Importance of Research – Again

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

LIPI building, Jakarta.

The importance of research in formulating government policies was reinforced in this daily in the editorial, “Social Science Research Not Yet Optimal”.

It was social sciences and humanities deputy Tri Nuke Pudjiastuti of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) who said that Indonesia lacked national development programs for the social sciences and humanities. The reason was that social science research in the country had not been developed optimally (Kompas, 24/10/2018).

Let us underline this statement. Often, the country’s research agencies are not taken seriously. Their research results are placed neatly in display cases and never used. This is in stark contrast to the situation in other countries.

Apart from the limited budget due to a lack of government support, public officials rarely consider the results of research in the decision-making process. Furthermore, the country has only allocated 0.9 percent of the state budget to research, or around Rp 24 trillion (US$1.58 billion). This is terribly small and is dispersed among several ministries and agencies, resulting in inadequate research.

The results of academic research into risks, impacts and risk management were often neglected in the pursuit of instant outcomes. This warning from LIPI should be understood as an effort to reposition academic research as a factor for significant consideration in decision-making.

One example is next year’s simultaneous general elections. Is the decision to hold the elections simultaneously based on academic researches covering every aspect of the people’s lives? The simultaneous election will be highly complex and counting all votes is expected to be completed in 24 hours. Implementing a full democracy in Papua, which still uses the noken electoral system, should also be based on social research.

Under the noken system, a group of voters are represented by one person, who is usually appointed by their community through a general agreement. The appointed representative will later report the group\'s votes to election officials.

Another example: Was the establishment of new regions in the past two decades based on academic research, or were they done only with the intent of creating “regional lords” that would end up fighting one another and forgetting their people?

Returning to the importance of research, the nation needs dignified research agencies that can look into the future and forecast emerging trends and where the world is headed. Such research agencies may guide potential leaders in charting the nation’s path towards a better future. Gouverner c’est prevoir: To govern means to foresee and to plan ahead. The results of research are needed to do this. Research agencies need funding to support their work and produce results.

Surely, we do not want the nation to continuously be a laboratory that tests electoral systems every five years, with each new election having a brand-new set of rules. Are these new rules the result of academic studies, or are they merely implemented to benefit the rulers? Sometimes, we are too creative in seeking solutions and shortcuts, whether to gain or maintain power.

Academic researches are required to resolve the nation’s myriad problems. They are needed to provide decision-makers with necessary data to make decisions.