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Jokowi wants BRIN to take center stage in research efforts
He also instructed BRIN to consolidate the government’s budget allocation for research and development, which had been spread between various ministries and other government institutions.
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President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has called on the National Research Agency (BRIN) to take an increased role in coordinating government research efforts, which, according to him, must be undertaken to improve the nation's competitiveness going forward. (Shutterstock/File)
P
resident Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has called on the National Research Agency (BRIN) to take an increased role in coordinating government research efforts, which, according to him, must be undertaken to improve the nation's competitiveness going forward.
BRIN should also move forward to cooperate with strategic actors, Jokowi said, both with other government institutions and the private sector. He said it also had to consolidate overlapping research initiatives and budgets at the ministerial and government agency level.
“I asked that BRIN be able to detect and identify strategic research topics that are suited to the needs of the nation,” said Jokowi during a meeting held by the Research and Technology Ministry in South Tangerang, Banten, on Thursday.
He also instructed BRIN to consolidate the government’s budget allocation for research and development, which had been spread between various ministries and other government institutions.
“Our research budget, if we consolidate it, amounts to Rp 27.1 trillion [US$ 1.98 billion]. This is a huge number, although it’s far from what we desire,” said Jokowi, calling on the BRIN to coordinate research efforts in multiple government agencies so research initiatives would not overlap from one institution to another.
He emphasized that it was important for the government to increase its research spending going forward, saying the government would shift its allocation from infrastructure to research in the future.
“Once infrastructure [development] is done, I will shift the budget here [to research]. We have to prepare this for the future of our nation,” he said.
