Guidelines for Human Capital Development in Managing the Thailand Women's Development Fund in Nan Province

Abstract

This qualitative research aimed to 1) study the current situation, problems, and obstacles of the Women's Development Fund operations in Nan Province, 2) analyze the human capital development process within the fund's operations, and 3) propose human capital development guidelines for the fund's management. Data were collected through documentary research and in-depth interviews with 18 key informants, and analyzed using inductive content analysis.

The findings revealed that: 1) The fund faced a high rate of non-performing loans (NPLs) because members lacked financial discipline and in-depth business management skills. Capital allocation and debt collection were historically interfered with by local patron-client cultures and kinship systems. The fund also faced structural constraints from complex bureaucratic regulations and mountainous topography that isolated vulnerable and ethnic minority women from information. 2) The human capital development process, based on the System Approach, was effective in raising rights awareness and empowering women. However, it was constrained by short-term lecture-based training, a lack of mentorship, and evaluation methods tied strictly to governmental quantitative indicators. 3) The guidelines for human capital development offered a three-dimensional strategic blueprint: Training to solve immediate operational bottlenecks and control NPLs; Education to foster a digital entrepreneurship mindset; and Development to structural social change by establishing good governance, attracting the new generation back home, and creating a sustainable self-reliant community welfare ecosystem.