The SMERU Research Institute

What The SMERU Research Institute does

The SMERU Research Institute is an independent, Jakarta-based nonprofit policy research organization founded in 2001, originally spun out of the World Bank's Social Monitoring and Early Response Unit that was created during Indonesia's 1998 financial crisis. It conducts socioeconomic and poverty-focused research — spanning poverty and inequality analysis, policy research, and monitoring, evaluation, and learning — for Indonesian government ministries (notably Bappenas, KemenPPPA, and TNP2K), civil society organizations, academic institutions, and international development partners including UNICEF, the World Bank, and Australian and UK government agencies. Its analytical work has directly shaped national policy, including the MP3KI master plan adopted in Indonesia's 2014-2019 RPJMN and the Inclusive Economic Development Index (IPEI) developed with Bappenas.

SMERU's core product surface is a portfolio of research outputs and digital platforms rather than a commercial technology product: the Poverty and Livelihood Maps portal (sub-national welfare data via small area estimation, first released in 2005), the RISE Programme in Indonesia (lead institution for the multi-country Research on Improving Systems of Education), the SMERU Learning Centre (slclab.id, a user-pay knowledge-transfer platform launched in 2021), the Nawala SMERU monthly newsletter, and the Regional Development Forum (FPD) policy-dialogue platform established in 2016. Underlying methodology is rooted in quantitative and qualitative social science rather than AI/ML systems.

The institute's business model is funded entirely through competitive research grants and commissioned studies from government and international donors, with a marginal revenue stream from the user-pay Learning Centre. It has no parent company, no venture backing, and operates as a private nonprofit under Indonesian jurisdiction, governed by a Board of Trustees with three successive directors across its 25-year history.

Name

The SMERU Research Institute

Legal name

The SMERU Research Institute

Website

https://smeru.or.id

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The SMERU Research Institute is an independent Indonesian nonprofit policy research institute founded in 2001 that conducts poverty, inequality, and social-protection research for government ministries, civil society, and international development partners via competitive grants and a user-pay Learning Centre.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Policy Research Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Policy Research Institutes & Think Tanks (EDADADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Economic Research, Statistics & Policy Advisory (BPADAMAJ), Education Equity, Access & Inclusion Policy Research (EDADADAF), Education Access & Quality (International Development) (BPAGABAE)

Keywords

• Policy research services
• Poverty analysis
• Social protection research
• Monitoring and evaluation
• Economic development research

Headquarters

HQ city

Jakarta

HQ country

Indonesia

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Competitive Research Funding: SMERU's finances are entirely obtained through competitive research funding. Initially supported by Australian Aid (AusAID), Ford Foundation, and Department for International Development (FCDO). Currently operates through competitive grants and commissioned research from government and development partners.
2. SMERU Learning Centre (User Pay): SMERU Learning Centre is a knowledge transfer platform that employs a user-pay approach, where recipients contribute to the cost of services and knowledge obtained.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The SMERU Research Institute is an independent nonprofit policy research organization that conducts socioeconomic and public policy research in Indonesia. Its core offerings include Poverty and Inequality Analysis, Policy Research, and Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning services, delivered alongside digital platforms such as the Poverty and Livelihood Maps, RISE Programme in Indonesia, Inclusive Economic Development Index, and SMERU Learning Centre.

Product overview

The SMERU Research Institute is an independent research organization focused on poverty and social welfare studies in Indonesia. The organization offers a portfolio of research services including Poverty and Inequality Analysis, Policy Research, and Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning. SMERU operates several digital platforms and programmes: the Poverty and Livelihood Maps portal providing geographic poverty data; the RISE Programme in Indonesia focused on education systems research; the Inclusive Economic Development Index for regional policy guidance; the SMERU Learning Centre for knowledge transfer on socioeconomic research; and Nawala SMERU, a monthly electronic newsletter. The institute does not offer a commercial technology product but rather provides research services, data platforms, and policy analysis to government, civil society, and development partners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Poverty and Livelihood Maps (Peta Kemiskinan dan Penghidupan): A comprehensive poverty and livelihood mapping platform at national level using small area estimation methods
• RISE Programme in Indonesia
• Inclusive Economic Development Index (Indeks Pembangunan Ekonomi Inklusif/IPEI)
• SMERU Learning Centre
• Nawala SMERU
• Regional Development Forum (Forum Pembangunan Daerah)

Products and services

• Poverty and Livelihood Maps (Peta Kemiskinan dan Penghidupan) Interactive mapping platform providing comprehensive poverty and livelihood data at national and regional levels in Indonesia, intended for government policymakers, researchers, and development partners designing poverty alleviation programs.
• RISE Programme in Indonesia Research programme on improving education systems in Indonesia, studying learning quality and education policy, designed for policymakers, donors, and education stakeholders.
• Inclusive Economic Development Index (Indeks Pembangunan Ekonomi Inklusif/IPEI) Provincial and district/city-level index measuring inclusive economic development, used to guide regional policy alignment with national development goals, designed for Bappenas and regional governments.
• SMERU Learning Centre Knowledge transfer platform providing courses and educational content on socioeconomic research focused on poverty and inequality, delivered through a user-pay model for individual learners, researchers, and practitioners.
• Poverty and Inequality Analysis Research service conducting multidimensional social welfare and poverty analyses for government agencies, development partners, and civil society organizations.
• Policy Research Policy-oriented research services on issues affecting people's welfare, delivered for government, donors, and civil society partners to inform policy design.
• Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Research service providing rapid assessments, participatory monitoring, policy reviews, and impact evaluation for development programs and policies, for government and donor clients.

Quantifiable outcome

• Contributed to development of government social assistance programs including Raskin, BLT, and BOS
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Ministry of National Development Planning/BappenascoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 May 2026Partnership with Bappenas for the SKALA Program (Synergy and Collaboration for Accelerating Basic Service Delivery) - an Australia-Indonesia Partnership. Hosts dissemination events on multi-stakeholder collaboration for gender mainstreaming and social inclusion.
• SKALA Program (Australia-Indonesia Partnership)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSKALA Program focused on accelerating basic service delivery through synergy and collaboration between government and civil society organizations.
• TNP2K (Tim Nasional Percepatan Penanggulangan Kemiskinan)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on social protection programs for the elderly, studying programs in DKI Jakarta, DI Yogyakarta, and Bali provinces.
• UNICEF IndonesiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership focused on child rights advocacy. SMERU provides technical assistance in implementing research agenda for children.
• RISE Programme in IndonesiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch on Improving Systems of Education (RISE) - a multi-country research program. SMERU is the only local institution trusted to lead the national RISE Programme among institutions in seven countries.
• Room to Read IndonesiaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for research on child-friendly libraries, assessing Room to Read Indonesia program's effectiveness in fostering reading habits.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Oxfam Indonesia: INGO that publishes inequality, social protection, and gender research in Indonesia and occasionally co-funds or co-produces studies with local research institutes.

Broad incumbents

• The Asia Foundation: International development organization operating across Indonesia and the region on governance, economic, and social programs; overlaps as a funder and occasional producer of policy research similar to SMERU's portfolio.
• World Bank Indonesia: Original sponsor of SMERU in 1998 and continued partner; a much larger incumbent producing Indonesia-focused poverty and development research and often commissioning local institutes including SMERU.

Regional players

• ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute: Singapore-based regional research institute covering Southeast Asia political, economic, and social trends with comparable policy research output and donor-funded model, though serving a broader regional rather than single-country agenda.

Direct peers

• ERIA (Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia): Policy research institute producing socioeconomic and development research for ASEAN and East Asian governments; comparable in producing commissioned, evidence-based policy studies for government and multilateral clients.
• LPEM-FEB UI: Research institute at the University of Indonesia's Faculty of Economics and Business conducting Indonesian economic and social policy research with comparable government and donor clients. Closest domestic peer in scope and methodology.
• Centre for Indonesian Policy Studies (CIPS): Indonesia-focused independent policy think tank producing research on economic development, trade, agriculture, and social policy for government and donor audiences, directly competing for similar grants and commissions.
• Prakarsa (Wahana Prakarsa): Indonesian civil society think tank focused on poverty, inequality, and social justice policy research with similar government and CSO stakeholder base.

Others

• TNP2K (National Team for Acceleration of Poverty Reduction): Indonesian government coordination body that both commissions and conducts poverty and social protection research; acts as both a close collaborator and a potential competitor for the same analytical mandates.
• UNICEF Indonesia:

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/smeruinstitute
• Facebookfacebook.com/SMERUInstitute
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/smeru-research-institute

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The SMERU Research Institute