Three Public Service Innovations Bring Global Acclaim to Indonesia
Three Indonesian public service innovations have received awards at the 2026 United Nations Public Service Awards (UNPSA) held in Tbilisi, Georgia. The ‘Berdaya Srikandi’ initiative by Srikandi from Parepare City was named the winner in the Gender-responsive Public Services category. Two other innovations received Honourable Mentions: the Village Financial System (Siskeudes) developed by the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP) in the Transparent and Accountable Public Institutions to Achieve the SDGs category, and the MAGMA Indonesia (Multiplatform Application for Geohazard Mitigation and Assessment in Indonesia) from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) in the Delivering Inclusive and Equitable Services to Leave No One Behind category.
Deputy Minister for State Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reform, Purwadi Arianto, who accompanied the innovators, expressed his delight at the achievement. ‘Out of the 12 awards given, Indonesia secured three. Congratulations to Indonesia,’ he stated in a press release on Thursday (25/6/2026). The awards were presented by UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Li Junhua and Georgian Minister of Justice HE Paata Salia, and were received by Parepare Mayor Tasming Hamid, BPKP Deputy for Regional Financial Oversight Setya Nugraha, and Acting Head of the Geological Agency at the ESDM Ministry Lana Saria.
This year, over 700 public service innovation proposals were submitted by 62 countries, with 12 receiving awards. The winners provided solutions to public service challenges at national or regional levels and enhanced administrative capabilities while prioritising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Several winners also utilised information technology, artificial intelligence, and digital governance.
The Berdaya Srikandi initiative, launched in 2017, aims to empower coastal women by increasing their income through creative economic activities. It involves local female university graduates as facilitators and helps women join the workforce through productive economic ventures. The programme seeks to enhance women’s roles, capacity, and equality in supporting the family economy and addressing vulnerabilities in poverty, education, and health. It was previously recognised as a Top 40 innovation in the 2020 Public Service Innovation Competition (KIPP).
BPKP’s Siskeudes is an application for village financial management and development that electronically oversees the planning, budgeting, administration, and reporting processes. It has helped realise accountable village financial management by enforcing uniform systems and standards, thereby simplifying the compilation of village financial data. The innovation was a Top 99 entry in the 2023 KIPP and was named a Top Innovation in the Sustainability category during the 2024 Innovation Sustainability and Replication Monitoring (PKRI).
MAGMA Indonesia, a multiplatform application available since 2015, provides integrated, quasi-real-time, and interactive data and recommendations on geological hazards, including volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, and ground movements. It produces more structured basic volcano data for analysis, speeding up data processing and the formulation of technical recommendations for geological disaster mitigation.
The Ministry of State Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reform views the UNPSA 2026 success as a collective achievement. These globally recognised innovations stem from strong government commitment, active community interaction, user feedback, and consistent efforts to improve public service quality. Purwadi noted that this success proves the bureaucratic reform agenda and public service quality improvement in Indonesia are moving in a tangible direction. Innovation is no longer seen merely as the use of technology, but as the government’s ability to deliver relevant, inclusive, sustainable, and impactful solutions. He added that the awards demonstrate that Indonesia’s public service quality is globally recognised and competitive. The ministry hopes this international recognition will inspire other government bodies to strengthen a culture of innovation and expand the replication of good practices.