The Human Resources for Health Research and Development Office (HRDO) works as a research unit under the International Health Policy Program Foundation. Established in 2006, the HRDO has the mission to create and manage knowledge, develop and manage human resources for health, and also improve related management systems in support of policy development and workforce management. The scope of HDRO researches covers national and regional policies on human resources for health, addressing planning, production and management in the process.

The establishment of the HRDO took place at the time Thailand had difficulty managing its human resources for health due to changing circumstances. In the wake of Thailand’s financial crisis, the government and private sectors adjusted their development directions with aim to urgently achieve organizational and national rehabilitation. One of the new policies back then was to turn Thailand into the ASEAN’s medical hub. Designed to draw in foreign currencies and spur Thai economy, the policy saw Thailand’s healthcare system adjusted to pursue the medical-hub initiative. Private healthcare institutions had higher labor demand while the government downsized its workforce. As a result, fewer healthcare workers entered public services. In recent years, Thailand’s population have continued to grow. Population shifts have also occurred, raising the public sector’s demand for healthcare workers. When all these factors are combined, the management of human resources for health in Thailand becomes increasingly complicated. The country, therefore, needs an academic organization that specifically monitors human-resources-for-health situation and develop knowledge needed for the efficient management of such work force.

The fair management and allocation of human resources for health, in terms of number and quality, in response to demand across all areas are very complicated tasks. Involved are changing demand for healthcare services and the dynamics of social and economic context in not just Thailand but also the whole world. The tasks, moreover, are related to several sectors. Educational institutes, healthcare service providers, professional organizations and the civil society have all had a role to play in the tasks. In conclusion, such complicated tasks need efficient strategies in creating and compiling knowledge, and fostering cooperation among all players so as to implement solutions through knowledge-creation process. This explains why the HRDO must spring into operation. Its missions are to support efficient policies and to facilitate their implementations.