Jakarta, 1 December 2025 - PRAKARSA attended an audience meeting with experts for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and PROSPERA organized by the Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform (Ministry of PANRB) in the Sriwijaya I Meeting Room, Jakarta.
The meeting was chaired by Prof. Dr. Erwan Agus Purwanto, Deputy for Bureaucratic Reform, Apparatus Accountability, and Oversight. The discussion featured two OECD experts, Sebastiaan Pompe and Nicola Bonucci, and Dr. Benedictus Raksaka Mahi from PROSPOERA, one of the main advisors.
This activity is part of a series of discussions to strengthen Indonesia's readiness for OECD accession, particularly in the areas of public governance, integrity, and bureaucratic reform. Indonesia is currently entering a crucial phase where various OECD committees are assessing the extent to which national policies and regulations align with OECD standards.
OECD Accession and Public Governance Challenges
In his introduction, the Deputy Minister of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform emphasized that accession to the OECD is not merely a matter of membership status, but also a momentum to deepen bureaucratic reform, strengthen the integrity of the public sector, and improve the quality of public services.
Sebastiaan Pompe outlined the technical stages of Indonesia's accession process. He explained that Indonesia has completed an Initial Memorandum (IM) as a preliminary self-assessment and is now entering a more decentralized phase, involving interactions with various OECD committees. During this phase, Indonesia will receive various questionnaires from OECD thematic committees, which must be answered substantively and in a timely manner.
Sebastiaan emphasized several important points:
- Timeliness in answering the questionnaire is crucial, as delays can shift the committee's discussion schedule and affect membership deadlines.
- National coordination is key, given the numerous instruments and committees involved. The Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform's position as the hub of public governance makes coordination across ministries/agencies and oversight agencies highly strategic.
- This process is not simply a one-way process, but a two-way engagement between Indonesia and the OECD, where the Indonesian context and experiences are also important to hear.
Meanwhile, Nicola Bonucci highlighted the substantive dimensions of public governance under the Public Governance Committee (PGC). He explained that the OECD has evolved from an organization synonymous with macroeconomics and statistics to one that also focuses heavily on public governance and integrity.
Nicola emphasized several key areas:
- Integrity and conflicts of interest: the need to strengthen the ethical framework and conflict of interest prevention systems in the public sector.
- Regulation of lobbying and interest influence: the importance of transparency and clear rules of the game to prevent undue influence in the policy process.
- Public procurement: as one of the most corruption-prone areas, procurement requires strong governance and oversight standards.
- Digital government: the use of technology to increase efficiency, transparency, and access to services for all groups in society, including vulnerable groups.
Nicola also emphasized that no single model of public governance applies to all countries. Indonesia's characteristics as an archipelagic nation with social, economic, and institutional diversity need to be clearly explained in dialogue with the OECD so that existing standards can be contextually translated.
Meanwhile, Dr. Benedictus Raksaka Mahi explained PROSPERA's role in supporting the Indonesian government, from technical assistance and capacity building to developing a coordination platform. He also stated that the Australian government is committed to continuing its support through the next phase of the program (Prospera 2.0) as part of the Indonesia-Australia strategic relationship.
PRAKARSA: OECD Accession Must Be Linked to People's Welfare
Roby Rushandie, Research and Knowledge Manager PRAKARSA, expressed the view that Indonesia's accession process to the OECD needs to concretely touch the interests of the people, not just stop at the technocratic and central government levels.
"PRAKARSA "We believe that accession to the OECD should be an instrument for improving people's welfare, strengthening social protection, and enhancing the quality of public services, not simply fulfilling a compliance checklist. Therefore, regional voices and civil society need to be more involved in this process," Roby said.
In his intervention, PRAKARSA encourage the holding of thematic discussions in the regions to examine the impact and opportunities of OECD accession for various community groups, especially vulnerable groups.