Academic Networks of Academic Staff for Supporting the Strategic Plan of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Chiang Mai University

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to survey opinion and summarize information on academic network of academic staff of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Chiang Mai University and find ways to promote the establishment and development of academic networks between institutions in order to support faculty’s strategic plan, strengthen academic excellence and, thus, achieve vision of the faculty. The study use secondary data of academic network statistics and interviewed opinions of academic staff regarding the development of academic network. The study found that the faculty has academic network in various regions. The opinion of academic staff regarding the ways to support and develop the academic networks that support strategic plan can be divided into 3 approaches: (1) the top-down strategic plan – emphasize on goals and strategic plan; (2) the bottom-up strategic plan - focus on existing and strength academic networks with academic freedom; and (3) mix-methods strategic plan – combining both top-down and bottom-up strategic plan together. The appropriate proportion of the mix-methods approach, however, depends on form and culture of the organization. The 42.55% of academic staff agreed with the bottom-up strategic plan while 38.30% agreed with mix-methods strategic plan. Only 19.15% agreed with the top-down strategic plan. Also, 74.47% agreed that the direction of academic network development of each faculty member was not necessarily aligned with the faculty's strategic plan. Moreover, the strategic plan should be adjusted after a period of time in order to align academic staff’s expertise and needs with the faculty’s strategic plan. This also support the faculty member’s participation in the development of the faculty's strategic plan which lead to sustainability of the organization in the long-term.