Over the past two years the SMERU Research Institute has been striving to deliver quality research. The challenge goes on, directed at alleviating poverty and ultimately benefiting the lives of the Indonesian people. The year 2002 was an important one for SMERU. We completed another year of accomplishments, challenges and hard work, yet there remains much more to be done.

SMERU intends to remain commited to strengthening the links between research and public policy in this country. At the same time, we will strive to develop more creative and responsible approaches to our research that will contribute to solving some of the fundamental social and economic problems we face in Indonesia, especially those related to poverty.

We are also taking steps towards intensifying and streamlining the operations of the Institute to strengthen our staff and enhance their performance. In addition, we will continue to diversify our sources of funding as we work towards achieving sustainability.

I would like to extend my gratitude to the SMERU Board of Governors, our stakeholders and donors for their support. I also wish to acknowledge the hard work of our staff for their unwavering efforts in delivering quality policy research. Without the contributions of our generous supporters − in particular AusAID, The Ford Foundation, and DFID − and committed staff, such accomplishments would not have been possible.