Jakarta, 5 September 2014: The Government of Indonesia today launched Portal Data Indonesia (http://data.id), an initiative the government hopes will encourage more data transparency in the country.
Launched simultaneously with the Open Data Movement in Indonesia, this data portal is the result of greater collaboration, specifically the President’s Delivery Unit, and civil society groups.
“The Indonesia Open Data movement reflects the commitment of the Government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to involve civil society in producing innovations towards more sustainable development," said Chairman of UKP4, Kuntoro Mangkusubroto.
The Indonesia Data Portal was developed in response to public demand for easily accessible official government data. Today, 23 institutions, including two regional governments, will publish approximately 700 datasets, with topics ranging from the economy, to education, energy, healthcare, and procurement.
The free data are in electronic form, and can be easily accessed and understood; the public is able to read the data in visual form, or on an app created jointly by the government and civil society. Through this initiative, UKP4 hopes that the number of data sets will increase and be continuously updated, in order to encourage public participation in providing feedback to governments.
"Providing government data online is an excellent first step, and efforts must continue to ensure that the information is up-to-date and adds value. The World Bank welcomes this initiative. It is an evidence that government and civil society can collaborate closely, towards development," said Rodrigo A. Chaves, World Bank Country Director for Indonesia.
The World Bank is the government’s main partner in the development of the portal. The Bank’s support for information transparency is evidenced by its provision of technical support and capacity building programs for the government of Indonesia, as well as for governments in 20 other countries.
The World Bank joined the global transparency movement in 2010, when it launched the Open Data initiative, which has allowed public access to development data from around the world.
President Yudhoyono initially spoke about the development of Indonesian Data Portal in May 2014, at the Asia- Pacific Regional Conference for Open Government Partnerships in Bali. The portal will strengthen other innovations of public services, such as “Informasi Satu Layanan” (One Stop Information for Services) (http://satulayanan.net), “Satu Pemerintah” (One Government) (http://satupemerintah.net), “Satu Peta” (One Map) (http://tanahair.indonesia.go.id), and LAPOR! (REPORT!) (http://lapor.ukp.go.id).
The Indonesian Open Government movement is comprised of UKP4, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Communications and Information, the National Development Planning Agency, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Administrative Reform and Bureaucratic Reform, the Central Information Commission, the National Secretariat of the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency, the Center for Regional Information Studies, Indonesia’s Center for Environmental Law, Transparency International Indonesia, the Aceh Anti-Corruption Movement, JARI Indonesia, and Legislative Oversight Committee of Makassar.
Open Government Indonesia is part of Indonesia's commitment towards the global Open Government Partnership (OGP), which encourages more transparent and participative government. As one of the founders, Indonesia now co-chairs the partnership. together with Mexico. Since its establishment in 2011, membership in the OGP has expanded to 64 countries.