This is a presentation of my academic paper of the same title at PICMET 2014 conference in Kanazawa, Japan. The slide explains the pilot model of "Talent Mobility" scheme in Thailand.

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Talent Mobility Model at the National Level:
A Case Study of Industrial Technology
Assistance Program in Thailand
Songphon Munkongsujarit, Ph.D.
Senior Consultant
Technology Management Center,
National Science and Technology Development Agency, Thailand
Presented at PICMET 2014
ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel
Kanazawa, Japan
Full paper can be accessed at: <http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?tp=&arnumber=6921081>

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Agenda
 Introduction: What is “Talent Mobility”?
 Research Questions
 Case Study: Industrial Technology Assistance
Program (iTAP) in Thailand
 Discussion
 Conclusion

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Introduction
“The success of any national or business model for
competitiveness in the future will be placed less on
capital and much more on talent. We could say that the
world is moving from capitalism to talentism.”
Klaus Schwab,
Founder and Executive Chairman of World Economic Forum
A part of the opening speech at the World Economic Forum
Special Meeting on Economic Growth in 2011*:
* World Economic Forum, ‘Talent Mobility Good Practices - Collaboration at the Core of Driving Economic Growth’, World Economic Forum,
Switzerland, 2012.

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Definition of Talent Mobility
“The physical movement of workers within or across
organizations, industries or countries, and globally, or
the professional movement of workers across
occupations or skill sets.
Mobility may be temporary or permanent and may also
involve moving people from unemployed to employed,
moving jobs to people or allowing for virtual mobility.”
* World Economic Forum, ‘Talent Mobility Good Practices - Collaboration at the Core of Driving Economic Growth’, World Economic Forum,
Switzerland, 2012.
World Economic Forum* broadly defines Talent Mobility as:

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Scope of This Study
 Focus on Science & Technology personnel as
“Talent”.
 Focus on national context: temporary mobility
within country boundary to maximize the
efficiency of limited numbers of talent.
 Use case study of the Industrial Technology
Assistance Program (iTAP) in Thailand.

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Research Questions
This study aims at answering two research questions:
(1) Is iTAP model (or process) an effective way to
operate talent mobility at the national level?
(2) What are the key success factors in implementing
iTAP model for the talent mobility scheme at the
national level?

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Industrial Technology Assistance Program
(iTAP)
 Objective: To stimulate economic growth of
Thailand through the use of technology.
 Provide technical advisory services and
financial assistances to small and medium-
sized enterprises (SMEs) in Thailand via the
intermediary agent called ITA (Industrial
Technology Advisor).
 This is a prototypical innovation intermediary
for technology transfer mechanism.

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Innovation Intermediary
 Definition: An organization or body that acts
as agent or broker in any aspect of the
innovation process between two or more
parties*.
* J. Howells, “Intermediation and the role of intermediaries in innovation,” Research Policy, vol. 35, no. 5, pp. 715-728, Jun. 2006.
Innovation
Intermediary
Solution Seeker Problem Solver
problem problem
solution solution
(SMEs) (Experts)
(iTAP)
Technology Transfer Process

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iTAP Process
“First Contact” from SME and “First Visit” by iTAP
SMEs
iTAP
Experts
“Preliminary Analysis” at SME by iTAP and Expert
Expert & SME jointly developing project proposal
for approval from iTAP
Expert performing the tasks at SMEs according to
the approved proposal
iTAP monitoring the progress of the project
(every 6 months)
iTAP evaluating and concluding the project along
with providing reimbursement for SME
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Talent
Mobility
Process

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Case Study
 Talent Mobility Projects at iTAP in Fiscal Year
2013.
 Expert has to spend time working at the
company for at least 20% full-time equivalent
(FTE) or one day per five-working-day week.
 Project duration: 3 months to 1 year.

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Discussion
 Company A: Hydraulic Equipment Manufacturer
 Mobilized university professor & his Ph.D. students to solve the
particular manufacturing process at the factory: two-way knowledge
transfer between university and industry.
 Company B: Used Industrial Machinery Dealer
 Mobilized mechatronic expert from university to help developing six-
axis industrial robotic part of the machine: Capability building for
industry.
 Company C: Chicken Meat Processing Plant
 Mobilized veterinarian to develop new formula for wet dog food from
chicken carcass: R&D to add value to the waste.

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Conclusion
 The iTAP model is an effective way to operate
talent mobility at the national level as shown
through the case study.
 There are a number of key success factors in
implementing iTAP model for the talent
mobility scheme at the national level.

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Key Success Factors in Implementing iTAP Model for
Talent Mobility Scheme
Stakeholders in Talent
Mobility Scheme
Lists of Success Factors in Implementing iTAP Model for Talent
Mobility Scheme at The National Level
ITAs  Trustworthiness
 Providing professional services
 Ability to identify and analyze the technical problems
 Access to the appropriate experts (via personal network and/or
database of experts)
Companies  Trustworthiness
 Vision, commitment and determination
 Availability of operating budget
 Availability of specific personnel
 Avoidance of not invented here syndrome
Experts  Trustworthiness
 Professional ethics
 Responsibility (quick response to company)
 Business perception
 Rules and regulations of the university/research institutes

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Q&A
More questions? Contact me at
<songphon.munkongsujarit@nstda.or.th>
www.tmc.nstda.or.th/itap