SMERU was an acronym for Social Monitoring and Early Response Unit, a project funded by AusAID, ASEM, and USAID in response to the Asian financial crisis and political turmoil in Indonesia during 1998–1999. The project was administered by The World Bank to carry out independent, reliable, and real-time monitoring of the social impact of the financial and sociopolitical crises unfolding in Indonesia at that time. The project ran from October 1998 to December 2000.
However, a number of researchers involved in the SMERU project sought to mould the initiative into an independent institution. In January 2001, The SMERU Research Institute was established as an independent Indonesian research organization for public policy studies. The core founders were Dr. Sudarno Sumarto, Dr. Syaikhu Usman, and Bambang Sulaksono, M.M. SMERU’s research focus broadened from the immediate impact of the 1998 crisis to a range of “post-crisis” socioeconomic issues. The Institute’s initial funding was provided by the Ford Foundation, AusAID, and DFID. Members of its Trustees and Advisors (was Board of Governors) were drawn from the academic, research community of Indonesia and abroad as well as from the private sector.
Sudarno led the newly formed SMERU. He successfully laid the foundation for the Institute’s long-term operation and built SMERU’s reputation in good quality research. SMERU continued its work in the domain of poverty measurement by constructing the first comprehensive poverty map of Indonesia. This project began with a pilot phase in 2001 and culminated with the release of a countrywide poverty map in 2005.
In 2009, Dr. Asep Suryahadi was appointed as SMERU’s next director, succeeding Sudarno. Under Asep’s directorship, SMERU not only grew to become a leader in poverty analysis, but the Institute also gained more recognition among policymakers at the national level, particularly on poverty reduction and social protection.
Asep brought SMERU to be more knowledgeable with public policymaking processes. In 2011, he reformed SMERU’s approach in policy engagement to be more active and direct. He built closer relations with policymakers in ministries and government bodies to promote the importance of data and research in producing more effective policies.
In 2013, the Ministry of National Development Planning/National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) entrusted SMERU to develop a white paper of poverty reduction, the Master Plan for Acceleration and Expansion of Poverty Reduction (MP3KI). The assignment from Bappenas was a monumental achievement for SMERU since foreign institutions commonly administered such a project. During President Joko Widodo’s first presidential term, the MP3KI was adopted in the 2014–2019 National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN).
SMERU continues its efforts to engage in policy dialogues with stakeholders both at the national and subnational level. In 2016, SMERU started the series of Regional Development Forum (FPD) to broaden the reach of its research dissemination. This event also provided an opportunity for SMERU to discuss and introduce SMERU's research activities and publications. The Institute maintains relationship and communication with policymakers at the provincial, city, and district levels to date.
In 2017, SMERU was chosen to lead the RISE Programme in Indonesia, a large scale, multi-country research program that seeks to understand how school systems in the developing world can overcome the learning crisis and deliver better learning. In managing the Program, SMERU is partnering with two international institutions: the Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development (the Netherlands) and Mathematica Policy Research (USA). SMERU is the only local research institution to lead RISE studies among other countries in the RISE Programme. It is a testament to SMERU’s long-standing expertise and credibility, which has been recognized nationally and abroad.
Asep’s directorship ended in 2019, and was succeeded by Ir. Widjajanti Isdijoso, M.Ec.St. (Anti). Anti was SMERU’s deputy director for research and outreach from 2009 to 2019, where she strengthened the organization’s partnerships with government offices, funders, as well as nongovernmental organizations.
Anti is currently leading SMERU in sustaining the Institute’s leading reputation in the field of poverty and socioeconomic analysis. As the need to use of evidence in public policymaking processes has never been greater, SMERU will work in partnership with ministries, government bodies, and local governments to support their policy formulation by bringing evidence, insight, or knowledge gained through research.
Approaching its third decade in providing analysis and guidance on socioeconomic issues, SMERU will continue to carry out socioeconomic research in the fields of poverty and inequality, social protection, and human development (education, health, and labor), and issues of vulnerability which are important and relevant for the welfare of the Indonesian people.
The SMERU Research Institute is a nonprofit organization located and registered in the Special Capital Region of Jakarta. The Institute is managed by The SMERU Foundation currently led by Dr. Sudarno Sumarto.
