UIII and Bappenas Build Research Partnership for Equitable Energy Transition through the SETARA Program
A delegation from Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia (UIII), led by Teguh Yudo Wicaksono, Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business, held discussions with Maliki, ST, MSIE, PhD, Deputy for Community Empowerment, Population, and Employment at Bappenas, and officials from Bappenas in Jakarta on April 30, 2026. The meeting aimed to present the research agenda of SETARA (Strategi Transisi Ekonomi dan Energi Regional yang Adil / Strategy for an Equitable Regional Economic and Energy Transition), a flagship initiative under the KOMITMEN UIII program, while exploring opportunities for strategic collaboration with Bappenas as Indonesia’s national development planning institution. SETARA examines three key dimensions of Indonesia’s energy transition. First, it addresses regional inequalities emerging from shifts in the structure of the energy economy. Second, it focuses on workforce skills development and the creation of green jobs. Third, it explores the challenge of strengthening national industrial competitiveness under different transition scenarios. Using a place-based approach across three pilot provinces—South Sumatra, West Java, and East Nusa Tenggara—the program combines four core research components to produce contextual, evidence-based policy recommendations for decision-makers at both national and regional levels.
The Deputy for Community Empowerment, Population, and Employment was selected as a dialogue partner because of its close alignment with SETARA’s research agenda, particularly in the areas of social protection, labor transition, and community empowerment. As the institution responsible for coordinating national development planning, Bappenas holds a strategic role in translating the principles of an equitable energy transition into planning documents at both the national and regional levels. Through a more structured partnership under the SETARA framework, UIII aims to ensure that the program’s research findings can be transformed into actionable recommendations for the national development planning process. Beyond academic contribution, the collaboration is expected to generate measurable policy impacts that can be felt directly by communities in regions affected by the energy transition.
The deputy’s office welcomed the presentation of the SETARA program and provided substantive inputs that will help shape its future research direction. Deputy Maliki highlighted the strong alignment between the deputy’s agenda and SETARA’s mission, particularly in advancing a just and fair energy transition alongside economic transformation. He emphasized that regional development planning documents should integrate equitable energy transition considerations and adaptive social protection measures. In his view, climate change fundamentally transforms the nature of jobs rather than eliminating them, making workforce readiness an urgent priority. Mahatmi Parwitasari Saronto, ST, MSIE, Director of Cooperatives and MSMEs, noted that regional empowerment and energy transition initiatives are already dynamic, with various programs led by different actors. However, she observed that SETARA’s evidence-based research approach can fill important analytical gaps that existing programs have yet to address, while strengthening their overall impact. Similarly, Dinar Danar Kharisma,SE, MAID, PhD, Director of Social and Economic Self-Reliance, stated that pilot experiences and program implementation across several provinces have demonstrated the urgent need for deeper research foundations. He expressed hope that SETARA’s analytical depth would provide a stronger scientific basis to sharpen and reinforce the achievements of ongoing programs within the deputy’s office. Overall, the deputy’s office opened the possibility of a formal partnership with UIII to strengthen the connection between research and policy.
As a concrete follow-up, both parties agreed on two strategic next steps. First, the SETARA team will prepare and submit a formal partnership proposal to establish Bappenas as a knowledge partner in the program. Second, the inaugural Steering Committee meeting and National Dialogue will be convened as the first step of collaborative implementation, with a target date before the third quarter of 2026. This agreement marks a new chapter of collaboration between academia and national development planners. More importantly, it reaffirms UIII’s commitment to contributing to public policy through rigorous, relevant, and socially grounded research. Through this partnership, UIII and Bappenas are laying the foundation for an inclusive, equitable, and evidence-based energy transition policy that supports sustainable development across all regions of Indonesia.
