Energy is important in supporting economic development. For the rapidly growing economy of Indonesia, a reliable and sustainable energy supply is crucial. This is in line with Indonesian energy policy which requires 25% of electricity to be obtained from new renewable energy sources by the year 2025. Bali, Indonesia’s gateway for tourism, and Kalimantan, the proposed location of Indonesia’s new capital, need a clean and reliable energy supply. The objective of this project is to develop a strategic energy implementation plan for Bali and Kalimantan which ensures regional economic growth for both regions and minimizes carbon dioxide emissions. The research is organised in 9 work packages most of which are executed in cooperation between Indonesian and Netherlands’ partners. Key elements are: 1) mapping of renewable energy resources in this region. The focus will be on the development of small hydropower and sustainable bio-energy resources, combined with land restoration. Also, other renewable energy resources, including wind, solar and ocean energy will be considered. 2) design of energy systems for this region with increasing shares of renewable resources. The entire energy system, including energy demand development, demand side management, conversion, transportation, storage and production will be included. Special focus is on the development of reliable energy supply chains and power systems. 3) strategy and policy development in co-creation with all the relevant stakeholders. Part of this is a policy impact analysis and an extended stakeholder engagement process. The implementation plan and pathway will reduce CO2 emissions and ensure regional economic development and resource trading beneficial to both regions.

This research revolves around objects from the Hindu-Buddha era in Java and the colonial knowledge constructions (established by institutions such as Bataviaasch Genootschap der Kunsten en Wetenschappen, Oudheidkundige Dienst in Nederlandsch-Indië, and Technische Hoogeschool te Bandoeng (now known as ITB)) in Dutch East Indies. Through archival analysis, object biographies, and curriculum analysis at ITB, it aims to understand how these artefacts shaped Indonesian modern art education. Key outputs include a documentary film, exhibitions, workshops, international conferences and publications, fostering broader scholarly discourse. The research seeks to bridge historical gaps and enrich contemporary understanding of Indonesian cultural heritage and arts pedagogy.

Our aim is to develop an inclusive governance roadmap to transform Indonesian cities towards social-ecological resilience that builds capacity to mitigate water-related disasters and enhances people’s well-being. We follow a comparative case study approach to acquire new knowledge and insights on the social-ecological interactions involved in different water-related (qualitative and quantitative) problems (i.e. flooding, access to clean drinking water and sanitation) in slum areas in three different locations in Indonesia: Pontianak, Manado and Bima. They represent most of the social and water challenges Indonesian cities face nowadays. Our project builds upon research conducted between 2018 and 2020 by our collaborating partner Deltares to design for flood resilient cities (Letitre et al., forthcoming in 2020). Our interdisciplinary team will gather more contextual social and water quality data, while paying appropriate attention to their interactions to create a more integrative approach to mitigate the risk of water-related disasters. As such, we build a model incorporating people and water. The results will help develop a generic transformative change strategy to include: an (e-)learning programme, training-of-trainers and workshops, as well as a roadmap to develop an inclusive governance plan integrating both societal and technical solutions. The study will synthesise resilience and well-being in a relational approach to strengthen and broaden knowledge on urban communities resilience to ecological change. In so doing, we will create a better understanding of how complex systems evolve and how individuals and societies are simultaneously embedded within and act as agents of change in those systems. This can provide guidance for more inclusive governance to co-create resilient Indonesian slums. It also envisions the RISE to the water challenge applying across whole urban regions, both old, new and those still in the making, such as the proposed new Indonesian capital.

Studies that specifically address the contribution of urban kampongs to the city economy are scarce of it is yet unclear how can and should strategies formulated at the local government level integrate and collaborate with co-existing informal economies. Therefore, our research aims to analyze the relationship between the informal economies of kampongs and formal creative industries strategies, and how these impact the spatial, social and economic development of kampongs. The study will identify: the commodification of informal industries and their contribution to local economy, social and economic opportunities for Small Medium Enterprises, and the mutual relationship between the informal economy and land use patterns. The study also addresses the issue of justice for vulnerable communities, by analyzing the relationship between government-led strategies and changes to socio-economic characteristics, land, and tenure security in urban kampongs. The interdisciplinary research combines qualitative and quantitative approaches, including socio-economic, policy, and spatial methods of analysis.

This research focuses on the urgent problem of long-term planning in highly dynamic deltas under deep uncertainty. Adaptive Delta Management (ADM) is considered an innovative approach to cope with this problem, but yet mainly adopted for robust decision-making in developed countries. We will further develop, acculturate, and disseminate ADM to deltas in developing countries with different physical, socio-economic, cultural and governance settings. We use an interdisciplinary approach at the interface of natural, socio-economic and policy sciences to develop pilot adaptive policy plans in two developing delta regions. Our development and acculturation of ADM will be strengthened and deepened by our comparative perspective on delta management in Indonesia, Bangladesh and The Netherlands. We will evaluate and disseminate ADM as an innovative approach, both through local researchers and research activities, and through the development and organisation of post-academic courses and master-classes in cooperation with local and Dutch educational institutions.