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O-092Increase in Effectiveness of Technology Development in Thai SMEs withGroup ApproachSauwapa Yuwawutto, ThiThitapha Smitinont, Nattaka Yokakul, Somchai Chatratana, Industrial Technology Assistance Program(ITAP), National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), ThailandTechnology development is one of the main important factors for driving competitiveness of Thai small and medium enterprises(SMEs) in the global market. The linear model for technology development starts from conducting research and development(R&D) innovation management, and transfer of technology. Investment in R&D of Thai Industrial sectors especially SMEs istherefore crucial for the innovation and Thai government implements many supporting schemes to promote R&D. However, dueto high risk nature of R&D, investment of Thai SMEs in R&D is still very limited.The Industrial Technology Assistance Program (ITAP) is a private sector support activity of the Technology Management Center(TMC) under the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Ministry of Science and Technology ofThailand. ITAP main mission is to support technology development of SMEs through technical consultancy service. Over 20years, ITAP brings experts to Thai SMEs to work with the owners of the factories to apply technology for energy saving, lossreduction, process improvement, value creation and new product development. However, the number of projects which is relatedto R&D in comparison to the number of Thai factories is small.The main scheme of technology development project by ITAP is based on single project approach which focuses on the needsof individual firm. Once the needs for technological development from firm are identified, ITAP acts as an intermediary thatestablishes collaboration between technical experts and entrepreneurs. This scheme effectively strengthens individual firm byproviding an exact match between a particular need and a particular solution to the problem.Although the single project approach is very successful, this method has limited impact. The single project approach works wellwith individual firm with high capability in technology absorption only. The consultancy fee for each company on the singleproject approach can be high. The expansion of activity is not possible due to one to one nature of the project (one expert to onefactory).At the beginning years of ITAP operation, Thailand still lacked technical experts in nearly all fields and, ITAP cooperated withmany international organizations to provide high quality technical consultancy, such as; Senior Experten Services (SES) ofGermany, Canadian Executive Service Organization (CESO) of Canada, Australian Executive Service Overseas Program (AESOP)of Australia, and Japan Overseas Development Corporation (JODC) of Japan. Employing foreign experts are normally expensivedue to travelling cost and need of Thai moderators or assistances. In order to share the cost, a group of Thai SMEs of the sameindustry are invited to join the program to share the cost. In order to get the most benefit from the program, a more extensiveprogram includes: seminar, visit of companies for problem diagnosis; short term consultants by foreign experts are carried outduring two or three weeks of the visit if foreign expert.Although group approach (one expert to many companies) for foreign expert is born out of the necessity to share the high costof the project, it has provided new benefits to all parties participating in the project. Apart from benefit from cost sharing, anetwork is formed among the participating companies. The moderators and assistances gain knowledge both in technology andconsultancy techniques from the foreign expert. The knowledge and experiences sharing through group activities offer multiplicationeffect on the technology development which is impossible in the single project approach. In some case, this approach initiatesthe emergence of Sub-Sector Innovation Network (SSIN) which draws more partners both in industry and in academic circles tothe sub-sector.Based on the experience gained from the group approach for project with foreign expert, this paper reports the application of thegroup approach to two groups of Thai SMEs,The Thai dessert industrial development project was conducted since 2007. Normally, the Thai dessert SMEs are weak andfragmented with traditional, labour-based technology. They perceive each other as competitors and thus there is no link or anyform collaboration. Realizing the opportunity for development, ITAP provided technological supports through various programssuch as; production improvement, packaging design, product shelf life extension, and product development. ITAP also conductedtechnology trips to universities and research institutes to expose the entrepreneurs to new technologies such as drying technology,quality control and good manufacturing practices. The project includes technology visit to manufacturers relating to the Thaidessert supply chains. These activities create business and knowledge links and widen opportunities for growth and innovationof the industry.The group approach is also applied to an agricultural industry. An intervention team comprises university lecturers, representativesfrom the Federal of Thai Industry, and local authority are formed. The pilot project “Mapping and Matching of Regional InnovationSystem in selected Agro-subsectors” was created with the support from ITAP and the German Technical Cooperation AgencyMadrid, October 20, 21 & 22 - 2010375