Bappenas hopes National Development Awards can improve regional planning quality

The Ministry of National Development Planning/National Development Planning Agency (PPN/Bappenas) has stated that the National Development Awards (PPD) are expected to become a comprehensive evaluation instrument that provides feedback to improve the quality of planning and the performance of National Priority implementation in the regions.

“We hope that the PPD does not merely serve as an award instrument, but can also act as feedback for the quality of regional planning and development performance,” said the Deputy for Development Control, Evaluation, and Risk Management at Bappenas, Tri Dewi Virgiyanti, in Jakarta on Wednesday.

According to her, for the 2026 PPD, all provinces will participate in the selection without exception. Meanwhile, at the regency level, 334 out of 416 have submitted entries, while at the city level, 86 out of 94 have participated.

She noted that since the awards began in 2011, participation has increased year by year, and the number of nominees has also been expanded, particularly for newly formed regions.

Virgiyanti expressed hope that the excellence demonstrated through these awards could be shared with other regions to ensure that development is distributed evenly across Indonesia.

“The best practices identified should not stop at one region, but should be replicable across all other regions,” she said.

Regarding the judging process, she stated that it is conducted by professionals, prominent figures, and academics, using several assessment criteria ranging from programme planning and development achievements to innovation.

Previously, the Minister of PPN/Head of Bappenas, Rachmat Pambudy, stated that the 2026 PPD awards serve as appreciation for achievements in planning quality, development performance, and innovation. The theme for this year is “Planning and Implementation Performance of National Priorities in the Regions.”

“We want the regional development planning to occur not only at the provincial, regency, city, and sub-district levels, but ideally, it should extend down to the village level,” said Minister Pambudy.