Tackling ‘wicked problems’ in government planning

While much of government policymaking involved routine analysis and solution-seeking, some problems could be termed wild cards or even potential Black Swan events that policymakers had to tackle.

Political scientist Horst Rittel first coined the term “wicked problems” to describe these problems, which at first glance appear intractable. The concept was developed in planning literature by Rittel and MM Webber in 1973 to describe emerging policy problems that did not correspond neatly to the conventional models of policy analysis used at the time.

Speaking at a session, Confronting Wicked Problems, at GovInsider’s recent Festival of Innovation event, Daniel Oscar Baskoro, Senior Advisor, Smart City Nusantara, Nusantara Capital Authority, Indonesia and Jampel Ngidup, Deputy Chief ICT Officer, GovTech Bhutan, talked about two such “wicked problems” and also described how innovative planning, enabled by technology, helped their respective countries tackle these issues.

Baskoro talked about the challenges and successes achieved, till now, in Indonesia’s efforts to set up its new capital city, Nusantara, in East Kalimantan, due to overpopulation and land sinking in Jakarta.

Ngidup, on his part, described how the Bhutan government’s blockchain-based National Digital Identity (NDI) was transforming the digital landscape in the tiny Himalayan kingdom.

More than a government administrative centre

In his presentation, Baskoro said Nusantara represented a “groundbreaking approach to urban development, combining smart city technologies with a human-centred design philosophy”.

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Baskoro added that by defining six strategic pillars - smart governance, transportation, manufacturing, natural resources, energy and infrastructure - the project went “beyond traditional urban planning to create a holistic, technology-driven ecosystem”.

“The digital public infrastructure stands out as a particularly impressive achievement, with 150,000 users acquired in just four months through an innovative smart city app,” Baskoro said.

He noted that the smart city app, powered by generative AI (GenAI), enabled citizen feedback, problem reporting, and seamless government interactions.

Baskoro emphasised that the city's artificial intelligence (AI) implementation was not just a technological add-on, “but a fundamental design principle in Nusantara’s vision of a smart, responsive, and citizen-centric urban environment”.

It positioned Indonesia’s new capital as a global benchmark for AI-driven urban development, he noted.

Moreover, Baskoro detailed that Nusantara’s “groundbreaking approach” also introduced eight distinct citizen personas, which “fundamentally reimagined how cities can be tailored to specific population needs”.

Unlike traditional urban planning that relies on broad, generalised strategies, Nusantara's methodology focused on creating targeted, personalised experiences for different demographic groups, he said.

The eight personas encompassed groups such as young professionals, families, elderly residents, students, entrepreneurs, government workers, healthcare workers, and migrant or remote workers.

By developing digital infrastructure and physical spaces that cater to these specific archetypes, Nusantara aimed to create a “more inclusive, adaptive urban environment” that goes beyond a one-size-fits-all urban planning.

This approach instead offered “customised solutions that recognise the unique challenges and opportunities faced by different segments of the population”.

The personas were a strategic tool for designing services, technology platforms, and urban spaces that were not just efficient, but also “deeply empathetic” to the varied needs of modern city dwellers, he added.

Baskoro said that Nusantara's energy strategy was also focused towards sustainable and renewable infrastructure, with solar power playing a central role in the city's energy ecosystem.

The city has, till now, implemented solar panel installations capable of generating 50 megawatts of electricity, positioning renewable energy as a primary power source.

Bhutan’s NDI a strategic initiative

Talking about another major project whose success was important for society at large, Ngidup from GovTech Bhutan, said the country established NDI as a strategic initiative.

The objective was to drive digital transformation, enhance citizen services, and leverage the country’s small population size of around 700,000 people for technological innovation, he said.

He noted that by creating a self-sovereign, decentralised digital identity platform, Bhutan wanted to provide citizens with greater control over their data while enabling secure, efficient access to government and private sector services.

Ngidup noted that the Covid-19 pandemic served as a catalyst, allowing the government to mobilise volunteers to collect comprehensive biometric data nationwide, which became the foundation for the NDI wallet.

“The system addressed multiple national objectives: improving digital connectivity, ensuring data privacy, promoting technological inclusion, and creating a robust framework for future digital governance,” he said.

By using blockchain technology and implementing strict biometric verification, the country has been successful in building a trust-based digital ecosystem that streamlined service delivery, reduced bureaucratic friction, and positioned the country as an innovative leader in digital identity solutions, Ngidup added.

“The NDI represented more than just a technological project; it's a national strategy to modernise public services, enhance citizen experience, and create a scalable, secure digital infrastructure for future growth,” he said.

As of February 2025, more than 219,500 users have been onboarded on NDI, with more than 13 government-to-citizen services already integrated.

These services ranged from education system logins to accessing digital degree certificates, telecom self-care portals, and transportation authority applications.

Ngidup said the government has “strategically positioned” the NDI as a catalyst for digital transformation by turning it into a fully state-owned company.

The future plans of the NDI company extended to developing a robust business model beyond government subsidies, Ngidup said.

By focusing on integrating public and private online systems, the company was positioning itself to create value-added digital identity services, he added.

Ngidup said the NDI company represented Bhutan's innovative approach to digital governance, potentially “offering a replicable model for other small nations seeking to modernise their digital infrastructure”.

The presentations by Baskoro and Ngidup are available here.