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Breaking the vicious cycle of fragmented digital governance
Indonesia remains locked in a cycle of ruptured progress and policy resets that undermine its long-term digital transformation goals.
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A person opens the Satusehat Mobile app in Pontianak, West Kalimantan. (Antara/Jessica Helena Wuysang)
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n an era defined by technological acceleration and growing citizen expectations, the imperative for Indonesia to embrace digital governance is no longer optional, it is essential.
Governments worldwide are leveraging digital tools to enhance transparency, accountability and efficiency in public service delivery.
Yet despite its position as one of the world’s largest digital economies, Indonesia remains locked in a cycle of fragmented progress and policy resets that undermine its long-term digital transformation goals.
Indonesia’s journey toward digital governance is marked by promising but short-lived innovations. Over the past decade, several ministries and regional governments have launched initiatives that highlight the transformative potential of digital tools in the public sector.
The Finance Ministry, for instance, introduced SPAN (State Treasury and Budget System), a real-time digital platform that modernized how the government monitors and manages its fiscal operations. This innovation significantly improved budget transparency and inter-agency coordination, becoming a reference point for other developing economies.
Similarly, the Health Ministry made strides with platforms such as PeduliLindungi and SatuSehat, which demonstrated how health data could be integrated and mobilized to respond to public needs more efficiently.
At the regional level, cities like Surabaya have developed smart governance initiatives such as e-Musrenbang for participatory development planning and a citywide command center for real-time emergency response. The LAPOR! citizen complaint platform, once supported by the President’s office, is another example of a technology-driven mechanism that enhanced public participation.
