SMERU participated in the 2022 G20 Indonesia Presidency forum through Think20 (T20). The T20, which brings together leading think tanks worldwide, aims to provide research-based policy recommendations to G20 member countries. It consists of nine task forces which serve as the ideas bank to address various issues discussed by the G20 countries. SMERU was especially appointed as the host institution for Task Force 5 (TF5), which focused on issues concerning inequality, human development, and welfare, from November 2021 to September 2022.

SMERU led the TF5 with Asep Suryahadi as lead co-chair along with co-chairs Alejandra Cardini (Director of the Education Program, CIPPEC), Tetsushi Sonobe (Dean and CEO, ADBI), Elan Satriawan (Head of Policy Working Group, TNP2K), Shantayanan Devarajan (Professor of the Practice of International Development, Georgetown University), and Vivi Alatas (CEO, Asakreativita).

The activities carried out by TF5 included:

1. producing 17 policy briefs written by authors from various parts of the world;
2. formulating an integrated policy brief on inequality, human development, and welfare;
3. ensuring that the policy briefs are in line with the G20 and T20 agendas; and
4. holding five side events aimed at prioritizing discussions with experts and academics in order to find solutions to the problems of inequality, human development, and welfare faced by G20 member countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the host of TF5, SMERU collaborated with members of the T20, including researchers and think tanks from all over the world, as well as officials of G20 working groups. This partnership increases SMERU’s involvement in policy formulation processes at the global level