The digitalisation of Indonesia’s social protection programme (perlinsos) in Banyuwangi, East Java, demonstrates how digital public infrastructure (DPI) can significantly transform public service delivery. Early trials show that processes which previously took between 75 and 200 days can now be completed in just minutes to a few hours, highlighting a major leap in administrative efficiency and accessibility.
Within just three weeks of implementation, more than 359,000 families, representing around 60% of Banyuwangi’s population, were successfully registered to receive social assistance. Building on this success, the government is now preparing to expand the pilot to 40 regencies and cities across Indonesia, raising an important question about whether a locally successful model can be effectively scaled nationwide.
This question was central to a discussion event in Jakarta focused on DPI for social protection and investment opportunities, co-organised by the British Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia’s Committee for the Acceleration of Government Digital Transformation, and AMANA Solutions. The event examined case studies and cross-sector perspectives on Indonesia’s readiness to scale the digital system.
Early analysis of the Banyuwangi pilot highlights strong efficiency gains. A social return on investment study found that every 1 rupiah invested generated 1.35 rupiah in social value through reduced processing time, lower administrative burdens, and improved access for vulnerable groups. Citizen registration costs also dropped significantly, making the system more accessible for low-income households.
However, the study also noted key challenges that must be addressed before scaling, including digital connectivity gaps, data governance issues, cybersecurity risks, and fragmentation across systems. Strengthening community-level facilitators was also identified as essential to ensure smooth implementation at scale.
From a policy perspective, government stakeholders emphasized that the success of the pilot lies in clearly defining core problems in social protection systems, particularly targeting errors and distribution inefficiencies. Data from Banyuwangi showed exclusion errors as high as 77%, meaning many eligible citizens were not receiving assistance, underscoring the urgency of reform.
Officials involved in the initiative noted that social assistance was selected as a priority use case because of widespread agreement across ministries on the issue of mistargeting. The pilot has also been supported by strong inter-ministerial collaboration, with agencies treating it as a testing ground for broader digital transformation in public services.
The system builds on existing national digital infrastructure rather than creating new systems from scratch. Key innovations include the use of biometric verification linked to national population data, enabling faster and more accurate registration without the need for additional hardware investments. Cross-agency data integration also allows eligibility checks to be conducted more transparently while still providing mechanisms for appeals.
Despite strong early results, experts caution that digitalisation alone is not a complete solution. While DPI improves efficiency and service delivery, deeper governance, coordination, and policy design challenges still need to be addressed. Over-reliance on a single performance metric may also risk oversimplifying complex social outcomes.
As the programme moves toward national expansion, cross-sector collaboration is seen as essential. The private sector is expected to support system operations and maintenance, while the government provides regulatory direction and standards. International partners also emphasise that sustainable success will depend on strong public–private cooperation to ensure scalability, security, and long-term impact.
