Study: Decentralization Effort in Indonesia Shows Need for Performance Incentives from Central Government

East Lampung Regent's Office, located in Sukadana, Indonesia (Credit: Crisco 1492)
The East Lampung Regent's Office, located in Sukadana, Indonesia

Performance-based Public Management Reforms: Experience and Emerging Lessons From Service Delivery Improvement in Indonesia, a case study by RTI International, examines service delivery pathways in Indonesia 15 years after President Suharto was swept from power amid calls for a more democratized government. It looks at several key tools for performance-based reform in public sector management, such as standard-setting, results-based management and performance-based payment.

Despite considerable variation by region, findings on the field suggest that Indonesia has applied many of these tools with some degree of success in improving front-line service delivery. This study concludes that to provide needed services to citizens,  Indonesia (and other developing democracies that decentralize their governments) must still use their central government to monitor and incentivize local governments for service performance.

Learn more about this study here.