Gorontalo Province has launched Open Data Gorontalo "PENTAGON", an open data platform developed with Australian Government support, marking a significant step towards data-driven governance. Officially launched by Governor Gusnar Ismail at the Dulohupa Hall on 18 May 2026, the event brought together senior officials including Australia's Deputy Ambassador to Indonesia Gita Kamath, Bappenas Deputy Maliki, and SKALA. Designed to address long-standing data fragmentation across provincial agencies, "PENTAGON" connects and aligns data from villages to the province into a single authoritative source for policy and planning, supporting Indonesia's One Data policy. Developed with support from SKALA (the Australia–Indonesia Partnership Program), the platform is owned and managed entirely by the Gorontalo Provincial Government, providing a sustainable foundation for more accurate, targeted, and evidence-based regional development.
The North Kalimantan Provincial Government officially launched a data updating and distribution program for Disability Service Cards in Tarakan City on May 7, 2026, as part of its commitment to realizing inclusive development that guarantees the basic rights of all citizens. Based on the National Social and Economic Single Data (DTSEN) in January 2026, there were 39,293 people with disabilities in North Kalimantan — the majority of whom had not been verified and integrated — thus hindering their access to public services guaranteed by Law Number 8 of 2016. Supported by the SKALA Program and cross-regional agencies, this program implements an integrated data collection mechanism through the SIJOSKU application and a four-desk service flow, covering registration, medical-psychological screening, population data updating, and card issuance, with a target of expansion to all districts and cities in North Kalimantan.
Six provinces—Aceh, North Kalimantan, West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, Gorontalo, and Maluku—have demonstrated significant progress in implementing the One Data for Domestic Government (SDPDN), ranging from strengthening regulations in accordance with Home Affairs Ministerial Regulation No. 5 of 2024, developing regional data portals, and activating the One Data Forum across regional agencies. This progress emerged during the Regional One Data Implementation Reflection Workshop facilitated by the SKALA Program in Bekasi on April 7–9, 2026, attended by 87 participants from the six provinces and the Ministry of Home Affairs. The forum also identified ongoing challenges—including gaps in human resource capacity, regulatory harmonization, and system interoperability—and produced operational follow-up plans per province to encourage the use of higher-quality, integrated, and evidence-based data in regional development planning.
Government of Indonesia, through the Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas, is strengthening the use of integrated data for more targeted development policies towards Golden Indonesia 2045. In a workshop and bootcamp held in Jakarta in March 2026, approximately 70 participants from Bappenas and the Ministry of Finance were trained to use the SEPAKAT platform—a national socioeconomic data analysis system that integrates various data sources such as Susenas, Sakernas, and village data—to support evidence-based planning at the national and regional levels. Supported by the Australia-Indonesia partnership program SKALA, this initiative aims to link data analysis with fiscal planning, social protection, and program evaluation to reduce poverty and improve the quality of Indonesia's human resources.
The strengthening of the integrated data system through the SEPAKAT platform is driving more targeted development planning and improved public services in Papua. By addressing data fragmentation and limited analytical capacity at the regional level, the initiative by Bappenas in collaboration with the SKALA Programme is enhancing the use of socio-economic data for inclusive, evidence-based policies. Through cross-sectoral collaboration, practical training, and integration with planning documents such as the RPJMD and RKPD, local governments are increasingly able to transform data into concrete actions that respond to the needs of the community.
Strengthening evidence-based planning and budgeting is key for the Provincial Government of North Kalimantan in addressing fiscal pressures and declining intergovernmental transfers (TKD). Through the use of the Public Expenditure and Revenue Analysis (PERA) study and support from the SKALA Program, the local government aims to improve the quality of spending, strengthen locally generated revenue (PAD), and ensure inclusive basic service delivery. The workshop, which brought together a range of stakeholders, produced dozens of policy briefs as strategic advocacy tools to promote transparency, accountability, and more effective decision-making.
Gorontalo Province is strengthening gender mainstreaming (Pengarusutamaan Gender/PUG) to advance inclusive development through participatory planning, gender-responsive budgeting, and stronger policy frameworks. Key initiatives such as Musrenbang Inklusif have expanded meaningful participation for women and vulnerable groups, while provincial agencies integrate Gender, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) perspectives into strategic planning, including the 2025–2029 RPJMD. These efforts culminated in the enactment of the Provincial Regulation on Gender Mainstreaming in January 2026, providing a solid legal foundation to embed gender equality across development planning and budgeting, supported by civil society and development partners to ensure effective and sustainable implementation.
Improving basic services in Indonesia depends on sustained alignment between national policy direction and subnational implementation capacity. Within a decentralised governance context, effective coordination across levels of government is essential to translate policy priorities into planning, budgeting, and service delivery outcomes. Through a series of Pokja meetings convened in January 2026 under the SKALA partnership, central ministries, subnational governments, and development partners consolidated policy alignment, reflected on implementation challenges, and refined adjustments to the 2025–2026 Annual Work Plan. The discussions highlighted shared priorities, including strengthening fiscal targeting for Minimum Service Standards, improving data integration and governance, and embedding inclusive approaches across planning and service delivery, reinforcing the role of coordinated national–subnational engagement in improving the reach and quality of basic services across Indonesia.
The series of SKALA Program Provincial Program Committee (PPC) workshops held on December 8–12, 2025, in six provinces emphasized the importance of maintaining consistency in the direction of regional development implementation amid fiscal constraints and policy dynamics. This forum served as a strategic reflection space for the central and regional governments to evaluate achievements, lessons learned, and challenges in policy implementation, particularly in meeting Minimum Service Standards (SPM), strengthening data-based planning, and improving the quality of public spending so that it has a real impact on the community, especially vulnerable groups. Through cross-sectoral and cross-level government discussions, the PPC strengthens the shared commitment that inclusive and equitable development can only be achieved through sharp priorities, adaptive governance, and sustainable collaboration.
