Nahpihtchaya Tebrod, Executive Vice President, Digital Government Development Agency (DGA), Thailand
By Shirley Tay
Women in GovTech Special Report 2020.
How do you use technology/policy to improve citizens’ lives? Tell us about your role or organization.
We work very hard at innovative thinking to drive the public sectors towards digital government. We implement digital technology to enhance operations and work efficiently together with government agencies to facilitate access to public services.
Some examples of projects, conducted so far, have been focused on defeating inequality; in collaboration with Kasetsart University, we established the Digital Government Technology Innovation Center or DGTi, located at Kasetsart University Sriracha Campus, Chonburi province.
DGTi is the center of knowledge that exchanges excellent research and innovation. Those will accelerate public sectors to transform into digital government. Furthermore, we encourage the co-creation development and Data Governance through National Open Source Code in DGTi Git Service. These could be considered as the central repository which enables to control the upgrading version of the program.
Not only are we developing the government digital standard level, but we also care about our urgency regarding national demand. According to Covid-19 pandemic, we have played a vital role in the creation of traceability solutions: “Morchana” and “ThailandPlus” to support the monitoring system of Covid-19 which will contain the outbreak and simplify the healthcare professional investigation process.
What was the most impactful project you worked on this year?
It’s obvious that a lot of countries have been challenged by the Covid-19 pandemic. Which brought a range of difficulties in every decision and operation.
As the virus outbreak of Covid-19 in Thailand has affected the economy and society generally, especially the loss of international investment and our primary business - tourism, Thailand has decided to ease the strain and open up the country but at the same considering people's safety.
As a public organisation - Digital Government Development Agency (DGA), gain the trust of the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society as well as excellent cooperation from the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Department of Disease Control, Department of Consular Affairs, Tourist Police Bureau and Airports of Thailand. We developed a monitoring and traceability system to indicate and evaluate the risk of people who have Covid-19 under the Communicable Diseases Act 2015.
ThailandPlus application is designed as a tool for country-wide Covid-19 monitoring system. it will notify the user when they are in close contact with infected people or people who are at risk of infection during travel, together with the relevant recommendation.
It ensures the safety of users before entering any place. We are also concerned about the user rights. That is why cybersecurity, and the protection of personal information are the crucial elements of the application, so the design and the development of the application have been done carefully.
Currently, ThailandPlus has become an important tool to help officers and agencies, primarily, the healthcare professional can utilise the information to do further analysis of the risks from the user’s travel records. Moreover, the data can support the officer to monitor risk groups and provide timely assistance which is very useful in slowing down and stopping the spread of Covid-19 quickly. It’s beneficial and valuable in this situation and the relief period of the epidemic of diseases in Thailand.
What is one unexpected learning from 2020?
The epidemic of Covid-19 allows us to learn and find ways to live with it. We’ve been evaluating various types of technology to prevent the spread and solve problems efficiently, including cross-functional management methods with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Health. We emphasise on sharing information, managing information, and developing applications, which improves the security of our citizens.
What tool or technique particularly interests you for 2021?
In my opinion, Digital Twin Technology has become a vital tool to drive better processes and better operations. It's a very innovative way to create more effective administration, especially for the public sector. We can use Digital Twin Technology to develop smart cities like many countries around the world. This technology will improve city infrastructures such as utility and transportation. It can also help to handle some situations such as flooding and pollution. I believe that Digital Twin Technology is an extraordinary element to create a better life for people.
What are your priorities for 2021?
Putting the rights and welfare of the people is our top priority. They mostly live in rural areas with poverty. I wish to provide equal access to special care and welfare. The next thing is to implement technology for agriculture.
What advice would you give to women looking to start a career in GovTech?
Nowadays, we’re in the new age of technology and the rival of evolution for the power of women. Technology has become the critical tool to reduce cost as well as create new opportunities if we know how to utilise it. For example, we have AI technology which helps to reduce repetitive work and to analyse trends for the future. If women in tech know how to use this technology correctly, they can reduce time spent on redundant work and improve the cost of investment.
Write a message for your future self.
I’m a good mother, a good wife and a good citizen. I can do anything, and I’m able to play any role effectively. One remarkable experience currently is that I have played a crucial role in driving the implementation of digital government and applying such technology to enhance the public services for more equally accessible and concrete approaches for Thai people; especially those who dwell in the rural area will have the same rights for public welfare. I am strongly aspired to see everyone, particularly young people accustomed to technology adoption which would improve our nation in many ways.