Crawford School of Public Policy

A new project is set to strengthen public policy research and research institutions in Indonesia.

The Knowledge Sector Initiative (KSI) is a 15-year project funded by AusAID which aims to support the Government of Indonesia to increase the use of research in public policy development.

Crawford School is working as part of an international group of research institutes and think tanks to develop new ways to improve Indonesian policy research institutes in the areas of health, education and poverty reduction. The project is led by Dr Ben Hillman.

Hillman will be based in Jakarta for four years and in his role as Senior Advisor for KSI will oversee a capacity strengthening program for up to 17 policy research institutes in Indonesia.

The development of the new programs will aim to provide opportunities for policy research institutes in Indonesia to work on shared research topics with similar institutes in Australia and overseas.

Hillman said he’s excited to be part of this new initiative and to be able to contribute to the making of stronger intellectual foundations for policy making in Indonesia.

“This project is one of the first of its kind anywhere in the world that works with policy research institutes and government to strengthen not only the production of knowledge, but also its use in policy development.

“In my role as senior advisor I have the opportunity to work with Indonesia’s leading thinkers and to explore new ways of harnessing research to inform policy debates about subjects of great importance to Indonesia’s future,” he said.

“I hope that Indonesia’s leading policy research institutes will be able to produce higher quality research on the country’s most pressing development challenges.”

By Amelia Bidgood.