About
Project title: Curriculum Development for Integrated Infrastructure Planning and Community Development
Starting date: 1 October 2007
Closing date: 30 September 2010
Funded by: EVD, The Netherlands
Grant holder:
- Applicant: ITC (International Institute for Geo-information Science and Earth Observation), The Netherlands
- Indonesia Partner: Center for Transportation and Logistics Studies, Gadjah Mada University (PUSTRAL UGM)
- Dutch Partner: Keypoint Consultancy BC, The Netherlands
Rationale and context
Infrastructure is a key factor in socio-economic and sustainable development of a nation. It plays an important role in community development and is a major contributor to poverty reduction and better livelihoods of people. Improved community infrastructure will result in better health and education, safe water supply and sanitation, and improved access to economic opportunities.
Community infrastructure can be defined as local (neighbourhood) level infrastructure. It generally consists of physical infrastructure such as water supply and sanitation, roads and (public) transport, electricity, drainage, and communication, but also social infrastructure such as schools, parks and medical facilities. Community infrastructure can be distinguished from major national, regional and intercity trunk infrastructure systems and can be characterised by their smaller scale and their direct relevance for people.
Indonesia faces significant deficiencies in community infrastructure provision across infrastructure sectors. These problems include not just the lack of services, also the quality of existing services is poor, the level of maintenance is minimal, cost recovery is limited, the regulatory framework is biased and inconsistent, and the capacity for funding infrastructure is limited. Indonesia still has one of the lowest levels of investment in infrastructure as a proportion of gross domestic product. In 2003, Indonesia was ranked lowest among 30 countries1, with populations in excess of 30 million, in relation to its investments in physical and social infrastructure.
The Government of Indonesia, in cooperation with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), recently gained experience in community infrastructure development using a participatory planning approach, in the first Community and Local Government Support Sector Project (CLGS I). This project was executed by Bappenas, the National Planning Development Agency. In order to further address these issues in line with current thinking about infrastructure planning, and to better prepare for a follow-up for CLGS I, Bappenas has requested the Centre for Transportation Planning and Logistics Studies (PUSTRAL) of Gadjah Mada University (UGM) to prepare a postgraduate programme in Infrastructure and Community Development. The programme aims to provide advanced training and research opportunities for people involved in planning, engineering and operation of community infrastructure in poor urban, peri-urban and rural areas.
In December 2006, during a mission of ITC staff to PUSTRAL, a request was made for ITC support to the development of this program. Main components of the programme that were foreseen are (i) an 18 month Master of Science programme, (ii) a short course programme based on components (modules) of the master programme and (iii) a PhD programme. The request to ITC was directed at soliciting support for the development of these 3 elements, more in particular the development of a curriculum concept, the development of particular courses in the M.Sc. programme for which local expertise is absent or insufficient (whereby these courses could also be independently marketed as short courses) and the development of a research activity to accompany the programme. The current Indonesia Facility Proposal has been prepared to seek a funding base for this support and has been developed to provide support according to the elements requested.
The University is committed to the development of academic programmes on new subject areas and using new teaching methodologies. The Vice Rector for Academic Affairs of UGM has recently (18-04-2007) called a meeting with all Faculties currently developing new programmes where also the idea of the programme proposed by PUSTRAL was discussed. UGM accepts the way that PUSTRAL wants to develop the programme and the structure and design of the programme is taken as an example for other programmes to follow. It is recognized that the three main universities in Indonesia (Gadjah Mada University (UGM), the University of Indonesia (UI), and the Technical University in Bandung (ITB), have an important role to play in the development of infrastructure research and learning. It is therefore foreseen that also these other universities will be involved in one way or the other.
It is envisaged that this programme, both through the short courses and M.Sc. degree course, will deal with a wide range of subjects that will help to strengthen target organisations and infrastructure professionals in successfully dealing with integrated infrastructure development in poor urban, periurban and rural areas in Indonesia. The programme will be structured and designed in such a way that it motivates people to use innovative approaches and be more creative and less dogmatic in their approach to infrastructure development. These will include innovative methods and techniques of community infrastructure and services planning, management and design in terms of engineering design, spatial analysis and planning, and operation and maintenance, suitable to local contexts. To enhance involvement of the various stakeholders, participatory methods, evaluation methods and decision support methods will be included.
The central concept in the development of the programme is the notion that integrated planning and development of infrastructure at community level requires multi-disciplinary, innovative and community based approaches. Multi-disciplinary in the sense that engineers and planners need to work and communicate with economists, geographers and social scientists; innovative in the sense that methods and tools are required to be able to deal with the complexities and conflicting demands posed on the use of space, the technical infrastructure options and socio-economic realities; and, lastly community based to be able to provide infrastructure solutions that are appropriate for the local needs and that can be operated and maintained at the local level. There is a huge need for enhanced capacity of professionals to take up these challenges.
Project goal
The long-term objective of the project is to contribute to the establishment of a critical mass of multidisciplinary professionals (with a first degree in engineering, planning, economy, geography, etc) that are able to apply innovative approaches to the complexities of integrated and community centred planning and management of infrastructure.
This will be achieved through supporting the design and implementation of an academic education (short courses, M.Sc.) and joint research programme (Ph.D.) in infrastructure and community development between the involved partners. It is the intention that these activities will continue after the duration of the project and will develop into a sustainable activity, with continuous involvement of the partners through partnership agreements, such as the research cooperation between ITC and UGM, a copy of which is attached to the proposal. The multi- and inter-disciplinary character of the topic requires adoption of innovative education methods, for example organizing an interdisciplinary community infrastructure studio covering integrated projects and field work, all suited to support knowledge development and hands-on experience in the sustainable infrastructure development process.
The short-term objectives of the programme are:
- To investigate local practices, needs and ideas with respect to (training in) community infrastructure development.
- To design and develop a curriculum concept on integrated infrastructure and community development.
- To carry out a gap analysis to identify where support in training and course development is most needed.
- To train staff accordingly in relevant subjects (including modern teaching approaches).
- To prepare materials for lectures, practicals and other course components.
- To develop real life case studies and integrated projects to be worked on in an interdisciplinary community infrastructure studio.
- To develop a regional training and marketing plan.
- To jointly implement the MSc and short course programme.
- To start the development of a joint research programme.
