About Nesta

Nesta is an innovation foundation. For us, innovation means turning bold ideas into reality and changing lives for the better. We use our expertise, skills and funding in areas where there are big challenges facing society.

A steadily growing economy

Indonesia’s economy has grown steadily over the past 20 years after going through multiple crises in 1997-1998. Indonesia is now considered to be the 10th biggest market in the world. Private consumption of goods and services has been a key factor in driving this economic growth. Nearly half of the Indonesian population is young and active, representing further growth potential.

Indonesia’s economy is still heavily dependent on natural resources but there is political will to move away from this dependency. The aim being to develop an innovation-driven economy, with inclusive economic development at its heart.

GIPA spotlight Indonesia

A government committed to research and development

The Government of Indonesia (GoI) has expressed its commitment to developing innovation capabilities. The GoI mainly focuses on improving research and development (R&D) and

support for science and technology (S&T) in several ways: by providing human resources, facilities, institutional and network support, as well as building new Science and Techno Parks (STP).

Some sectors such as the digital and creative economy show promise. However, there are still gaps in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure and education quality isn’t consistent across regions, hindering the potential for innovation.

A lack of agreement and strategy

Overall, the Indonesian system is characterised by a lack of coordination and agreement among innovation policymakers. Competing perspectives on innovation priorities across both the private and public sector result in inefficiencies.

Personal or organisational interests prevail: support for national products is incoherent in places, complex bureaucracies make business formation challenging, fragmented public R&D governance is accompanied by low investment of the private sector in R&D.

Budget spending is the main indicator currently used to determine government agencies' performance. Kemenkeu (the Ministry of Finance) has the power to determine whether a programme will be continued in the next year based on this year's spending. Therefore, Kemenkeu arguably has become the most influential agency, prioritising operations over strategic policy and programme design. This has contributed to the general lack of strategic thinking and prioritisation in public R&D fund disbursement.

Big focus on agricultural research and development

Kementan (the Ministry of Agriculture) is a key actor for agriculture-related innovation policies. Balitbangtan (the Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Research and Development), a public research institution under Kementan, is the most established public research institution in Indonesia and receives the largest government budget allocation for R&D.

Authors

Juan Casasbuenas

Juan Casasbuenas

Juan Casasbuenas

Curriculum and Content Manager

Juan was a Curriculum and Content Manager supporting the Digital Frontrunners and Global Innovation Policy Accelerator programmes.

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Florence Engasser

Florence Engasser

Florence Engasser

Senior Foresight Analyst

Florence was a senior foresight analyst within Nesta’s Discovery Hub, which aims to create a link between Nesta’s current portfolio and our pipeline of future work.

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Anna Schlimm

Anna Schlimm

Anna Schlimm

Learning Experience Designer, Global Innovation Policy Accelerator

Anna was a Learning Experience Designer for the Global Innovation Policy Accelerator.

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Nathan Kably

Nathan Kably

Nathan Kably

Senior Strategy Analyst

Nathan worked on the design and delivery of Nesta's strategy

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