Using the National Socio-Economic Single Data for Poverty Reduction & Inclusive Social Protection: Lessons from Regsosek

Presidential Instruction No. 4 of 2025 on the National Social and Economic Single Data (DTSEN) is a strategic initiative designed to strengthen the quality of planning and budgeting for inclusive poverty alleviation and social protection programs. The use of DTSEN is also emphasised in Inpres No. 8 of 2025 on the Optimisation of Poverty Reduction and the Elimination of Extreme Poverty. Interventions based on DTSEN and other socio-economic data can generate systemic impact if designed to protect poor populations, prevent the middle-income group from falling into vulnerability, and support the utilization of DTSEN at the subnational level. This policy brief identifies two key challenges: the numerous administrative requirements and slow data access procedures for granting data access, particularly “shapefiles” showing the distribution of poor and vulnerable populations, and the uneven capacity across local governments to analyse and use data for planning and budgeting purposes. It also complements the SKALA program’s recent policy brief on strengthening DTSEN updating processes, which emphasises the importance of timely, coordinated data updating across all levels of government.