About Us

SMERU is an independent institution for research and public policy studies which professionally and proactively provides accurate and timely information, as well as objective analysis on various socioeconomic and poverty issues considered most urgent and relevant for the people of Indonesia.

The institute has been at the forefront of the research effort to highlight the impact of government programs and policies, and has actively published and reported its research findings. The work expanded to include other areas of applied and economic research that are of fundamental importance to contemporary development issues.

Vision

A creation of an Indonesian society free of absolute poverty and high inequality through research aimed at evidence-based poverty and inequality reduction strategies, policies, and actions.

Mission

• Carrying out research on poverty related issues for the purposes of improving public policies and their implementation.

• Conducting effective outreach to national and regional governments, civil society, academics, and the international community.

• Supporting inclusive public policy discourse on poverty and inequality reduction strategies.

• Strengthening the role of cilvil society in the formulation and implementation of public policies.

Research Division

SMERU's research teams are formed by combining researchers from different disciplines. This allows SMERU to benefit from the synergies of a wide variety of approaches and perspectives.

In the social and economic fields, SMERU conducts studies on the impact and performance of government programs and policies related to poverty, health, education, gender, labor, fuel subsidy, rice for the poor and microfinance.

In poverty studies, SMERU utilizes existing data to conduct poverty mapping and to examine poverty and human development indicators, labor market conditions, the social protection system and income inequality.

SMERU also focuses its research on the implementation of regional autonomy and decentralization policies, particularly their impact on the provision of public services in health, education and economic sectors.

NGO Partnership

The primary task of this unit is to support the activities of NGOs by providing information on SMERU's research results. This unit facilitates meetings between NGOs, government bodies, regional legislative institutions, academics and community organizations through a number of discussion forums to share information, experiences and expertise. It also assists NGOs in their capacity building, such as providing training in research methodology.

Output

• Research reports, field reports, working papers, and workshop proceedings.

• Policy advice in the form of memorandums and recommendations for relevant agencies.

• Workshops, seminars, discussions and training.

• The SMERU Newsletters.

• The SMERU Indonesian NGOs and International NGOs Databases.

• The SMERU Website featuring all of SMERU's publications and databases.

Staff

The main strength of SMERU comes from its highly qualified, professional and commited staff. It also works with internationally respected experts in developing the design, methodology and implementation of various research activities.

Funding

Presently SMERU is funded by AusAID.