Dian Istanti, Head Of e-Government Sector, Department Of Communication and Information, West Java Province, Indonesia

By Medha Basu

Women in GovTech Special Report 2020.

How do you use technology/policy to improve citizens’ lives? Tell us about your role or organisation.


Providing changes towards an Electronic-Based Government System (SPBE) that is integrated, efficient and effective and provides optimal services to both internal government and the public is one of my missions as Head of the eGovernment Sector at the Communication and Informatics Office of West Java Province. Likewise, to make West Java a Digital Government Center of Excellence through the Jabar Digital Province Concept, one of the ways to achieve this is through several activities carried out in the eGovernment sector through the formulation of several ICT Governance policies, services and ICT Infrastructure Management.

Some of the steps that my team and I have taken started with the formulation of several policies, namely:

  1. Regulation of the Governor of West Java concerning SPBE Governance;

  2. SPBE Master Plan Document;

  3. Governor's Decree regarding Government CIO; and

  4. Governor's Decree on the SPBE Coordination Team.

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These policies are important to make, with the intention of being a reference in enforcing the application of SPBE within the Regional Government of West Java Province. My other task with the team is to provide support for business / main tasks and functions of regional apparatus within the Regional Government of West Java Province in the form of services including:

  1. Service Providing Internet and Intranet for 38 Department, 124 Office/Branch Office and 27 regencies/cities;

  2. Service Providing Data Center for all department in West Java Province and Regencies/Cities Governments in West Java .

  3. Video Conference Facilities for all department in West Java Province and Regional Leaders of West Java.

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What was the most impactful project you worked on this year?


Regarding the Sharing Infrastructure at the West Java Provincial Government Data Center, me and the team in the e-Government sector in collaboration with the Jabar Digital Service Team have succeeded in building a government cloud computing service with the name Jabar Cloud. This service is an Infrastructure As A Service and Platform As A Service internally designated for the Regional Government of West Java Province and District and City Governments in West Java. Jabar Cloud is currently supporting several businesses of the West Java Provincial Government, including personnel affairs, regional finances, and Covid-19 countermeasures, namely: TRK Application (e-Kinerja), K-Mob Application (Employee Presency), SIPKD Database, Database PIKOBAR and other applications owned by Regional Department.

The Jabar Cloud services that we manage include VPS Hosting services, VPS Servers, and Dedicated Servers with the benefits of easy access and 24/7 service availability. This facility provides flexibility for its users and can cut the cost of spending on ICT, as well as guarantees data security.

The construction of Command Centers in 27 Regencies / Cities in West Java, which began in 2019, is one of the Strategic Programs of the Regional Government of West Java Province in realising digital transformation towards Jabar Digital Province which is also one of the outputs of the results of the implementation of tasks which are the responsibility of the eGovernment Sector.

Another facility that we provide for the public in providing easy access to information is the provision of Access Points in the form of Free Hotspots in 120 public areas spread across districts / cities in West Java. Here the local community can take advantage of free internet access. Another program that we are planning to start in 2021 is the development of the Digital Village Area in West Java. The goal of this program is to make villages in West Java digitally independent with the hope of increasing the standard of living of their people.

One of the main problems that is often faced in the application of ICT is the large budget for ICT expenditures issued by local governments. There are many reasons for this, including many applications being built, internet cost spending that is not in accordance with the needs, the absence of standards in the procurement of ICT devices and the inadequacy of existing Data Center facilities. Another public issue faced is the existence of blankpot areas in several rural areas. Many villages have a lot of potential that can be developed, but are constrained by access to information and communication so that these villages find it difficult to improve their standard of living.

The steps we have taken to support the optimisation of the SPBE implementation and the realisation of the Digital West Java Province is to create a Sharing Function in the Data Center that we manage which is intended for Regional Department in the Provincial Government of West Java and District / City Governments in West Java. With the use of the Data Center that we manage which is strengthened by existing regulations, forcing Regional Department to stop procuring servers and building server rooms that have been carried out by Regional Department so far. This can reduce and streamline ICT spending and can overcome the problem of limited ICT Human Resources. Another step that we have taken is the provision of a centralised internet / intranet network, not allowing the provision of internet leases at each regional device which has been one of the causes for the swelling of the ICT budget. Based on the results of our evaluation, the steps we have taken will have an impact on budget efficiency of around 20 to 30 per cent.

Our form of support in implementing the West Java Strategic Programme, namely the Development of Command Centers in Provinces and Regencies / Cities which aims to build communication and coordination patterns between provincial and district / city governments, and can be used to monitor conditions in the event of a disaster.

One of the functions of the Command Center during this pandemic can be used as the West Java Covid19 Information and Coordination Center (Pikobar). Another form of our Team's support in realising the strategic program of the West Java Provincial Government is through infrastructure development in the Digital Village Area which is planned to begin construction in 2021 with a target of 100 villages (providing internet access especially for villages that have potential but are blankspots). With the development of this digital village area, it is hoped that villages in West Java will become independent Digital Villages by increasing community economic activities with the support of information technology.

In addition, to facilitate access to Diskominfo service requests, we provide a service desk application, so that the services provided can be measured and recorded and can be completed according to a predetermined time target. With a ticketing service desk completion rate above 90 per cent, it is hoped that the ICT services managed by Diskominfo can be more optimal.
 

What are your priorities for 2021?


In accordance with the mandate that I hold, I hope to continue to realise integration, efficiency and effectiveness in implementing SPBE and digital transformation within the West Java Provincial Government and be able to provide the best service for the community, especially in providing ICT infrastructure support for rural areas that are currently still need attention to improve the standard of living of its citizens so that it can create equitable welfare in West Java.