RESEARCH SUPPORT: 2021 IRSA-Local Government Innovation Research Support on Local Institution and Human Capital

Rationale

Despite two decades of decentralization, disparity in inter-regional development remains abundant and prevalent. Moreover, intra-regional disparity reflected in the inequality between different population groups has reached an unprecedented level in Indonesian history. One root cause includes the inability of some local governments to strengthen their local institutions and unequal access to improvements in human capital through quality of education and health services. Strengthening local institutions and improving local human capital has been the responsibility of the state, which has been decentralized to local governments. In order to optimally exercise this decentralization, local governments need to be innovative in the ways they reform their institutions and provide education, learning and health services in their regions.

Although in many cities, districts and provinces, we are beginning to see innovative approaches to development, they are still insufficiently few. The understanding of conditions under which such innovations occur is empirically limited. We need evidence of lessons learned so success in certain areas can be replicated.

Research Support

As an initiative to increase knowledge about how and why such innovative approaches by local governments improve local institutions and human capital, the IRSA-Local Government Innovation program supports research in this area. The support is in the form of small research grants of Rp. 25,000,000 for any good quality research that can potentially produce new knowledge of local government innovation in Indonesia.

Research topics

Specific research topics can be, but are not limited to, the following:

• What is the role of the local environment in helping local governments create innovative ways to strengthen local institution and human capital?
• What are the impacts of innovations in local public services delivery on human development outcomes?
• Have democratization and decentralization strengthened local institutions and produced innovative local/regional development actors, including political leaders?
• To what extent do local institution, political leaders or public figures play a role in the innovation of public services delivery in the regions/localities?
• To what extent can bureaucracy be transformed to create innovation in public services delivery in the regions/localities?
• Are there any examples of best practice in the regions/localities related to local government innovations that can be replicated in other areas?

Who can apply?

Indonesian researchers in any science discipline who are willing to present their research findings at the 16th IRSA virtual conference on 12-13 July 2021.

Timelines

• Deadline of proposal submissions: 15 March 2021
• Notification of the winner: 15 April 2021
• Presentation of the findings: 12-13 July 2021
• Final paper submissions: 31 August 2021

Submission The proposal needs to be made via the following downloadable form (http://bit.ly/IRSA-LG-2021) and submitted via email to heriyaldi(at)unpad.ac.id and cc to dede_gsu02(at)yahoo.com.