Arif Satria: BRIN Becomes The Government's Think Tank In Policy Formulation

Head of BRIN Arif Satria gave a press statement after being inaugurated by President Prabowo Subianto at the State Palace, Jakarta, Monday (10/11/2025). (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Head of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) Arif Satria said BRIN will play a role as a think tank for the government in formulating every strategic policy.

"BRIN must also be the government's think tank in making policies, so that the policies we take are based on strong science, in strong research results," said Arif after being sworn in by President Prabowo Subianto at the State Palace, Central Jakarta, Monday, November 10.

Arif emphasized that BRIN is ready to support President Prabowo Subianto's priority program, especially in the food, energy and water sectors.

"God willing, BRIN will oversee priority programs from the President regarding food, energy, and water issues. I think those three areas need to be supported by good research and innovation," he said.

According to Arif, research and innovation are very important for the progress of the national economy. The reason is, the higher the global score innovation index, the GDP per capita of a country will be higher too, so the state must boost the field of research and development (R&D) and innovation.

On the other hand, Arif said BRIN would increase the number of researchers in Indonesia. According to him, currently the number of researchers is still small compared to other countries, such as Thailand and South Korea.

Therefore, BRIN plans to increase research by increasing the number of researchers, strengthening research infrastructure, and creating a better research ecosystem.

Arif emphasized the importance of national consolidation in the fields of research and innovation. This is necessary to strengthen the research and innovation ecosystem, either horizontally or vertically.

"People who have passions in the research sector will be the capital for BRIN and also for ministries to be able to go faster and further because they work with passions," he said.

Arif admits that the budget for research in Indonesia is still very low, which is only 0.2% of gross domestic product (GDP). According to him, the budget is smaller than other countries for the scale of universities and research institutions.

To overcome this, his party will partner with the Danantara Investment Management Agency (BPI).

"So Danantara is one of the strategic partners that we really have to strengthen, and I think the source of financing from various sectors including industry is important," he concluded.