Regional Poverty Reduction Initiatives - Sleman

30 September 2015

The National Team for the Acceleration of Poverty Reduction (TNP2K) hosted members of Regional Poverty Alleviation Coordination Teams (TKPKD) from Yogyakarta, Sleman as well as other districts on September 29, 2015. The group was welcomed by Bambang Widianto, Executive Secretary of TNP2K to discuss the updating of the Unified Database (UDB), reports from the Integrated Referral and Service System for a Prosperous Society (Selaras), as well as reports from pilot programmes currently being implemented by the TKPKD.

During the opening session, Bambang Widianto expressed his appreciation for the work done by Sleman’s TKPKD on coordinating poverty alleviation in their home district. He also stated that the manner in which Sleman had contributed to the updating of the UDB was a positive example for other local governments collecting data on the poor. The TKPKD is further expected to help manage, socialize and provide information on poverty alleviation programmes to those in need.

Participants of the session also learnt about how the numbers of poor people in a district varied according to the data collection method used. Such variation is known to challenge TKPKD in their efforts to implement poverty reduction interventions. The Sleman TKPKD conveyed their hopes of better data to the Yogyakarta provincial government.

In response to the Sleman TKPKD’s comments, Bambang Widianto admitted that disparities within data were caused by a lack of coordination within and between relevant agencies. “At the moment, only TNP2K, BPJS and the Ministry of Home Affairs have their own data servers. It is a challenge we must overcome – to better coordinate at the national level. I hope we can improve together in the future”, he said. He also thanked the participants for their inputs on Sleman developing an online database.

The Sleman TKPKD also reported progress made through the Selaras pilot programme. Selaras is a joint effort between TNP2K, Bappenas and the Ministry of Social Affairs, aimed at identifying the needs of the poor registered in the UDB and helping them access the right social assistance programmes.

Sleman is among five districts currently piloting Selaras. Others include Sragen, Sukabumi, East Belitung and Banten. During this visit to TNP2K, the Sleman TKPKD admitted that the Selaras pilot had yet to be implemented well, with the primary focus continuing to remain on implementing earlier programmes, collecting data on the poor, complaint handling and referral to additional services.