SHARE Research and National Competitiveness
It was a relief to hear the statement from the Head of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Arif Satria, in Surabaya some time ago that social humanities research is very important in the Society 5.0 era. The statement reaffirms that national competitiveness is not solely related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
The priority research fields in the National Research Master Plan (RIRN) 2017-2045, as stipulated in Presidential Regulation No. 38 of 2018, include food, energy, health, transportation, engineering products, defence and security, maritime, social humanities, advanced materials, and other research fields. This regulation serves as a reference and guideline for the government and society in developing science and technology. The RIRN contains a master plan for a 30-year period divided into several stages of national research development.
BRIN, as the body responsible for developing science and technology, translates the RIRN by emphasising key research focus areas, including food and agriculture, covering smart farming and food security; energy and manufacturing, covering the development of electric vehicles and renewable energy; health, covering pharmaceutical research, vaccines, and the use of genomic technology; and social humanities, covering public policy studies and societal dynamics. Interestingly, BRIN has recently added sport science to strengthen strategic industries, followed by the creation of a research collaboration centre for sports that will partner with universities possessing sports excellence as developers. This is a spectacular breakthrough because sport science has not been optimally addressed in research programmes thus far.
In the context of science and technology development, the RIRN also serves as a reference for higher education institutions through their tri-dharma functions: teaching, research, and community service. Higher education institutions under the coordination of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology and other ministries that coordinate higher education also have the principal task and function of contributing to national progress, particularly through research. Thus, BRIN and universities can synergise and collaborate to concretely translate the RIRN for the advancement and competitiveness of the nation.
Social humanities research is currently experiencing an expansion, developing into a more accommodative field or discipline called SHARE, which stands for social, humanities, arts, religious, and education. Even scholarships managed by the Education Fund Management Institution (LPDP) are directed towards human and societal issues focusing on the development of social sciences, humanities, arts, religion, and education to support sustainable human development.
One of the concrete goals of STEM research is to produce patents. Patents are one measure of national competitiveness; as an illustration, Indonesia’s position in global patents as of 2026 was 34th in the world with a total of 15,815. The top five patent holders are China, the United States, Japan, South Korea, and Germany. What about the goal of SHARE research? It is certainly not like STEM.
The era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, marked by extremely rapid technological advancement, has a broad and complex impact on human life and everything within it. Therefore, as an antidote to the impact of technological progress, mitigation must be provided that can offer solutions to the problems of human life resulting from technological advancement. This is where SHARE research is very important to be developed in tandem with STEM research. The two are like two sides of the same coin, complementing each other and even becoming a reflection of a nation’s civilisation.
So far, research programmes at BRIN and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology have been more dominated by STEM because STEM is seen as an interdisciplinary approach to solving real-world problems. Yet life’s problems are not only related to the real world; there is another world that touches the broader dimensions of human life, requiring precise handling solutions that cannot be resolved with a STEM approach. This other dimension beyond the real world requires its own distinct approach. Therefore, SHARE research becomes both a paradigm and the appropriate approach to providing solutions to the highly complex problems of human life in the Society 5.0 era.
Kuntowijoyo (1943-2005) divided the humanities into three environments where humans live: the material environment, the social environment, and the symbolic environment. The material environment is the human-made environment. The social environment includes social organisation, stratification, socialisation, and lifestyle. The symbolic environment encompasses meaning and communication. It is in the social and symbolic environments that a distinct approach through SHARE research is needed.
In the context of national civilisation, SHARE research has been viewed by some groups as not making a significant contribution to national progress. This is strongly felt in government programmes, which generally prioritise STEM for larger funding allocations, both at BRIN and at the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology. Similarly, programmes for appreciating outstanding talent in research and innovation are more dominated by STEM fields, such as the Sarwono Award for STEM, the Siwabessy Award for nuclear science, and the Nurtanio Award for aviation and space. Meanwhile, the Habibie Prize is more accommodative, covering basic sciences, medical sciences and biotechnology, engineering sciences, and philosophy, religion, and culture.