PDIA for systems change: tackling the learning crisis in Indonesia

The Indonesian education system faces diverse, complex challenges and an extremely decentralised environment. In this environment, approaches designed to address context specific problems, rather than universal policies, are critical. A team of researchers affiliated with the RISE Programme at SMERU, an Indonesia think tank, adapted the Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA) approach and deployed it in four district governments. Teams made up predominantly of government officials worked to identify problems, find entry points, and take action steps to address the problem, reflect on the outcomes of the action, and report out their results to maintain authorisation and buy-in. In selected cases, they paired this with follow up RCTs to measure the impact of interventions developed through this process. The researchers found that the types of problems and actions generated across the four districts varied considerably in response to the diverse needs and capabilities in the different districts. The outcomes of SMERU’s engagement with government on this project demonstrates the way PDIA can be used as part of a strategically incremental approach to systems change.