Publication
Summary of Publication
For more than a decade, Australia has invested heavily in Indonesia's knowledge sector across a range of programs, including the Knowledge Sector Initiative (KSI), J-PAL Southeast Asia (JPAL SEA) and the Pulse Lab Jakarta (PLJ). These longstanding investments all aim to improve evidence-informed policymaking in Indonesia but differ significantly in scale and approach.
In 2021, DFAT commissioned an Independent Strategic Review (ISR) of the above 'knowledge to policy' (or knowledge sector) investments to provide a high-level assessment of the programs' performance and to inform any future Australian investment in the knowledge sector. The ISR report presents important and useful findings on the achievements of over a decade of Australian support to the knowledge sector, while also identifying opportunities and challenges for any future investment.
The ISR finds that all three investments have achieved notable successes in contributing to evidence-informed policymaking, but in different ways. The three investments are also found to have made progress in supporting increased gender equality, disability and social inclusion (GEDSI) within the knowledge sector, and that DFAT's role in encouraging attention to GEDSI issues across all three investments has been an important success factor.
The ISR also identifies several key lessons - including the need for collaboration, problem-driven approaches, flexibility, and patience in supporting complex political and technocratic reform processes - which will have implications for any future investments. Overall, the ISR finds a strong case for DFAT's continued engagement in Indonesia's knowledge sector. DFAT's management response to the ISR report is below.
Full Publication
- K2P Independent Strategic Review Report [DOCX 5.2 MB]
- K2P Independent Strategic Review Report [PD 1.2 MB]
Management Response