Launch of the Regional Government Success Score Card for Indonesia

Photo: Special

JAKARTA - The Regional Government Success Scorecard (RGSS) and its website were launched today in Jakarta. Developed by the Chandler Governance Group (CGG), with support from the Gates Foundation, RGSS is a data-driven tool designed to identify the key drivers of regional government success. This Scorecard answers the questions "what works" and "why" to support better planning, policymaking, and budgeting by governments and their partners.

Furthermore, CGG is working with the Institute for Economic and Social Research, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Indonesia (LPEM FEB UI), to adapt RGSS to the Indonesian context. This Indonesian application provides a comparative and contextual view of the performance of local governments in 514 cities and districts in Indonesia, taking into account the structural conditions in which each operates.

Supporting the Discussion of Regional Governance Based on Information

The launch seminar brought together senior officials from national ministries, leaders from local governments, and academics. The keynote speech was delivered by senior representatives from KEMENDAGRI and BAPPENAS, reflecting the relevance of the initiative to Indonesia's regional development agenda.

Indonesia is increasingly emphasizing efforts to reduce regional disparities and increase development outcomes across the country. Local governments, from provinces to cities and districts, are responsible for the majority of public spending, and their outcomes and impacts have direct implications for service delivery, socio-economic outcomes, and citizen satisfaction.

RGSS is designed to support discussions on improving local governance by uncovering insights into factors associated with variations in local governance outcomes and impacts, including public health, education, employment, and environmental quality.

This framework is structured based on four pillars. The first three pillars are 'Capacity' (institutional capacity and quality), 'Input' (resources available to local governments), and 'Performance' (results felt by citizens). The fourth pillar, 'Basic Environment', includes structural conditions, such as geography and natural resource wealth, which are largely beyond the direct control of local governments.

To overcome the widely recognized challenge of comparing governments to a starting point of very different structural nature, RGSS features a Dynamic Peer Comparison (DPC) Comparison methodology. Instead of measuring each local government against a single national benchmark with a fixed comparison group, DPC applies a continuous adjustment weighted by integrated similarity into each score across the Score Card, so that each local government is judged against structurally similar peers.

This directly addresses a common concern among practitioners that a modest rating can reinforce structural advantages and disadvantage governments operating in more challenging environments.

"RGSS is not a report; it is a diagnostic tool. Our goal is to help national and local leaders better understand the factors associated with variations in governance outcomes and outputs in various contexts, and to uncover practical lessons that can be shared across local governments. 514 cities and districts in Indonesia provide an important first-of-its-kind national context for implementing RGSS, showing how this tool can be adapted to large and diverse local government systems," said Mr. Wu Wei Neng, Chief Executive Officer of Chandler Governance Group, in his statement, Wednesday, June 3.

RGSS for Indonesia Formed Through In-depth Discussions with Indonesian Stakeholders

The RGSS for Indonesia was developed through a year-long process involving ministries, agencies, regional government associations, and policy researchers in Indonesia, which helped ensure that the framework reflected the context of the country's local governance.

During this process, CGG and LPEM FEB UI conducted in-depth discussions with the Ministry of Home Affairs (KEMENDAGRI), the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the Association of Regional Governments of Indonesia (APKASI), and the Association of Indonesian City Governments (APEKSI). These discussions helped provide information on the Scorecard framework, the selection of indicators and metrics, and the contextual adjustment approach.

"Strengthening regional governance requires an evidence-based approach and a responsive approach to local needs. We welcome the RGSS initiative as a useful tool to better understand the factors associated with differences in outcomes and local government performance across Indonesia. We hope that this initiative can support constructive learning and informed policymaking among local governments in an effort to improve public services and development outcomes," said Dr. Heriyandi Roni, M.Si., Director of Regional Performance Evaluation and Capacity Improvement, KEMENDAGRI.

LPEM FEB UI, which was established in 1953 and is one of the leading policy research institutions in Indonesia, served as the main academic partner in the design and validation of the RGSS adapted to the local Indonesian context.

Khoirunurrofik, Ph.D, Head of Public Finance and Development Planning Studies, LPEM FEB UI said, RGSS shows the value of combining solid research, local context, and practical policy relevance in strengthening regional governance.

"Through our collaboration with CGG, we aim to create a version of RGSS that is methodologically robust and grounded in the reality and diversity of the regional government landscape in Indonesia. We hope that RGSS for Indonesia can add to a broader evidence-based discussion on governance, public policy, and regional development in Indonesia," he explained.

RGSS Website for Indonesia

The launch also introduced the RGSS website: https://regionalgovscorecard.org/which presents the broader RGSS framework and its first local application in Indonesia. Currently, the website features profiles of local governments, rankings, and interactive data tools covering 514 cities and districts in Indonesia. Users can search, filter, and compare local governments side by side, as well as download data for further analysis.

The platform also includes methodology documentation, dimension descriptions, and a series of analytical articles that refer to the development of the Scorecard and findings on factors related to variations in local government outputs and outcomes across Indonesia.

Looking Ahead

As the first country to implement RGSS, Indonesia's experience will help strengthen the relevance of the framework to a variety of local government contexts and support its future adaptation in other countries.

CGG will continue to work with LPEM FEB UI to further refine the Indonesian version of RGSS by consulting with national and local stakeholders. At the same time, CGG will take lessons from the implementation in Indonesia to refine the RGSS framework, methodology, and platform for adaptation in other country contexts.