Current Research

Given the risks associated with teacher absenteeism for children and the manner in which this problem may fuel existing inequities for Papuan children, provincial governments in Papua and West Papua are keen to establish an evidence-based informed policymaking to improve education services for children.

At the request of government officials in Papua and West Papua, UNICEF together with two major provincial level universities (UNCEN in Papua and UNIPA in West Papua) and the support of the SMERU Research Institute, undertakes this study with the following main objectives:

In general SMERU will provide technical assistance and guidance to the overall implementation of the study. The field study has been conducted from July to December 2011, and covers six kabupaten in Papua and two kabupaten in West Papua. By the end of December, the data has been analyzed and the draft report has been developed. SMERU will actively support the report writing and dissemination of the research results.

Policymakers in the provinces of Papua and West Papua, as well as at the national level; UNICEF and other relevant donor agencies working on education issues.

Since SMERU already has experience in conducting similar research in several regions in Indonesia (but not covering Papua and West Papua) in 2003 and 2008, the SMERU team will share this experience and assist the UNCEN and UNIPA team members in conducting the study, starting from preparation and instrument development to data analysis and report writing.

This will be the first time that SMERU conducts a study in Papua and West Papua, which are culturally distinct from other parts of Indonesia. Thus, SMERU researchers need to first familiarize themselves with the local context and culture. In addition, the geographical issues and lack of infrastructure in some regions will make the field study more challenging.
 

This is a four-year joint collaboration project with Erasmus University Rotterdam and the Institute of Social Studies (ISS) in the Netherlands. It is funded by the European Commission 7th Framework Program and involves 12 research teams from Asia and Europe.

The first aim of the project is to determine the causes and the consequences of limited access, equity, and affordability of health care in resource-poor Asian systems. The second aim is to identify potential solutions to these problems by drawing on the experience of health financing reforms and innovations being implemented in seven Southeast and East Asian countries—Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. The analysis comprises both descriptive, cross-country comparative research and evaluative, country-specific research.

The expected outcomes for the Indonesia module are three independent yet interrelated studies:

The current research is to evaluate health insurance managed by regional government/kabupaten in Indonesia (almost 80% of kabupaten in Indonesia have their own health insurance scheme). The effectiveness and the targeting system, among others, are to be compared with Jamkesmas, managed by the central government.

In conducting the current research, the research team has the opportunity to communicate and interview officials from Dinas Kesehatan in related kabupaten regarding their district’s health insurance scheme.

Part of the study has been presented in Health System Reform in Asia Conference in Hongkong in December 2011. Findings of this study will be presented to the Ministry of Health, Dinas Kesehatan and other relevant stakeholders.

The close collaboration with Erasmus University Rotterdam and the Institute of Social Studies (ISS) provides valuable opportunity for SMERU researchers to learn new research approach and methods, and being exposed to International research community.
 

The study is a joint research project between SMERU and the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), UK. Funding for the study was awarded from the 2008 Funding Round of the Australian Development Research Awards (ADRAs)–AusAID.

The first phase of the study focused on income-generation, basic consumption needs at the household and intrahousehold level, and gender; and the second phase of the study focused on nutrition and intrahousehold food distribution, the role of water and sanitation, as well as intrahousehold tension and violence.

The project is currently in its third/final year, and is specifically looking at the political economy dimensions at the sub-national level, focusing on the role of social risks and vulnerabilities and their intersection with economic risks and vulnerabilities in shaping gendered opportunities for effective social protection especially in the context of food/ nutritional insecurity/ vulnerability. Data collection and discussion at the kabupaten level – Kabupaten TTS in NTT and Kabupaten Pasaman Barat in West Sumatera will takes places until February 2012, and the research report is expected to be completed in May 2012.

Local and national governments concerned with the issues of gender, social protection, food insecurity, nutrition, as well as domestic violence issues.

SMERU invited local researchers to participate as research team members at each research site. A particular workshop on research methodology was held for the local researchers involved in the study to increase their knowledge on gender, social protection, food insecurity, nutrition, as well as domestic violence issues.
 

The study is conducted in collaboration with Allianz Indonesia and PT Vision Fund Indonesia, and is funded by grants from the Ford Foundation and International Labor Organization (ILO).

Allianz Indonesia is piloting a micro-insurance program, called “Asuransi Tamadera” an Indonesian acronym for “Saving and Protection for a Prosperous Future”, which is a female targeted multifunctional micro-endowment savings plan. This plan integrates a fixed interest rate savings plan and life insurance, principally aimed at increasing access to health and education financing. The initiative was launched on 6 October 2010, and is expected to create a sustainable impact on the psychosocial, health, and education outcomes of individual women (payers or customers) and their households. The pilot project was planned to cover the urban poor in Kota Pontianak (West Kalimantan) and Jakarta, where Allianz works with Vision Fund Indonesia (VFI) in the implementation of the project. In addition, the initiative is also complemented with an intervention to increase the financial literacy of the targeted beneficiaries.

Given the pioneering nature of this initiative, SMERU complements the initiative with a well designed impact assessment study that contributes to the initiative’s future development. The impact assessment study adopts a randomized trial design and consists of three phases: (i) a baseline study carried out in October–November 2010 in Jakarta (it was planned to be carried out in Pontianak but it is delayed because the program implementation in Pontianak is delayed), (ii) monitoring and midline study during the course of program implementation, and (iii) endline study to be conducted two years after the launch of the program.

The baseline study in Jakarta has been completed. It was conducted between 27 October 2010 and 3 November 2010 in five villages: three in East Jakarta, two in North Jakarta. Among these villages, there will be control and treatment areas to allow for assessing the impact of the Tamadera. The midline and end-line study is subject to further discussion with Allianz and VFI.

Policymakers and private sectors concerned with increasing the access of the poor to modern financial services to improve their welfare level.

The research report of the baseline study in Jakarta has been uploaded in SMERU website, and all reports will be made accessible to the public.

The impact evaluation, particularly monitoring activities, will be carried out in collaboration with the implementing agency (VFI). It is expected that this joint activity will increase their research capacity. Nevertheless, this project has been put on hold for a while this semester due to the fact that the institutional setup of VFI in Pontianak was not yet ready for implementation of this project. Therefore SMERU has no control over the project time period, especially when this project can be expected to conclude. 

The study is part of the Kinerja Program funded by USAID, and implemented by Research Triangle International (RTI). SMERU will be the subcontractor of the Social Impact (SI) study. Other institutions involved in the Kinerja Program are TAF, Kemitraan, and UGM.

Within the Kinerja Program initiative, SMERU performs an independent impact evaluation study in close cooperation with the Social Impact (SI) study. The study will be based on qualitative and secondary data analysis that will span over a five-year period. Given that Kinerja’s intervention will merely focus on education, health, and business enabling environment sectors in the kabupaten selected randomly, the study will follow this scope and design.

Until December 2011, the team completed the baseline study using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The quantitative study involved purchasing and analyzing data on national, provincial and district data, such as SUSENAS, RISKESDAS and secondary data from District in Figures, regarding the intervention. Meanwhile, the implementation of a qualitative baseline study is extremely useful to understand the current knowledge and awareness, and some other non-quantifiable factors of various stakeholders that could contribute (positively or negatively) to the implementation of Kinerja. It also provides an overall picture of the welfare of the community and their perception towards the education and health conditions prior to the intervention. The numbers of selected district for qualitative baseline study conducted by SMERU is 11 districts out of 20 Kinerja intervention districts. Districts were selected based on the intervention chosen by the districts in year one and accessibility of the district within eight days of fieldwork per district.

The research findings from 16 kabupaten will be used to improve or supplement intervention packages which should be conducted by local governments across Indonesia in an effort to provide better management and services.

Regional researchers are involved in this study, where SMERU’s team has the opportunity to provide them with capacity building on survey and interview techniques.
 

The program is financed by ADB. SMERU is involved by providing Equitable Access and Financing Expert and two other researchers in a consortium led by Cambridge Education.

The purpose of the Early Childhood Development Strategy Study is: a) to provide a comprehensive, evidence-based, situation analysis and assessment of the provision of early childhood development and education in Indonesian; and b) to develop strategic options for increasing equitable access, improving the quality, and strengthening management of ECD, to inform national policy making and planning.

The strategy study (both the research and strategy development phases described below) will focus on the following three broad areas: (i) Expanding Equitable Access to Early Childhood Development; (ii) Improving the Quality of Early Childhood Development; (iii) Strengthening Planning and Management of Early Childhood Development. The intended results are therefore more effective policies, strategies, plans and programs for the provision of ECD which will lead to improved performance and outcomes. The study has been started in December 2011 and expected to be completed in May 2012.

Research results will be communicated to Ministry of Education and Culture.
 

The program is financed by ADB, SMERU is involved by providing Education Management Expert in a consortium led by Cambridge Education.

The purpose of the General Senior Secondary Education Financing Study is a) to provide a comprehensive analysis of the provision and financing of general senior secondary education from the perspective of expansion, equitable access, quality and spending efficiency, including policy for RSBI and seeded schools, and b) to develop strategy and financing options for addressing these issues. The intended results are therefore more effective policies, strategies, programs and financing arrangements for general senior secondary education which will lead to the expansion of access, and greater equity in access to quality education.

The Field work will be conducted in four provinces; Central Java, Lampung, NTT and Central Sulawesi. Central Java has been fielded in December 2011. Other research locations will be surveyed in 2012. The study is expected to be completed by April 2012.

In general, the study shall pilot test the EEPSEA framework and tools on vulnerability mapping and risk assessment using data from CBMS and other available data on hazard mapping in Pekalongan, Indonesia.

The study was started in September 2011 and expected to be completed in April 2012.

Regional Government of Kota Pekalongan, and other relevant government and nongovernment institutions.

Build the capacities of local authorities and local communities in the areas of vulnerability mapping and risk assessment.

The CBMS Network provides relevant trainings to SMERU researchers engaged in this study.