizing organizational complementarity over similarity and graduated participation over uniform requirements. The study offers initial guidance for partnership design accommodating capacity variations while leveraging organizational strengths, though systematic validation across diverse contexts is required before broader implementation.

Keywords: Educational equity, multi-stakeholder collaboration, inter-organizational coordination, partnership framework

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