November 18, 2025
JAKARTA – Upon taking office as the new head of National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Arif Satria vowed to address years of restructuring disputes and researcher dissatisfaction through stronger consolidation. But the success of such a task will depend on restoring confidence and unity within the country’s fragmented research ecosystem, critics warn.
President Prabowo Subianto swore in Arif during a ceremony at the State Palace in Jakarta on Monday. He also reappointed Vice Adm. (ret) Amrullan Octavian as the research body’s deputy head, a post the latter has held since 2023.
Speaking at the leadership handover ceremony at the BRIN office in Jakarta on Tuesday, the former rector of IPB University applauded his predecessor Laksana Tri Handoko for managing to create structure, culture and values within the research body during what he called a “crucial” period in its transition into a major organization.
“Now we must move to the next stage, namely internalizing our functions, mission and norms, so that BRIN becomes more robust,” Arif said, as quoted in a statement issued by BRIN on Wednesday.
Among his priorities are consolidating stakeholders across the country’s research ecosystem, starting with BRIN’s internal ranks. To achieve that, Arif is planning to meet with all heads of the agency’s research divisions to map out challenges and set strategic direction, with a view to rolling out quick-win programs in two months.
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The new head is also pushing for external horizontal consolidation with various state institutions as well as a vertical one with regional administrations, particularly in fields such as food, energy, health and the environment, which align with President Prabowo’s policy priorities.
Arif said BRIN would work closely with state asset fund Danantara and the Higher Education, Science and Technology Ministry to ensure research coming from the body is grounded in output that can lead to added value for productive economic activities.
Meanwhile, to strengthen collaboration at the regional level, BRIN plans to establish “research satellites” in partnership with local administrations and universities to expand research capacity beyond Greater Jakarta.
Controversial tenure
Arif replaced Laksana, whose tenure from 2021 to 2025 was marked by internal friction and controversies as the government sought to turn BRIN into a centralized research “superbody”.
Established in 2019 under then-president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, BRIN is tasked with coordinating research programs and policies across state institutions.
Its role expanded in August 2021, following the issuance of a presidential regulation mandating the absorption of existing research bodies and research units under various ministries and regional administrations.
Among them was the 130-year-old Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology, which is known for conducting genome sequencing of the SARS-CoV-2 that caused COVID-19. The institute’s consolidation into BRIN led to the dismissal of some researchers not on the government payroll.
The move to consolidate various research bodies under BRIN turned researchers into civil servants, a move the government claimed would improve welfare. But critics warned it would also open the way for political interference, as the government appointed Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chair Megawati Soekarnoputri as the agency’s chief advisor.
Laksana’s leadership was also questioned for its slow progress in integrating the various research bodies and alleged wasteful spending, referring to a two-thirds allocation of BRIN’s 2022 budget for staff salaries.
The controversies prompted calls from lawmakers for Laksana’s removal in early 2023. But he went on to retain his post.
He drew renewed criticism in late 2024 with a policy requiring BRIN researchers to relocate to centralized research “home bases”, mostly located in and around Jakarta. The move sparked protests in May and renewed calls for Laksana’s removal and broader reform of the agency’s leadership.
Uphill battle
Upon taking the research body’s top post, Arif inherited a “huge challenge” in restoring the Indonesian epistemic community’s trust in BRIN, said Yanuar Nugroho, senior advisor of the Center for Innovation Policy and Governance (CIPG).
Arif’s first order of business, he went on to say, should be to reform BRIN’s research governance by restoring credibility and autonomy of various bodies integrated into the agency. The new head should also eliminate lingering political influence in the decision-making process, as well as improving researchers’ welfare and working conditions.
“BRIN must then reclaim its role in government policymaking,” Yanuar said. “Under Prabowo, technocracy is dead as policies are rarely evidence-based. Arif’s challenge is to turn BRIN into a genuine government think tank, not just in STEM but also in the field of social sciences and humanities.”
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BRIN’s success under its new leadership also hinges on integrating the agency to the country’s broader research ecosystem as a whole, said Indonesian Sciences Academy (AIPI) secretary-general Chairil Abdini.
To achieve that, Arif must address long-standing systemic problems, such as weak collaboration between industry and research institutions, limited venture capital for technology and innovation development, as well as lack of incentives for patent creation and commercialization.
“BRIN should not stand as an isolated institution, but as part of a broader knowledge and innovation ecosystem,” Chairil said on Wednesday. “It should fill the structural gaps in Indonesia’s national innovation system.”