Master of Public Policy (Australian National University) PhD Scholar Crawford School of Public Policy Department of Policy & Governance

Emba is a PhD candidate at the Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University. His research is situated within the fields of public administration and public policy, with a particular focus on the implementation of civil service reform in decentralised governance contexts.

Drawing on interpretive policy analysis, his doctoral project examines how Indonesia’s national merit-based civil service reform is interpreted and enacted by local actors in Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB). The research investigates how policy ideas like "merit" are constructed, negotiated, and applied in everyday bureaucratic practice often shaped by informal norms, political relationships, and local interpretations of professionalism and fairness.

Prior to commencing his doctoral studies, Emba served for over 15 years in Indonesia’s public service. He led the Planning and Budgeting Sub-Division at the Regional Civil Service Agency in Sumbawa, NTB, where he was responsible for coordinating staffing strategies, resource planning, and civil service performance. He holds a Master of Public Policy from ANU and has a long-standing interest in public sector reform, local governance, and the lived realities of policy implementation.