Boosting the economy, BRIN Head pushes for strengthening research and innovation ecosystem
Innovation becomes the new engine of economic development
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Head of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Arif Satria, has stressed that strengthening the research and innovation ecosystem is the primary driver of national economic growth.
In a statement in Jakarta on Thursday, Arif stated that a country’s economic progress is inseparable from the strength of research, innovation, and the quality of human resources. Amid dynamic global changes, innovation has become a determining factor in a nation’s competitiveness.
“Innovation has become the new locomotive of economic development. Therefore, research and innovation must continue to be strengthened to enhance national competitiveness,” he said.
The BRIN Head highlighted Indonesia’s position in the Global Innovation Index (GII), which still faces challenges. In 2024, Indonesia ranked 54th, dropping to 55th in 2025. This decline signals the need to accelerate the strengthening of the national innovation ecosystem, from policy, funding, to cross-sector collaboration.
“Countries with high innovation indices typically also have strong economic growth. This shows that research and innovation play a significant role in driving economic progress,” he stated.
As the main driver of the national research and innovation ecosystem, he assured that BRIN is carrying out comprehensive strengthening from basic research, technology development, validation, to downstreaming. Arif emphasised that fundamental research remains an important foundation, even if it does not always have immediate impacts.
“Fundamental research does not always produce direct impacts, but it forms the basis for future technology development,” he said.
Arif mentioned that BRIN continues to encourage increased research productivity through scientific publications and patents. Although the number of Indonesian patents shows an upward trend, the country still lags behind China, the United States, and South Korea.
To accelerate the utilisation of research outcomes, BRIN is developing the Indonesian Innovation House concept as an integrated service centre. This platform connects researchers, industry, government, and investors to promote innovation downstreaming.
On the other hand, Arif highlighted the importance of social readiness in facing accelerated technology. Without societal readiness, technological progress risks creating disparities or cultural lag. Therefore, BRIN is also promoting social research development so that the resulting innovations can be widely accepted and utilised.
“Technology development must be balanced with social readiness. If not, disparities will arise between technological progress and society’s ability to adopt it,” said Arif Satria.