The Khlong Toei Model: Community-Led Innovations in Pandemic Response from Thailand’s Urban Slum

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed structural inequalities in urban slums, where state-led responses often failed to address complex needs. This study examines the role of nonprofit human service organizations (NHSOs) in Bangkok’s Khlong Toei district–Thailand’s largest informal settlement–during the pandemic. Using 66 in-depth interviews, it analyzes four NHSO strategies: charitable donation, essential social service provision, information dissemination, and public awareness. Findings reveal that Thai NHSOs expanded these strategies through community-driven innovations. The resulting “Khlong Toei Model” functioned as a decentralized response system featuring volunteer clusters, digital tools, and collaboration with religious institutions. Key success factors included long-standing community trust, cross-sectoral partnerships, and politically neutral, needs-based engagement. Conceptually, the study extends Cai et al.’s (2021) framework by demonstrating how NHSOs act as both service providers and governance actors that translate policy into community practice. The Khlong Toei Model offers a transferable framework for understanding grassroots resilience and adaptive crisis governance.