KOMPAK – an Indonesian Governance Program
Highlights
- KOMPAK was an Australian-Indonesian government program to improve basic services and economic opportunities for low-income Indonesians.
- The Abt-led project provides best practice governance processes to strengthen systems for public services programs such as health, education, and civil registration in a decentralised context.
- Over 7.5 years, KOMPAK delivered benefits to low-income communities through strengthened sub-national systems, improved village governance, and expanded economic opportunities in 24 districts in seven provinces.
Despite steadily increasing resources, the 260 million citizens of Indonesia continue to experience unequal access to quality government services. The causes are many:
- Lack of transparency and citizen engagement
- Inconsistent policies
- Limited institutional capacities, especially at the sub-national level
- Ineffective use of public funds
As a result, many Indonesians struggle with poverty, unemployment, a complex regulatory environment, and unequal regional resource distribution.
Abt delivered technical assistance to improve government capabilities to manage and deliver basic services (health, education, and legal identity) and promote local economic development. We worked at the national, provincial, district, sub-district, and village levels. Integral to the success of the program was the approach to planning and coordination, inclusive and accountable local governments, and performance-oriented and efficient public financial management systems.
Abt has implemented KOMPAK in 24 districts and 311 villages in seven provinces. The 7.5-year commitment to implement a large, local-level development initiative using adaptive management principles has strengthened governance and built capacity in Indonesia’s core systems and processes.
KOMPAK has helped strengthen systems to deliver responsive and accountable frontline services. We encouraged community-driven development at the village level, and villages beyond the 311 KOMPAK villages benefitted.
- 343 villages received technical assistance from the sub-district to improve governance and services
- 456 villages in seven provinces have already implemented a Village Information System to improve service quality
The program has also increased productivity and income of micro and small businesses.
- Eight business groups now earn an average profit of AUD 4,500/year, which is a three-fold increase from the initial profit before KOMPAK support
- Income of water hyacinth artisans in West Aceh increased from AUD 1,500 (2018) to AUD 14,300 (2020)
- AUD 28 million in government budget allocations and private contributions is now available for the development of micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises.
In summary, between 2015 and 2021 in the project areas, KOMPAK contributed to a drop in poverty rates from 17.27% to 15.13% , an increase in the Human Development Index from 64.44 to 67.55, and a decrease in the Gender Inequality Index from 47.48 to 32.