The SMERU Research Institute is pleased to publish its first Annual Report since becoming an independent and autonomous research institution in 2001. From 1998 to 2000, SMERU was an ad hoc research unit set up to examine the social impact of the Indonesian economic crisis. Although at that time SMERU was under the administration of The World Bank, our staff were able to demonstrate a considerable degree of independence in the selection of problems and issues they set out to analyze, as well as the direction and research methods adopted.

The new independent SMERU Research Institute is supported by AusAID and the Ford Foundation. The institute has three research divisions. Each divition has its own portfolio of activities, but SMERU's research activities often combine staff from each division, as well as across diciplinary and methodological divides. By adoptiong such an approach, SMERU has been able to reap the benefits of the synergies of a wide variety of approaches and points of view to address particular issues or problems.

As an organization committed to applied socio-economic and poverty research, we believe that the gathering and analysis of information about such contemporary problems is only the first step in a process which aims to circulate information and ultimately improve public policies. Therefore, SMERU has published and distributed a large number of research reports, field reports, working papers, proceedings, and academic papers to civil society groups, government agencies, and donors. We have also been actively curculating memorandums with policy recommendations to relevant govenrment agencies, as well as holding workshops, discussions, and seminars at both the national and regional level. These efforts are aimed at ensuring that the results of our research reach and are used by policy makers, practitioners, civil society organizations, and the general public.

Finally, with the support of our dedicated researchers and staff (SMERU pays attention to gender equity with women accounting for 54% of staff), we are embarking on our second year with confidence and enthusiasm. We believe that SMERU's applied policy research is vital for future improvements in Indonesia. In the years ahead we are aiming to continue delivering quality analysis on a range of issues to all our responsibility is to promote the public interest and enrich the future of Indonesia. It is in this spirit that we publish SMERU's 2001 Annual Report.