BRIN and LPDP Launch Prima Programme to Fund 177 Policy-Driven Research Projects
The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) together with the Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP) officially launched the Merah Putih Development Policy Research Programme (Prima) as a strategic move to strengthen the formulation of state policy based on scientific evidence.
During the launch in Jakarta on Monday, BRIN Head Arif Satria explained that the programme is specifically designed to ensure that every policy issued by ministries and agencies has a strong and tested applied research foundation. “We have currently recorded 177 research projects that we will carry out this year to help solve various problems in the ministries,” he said.
Arif expressed hope that the programme can dismantle sectoral egos among agencies by encouraging the emergence of comprehensive cross-sectoral research. He noted that various entities such as the Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas), the Quarantine Agency, and the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), along with other technical ministries, will be actively involved.
“God willing, with Prima, the synergy of national development policies will produce applied cross-sectoral research,” Arif Satria stated.
LPDP Chief Executive Officer Yon Arsal emphasised the urgency of Prima amidst an increasingly complex national development landscape. He assessed that to unravel current development complexities, the government can no longer rely solely on intuition or experience. “We can ensure that every rupiah of public funds invested is based on accountable risk calculations and impact analysis,” he said.
Yon welcomed the high level of interest from various ministries and agencies in the programme, which complements existing research funding schemes. “In Prima, the success of research is not measured solely by scientific publications, but by the extent to which recommendations can be translated into policy actions and regulatory revisions or various government programmes,” Yon concluded.