Celebrating the Wealth of Big Ideas from Indonesia
Pulse Lab Jakarta recently announced the results of the second consecutive big ideas competition, a challenge that we ran together with our great partners — UNDP Asia Pacific, UN Volunteers, the National Information Society Agency of the Republic of Korea and the Ministry for Science, ICT and Future Planning of the Republic of Korea.
We were truly delighted with the number and calibre of applications for the competition from across the ASEAN member states and the Republic of Korea and the judges had a very tough task in selecting the winners.
But we didn’t want to leave it there. PLJ has been expanding its work regarding sustainable cities and communities and is partnering with ambitious and dynamic city governments across Indonesia. We have been reminded of the vibrancy and creativity of Indonesia’s citizens through these competitions and we wanted to acknowledge the outstanding applications that we received from our home base in Indonesia.
As a reminder, the competition was focused on attracting data-driven ‘big ideas’ to advance SDG 11 which focuses on sustainable cities and communities. City governments are very often well aware of the urban challenges that they face but sometimes lack the capacity to develop and implement technology-based solutions. PLJ and our partners were interested in hearing from the citizens on how their ‘big idea’ could contribute to making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
The winners of the competition have received plenty of attention but we were particularly pleased with the quality and quantity of applications that came from within Indonesia. Since over 100 applications came from Indonesia, we thought it only fair to give a big shout out to the top 15 proposals that were submitted from Indonesia. These big ideas are all outstanding in their own right and they all deserve recognition. We as organisers of the competition want to congratulate all the applicants for dedicating the time to deliver top quality ideas which we hope can be prototyped, tested and maybe adopted in the near future.
Top Ideas from Indonesia
In the field of basic service delivery
TUNE Map: Crowdsourcing the Mapping of Accessible Pedestrian Routes for the Visually Impaired in Bandung, by Muhammad Malik Ar-Rahiem, Pravitasari, Gita Nofieka Dwijayati. The application has two main users, people with visual impairments as the beneficiaries, and Bandung citizens as the data collectors. Bandung citizens will report information about damaged pedestrian routes to the system. Once the reports have been validated by the system, it will provide suggestions on the safest pedestrian route for citizens with visual impairments. That report will also be sent to Bandung Command Centre to inform which pedestrian routes should be fixed urgently.
Buckle: An Open Platform to Share Distribution Costs to Enhance Basic Delivery Systems in Yogyakarta, by Rahmat Nur Faizin, Fendi Rahmat Widianto, Dita Nurtjahya. The application aims to lower distribution costs for low-income commodity producers to minimize the inefficiency of the existing truck operation system in which trucks often travel empty after delivering products. The application allows users to track the routes of truck drivers and submit pickup requests detailing the type of commodity that needs to be delivered, pick up time, distribution cost, and delivery destination.
Channel My Fund: One Stop Portal to Match CSR Funds with Stakeholders (Jakarta), by Aida Rezalina, Prasetya Dwichaya, Sheila Teta Carina. An online portal that matches companies who wish to channel their CSR funds with social organizations whose causes matches the companies’ CSR values. The portal also includes an analytics feature that prioritizes the socioeconomic problems in a particular area based on various sources to help companies decide how to better allocate their CSR funds.
Discover: A Community-Based Platform to Improve Public Spaces and Services for People with Disabilities (Yogyakarta), by Andreas Gandhi Hendra Pratama, Ricky Julianjatsono, Fajri Nurwanto. An application with three main functions that helps people with disabilities to access public facilities: a ratings system of public accessibility for people with disabilities, a crowdfunding platform to improve public facilities, and a social medium for people with disabilities to communicate with people nearby in case of emergencies.
Information System Database Optimization for ‘Kampung Kota’ Improvement (Bandung), by Luh Komang Wijayanti, Hanfie Vandanu, Tania Benita. To create an urban village index based on a) housing index created by Nababan and Kustiawan, b) crowdsourcing platform such as Qlue and LAPOR for citizen reporting. The index will be used by the government to prioritise and target urban village improvement programmes.
In the field of harmonious urban environments
Business Intelligence for Bandung Waste Management (Bandung), by Irfan Nasrullah, Andreas Febian Wibowo, Syarifa Jihan Assiry. A platform to transform open data, crowdsourced data obtained through text message reports, and Google Trends into useful information which is displayed as reports, scorecards and excel workbooks. The processed information and visualizations are valuable tools for local government to build better policies regarding waste collection and transportation.
Community-Based Mobile App for Utilizing Green and Public Spaces in Jakarta, by dr. Titania Nur Shelly. A mobile application that serves as a centralized space for users to obtain information regarding parks in the city. The application matches users to parks most suitable to their needs and assists users in reaching the park. The application is also a platform for communication between users to share information or to organise activities, as well as a database of important contacts such hospitals and gardens/parks of DKI Jakarta hotlines.
Generating Inputs for Kampung-Scale Waste Management Upgrading: Crowdsourcing Platform and Participatory Processes in Bandung City, by Fransiska Mutiara Damarratri, Usie Fauzia Anniza, Kristoporus Primeloka. A crowdsourcing platform which aims to engage (1) kampung residents/homeowners, (2) cleaning officers (informal, private or local companies), and (3) the public to gather information on waste mobility, quantity of waste, and spatial qualities related to waste.
#laporsampah: Reporting and Determining the Severity of Illegal Dumping Through Instagram (Yogyakarta City, Sleman Regency, and Bantul Regency), by Rahadian Her Jati Kuncara, Yori Alief Darmansyah, Galih Dwi Jayanto. A crowdsourcing effort to collect information about illegal dumping in Yogyakarta by utilizing the geo-tagging feature in Instagram.
In the field of resilience to natural disasters and climate change
ICHAS: Integrated Early Warning System as a Solution for Enhancing Resilience to Poisoning Disaster Caused by Volcano’s CO2 Gas Eruption (Dieng Plateau, Central Java), by Bintang Alfian Nur Rachman, Dzulkhi Yudha Pratama, Syauqi Abdurrahman Abrori. ICHAS is a CO2 gas monitoring system that collects real time CO2 concentration levels and spot-height information and transforms it into a visual map which shows the morphology of the areas at risk of being affetced by CO2 gas flow. This will give villagers in Dieng Plateau early warning of poisonous CO2 that is otherwise hard to detect due to its odourless, colourless and tasteless nature.
Real-time Disaster Notification and Online Fundraising Systems, by Takdir, Wa Ode Zuhayeni Madjida. A centralized platform that gathers disaster information from sources such as social media, sensors, government agencies, amongst others, and makes this information accessible to users in real-time. All data retrieved is automatically analyzed by a text mining system and pushed into users’ devices so that appropriate actions such as mitigation and donation can be performed. Additionally, the system can also connect donors to fundraisers and volunteers.
In the fields of sustainable transport and energy
‘Beli Jelantah’, Mobile App for Recycling Cooking Oil as Biofuel (Jakarta), by Faris Razanah Zharfan. A mobile application that connects people and homes that have used cooking oil with biodiesel companies that could make use of the resource. The aim of this mobile apps is to reduce the impact of throwing away cooking oil, a practice that is harmful for the environment.
Energy Data Analytics for Solar Power Plant Investment Decision Support System (Bandung), by Hayyu Widiatma Sakya, Agil Nawa Irawan Putro. An approach to combine ENERGO, a web-based platform that automatically gathers energy related data and provides analysis, and EnergyPlus, an open source energy simulation software that provides an energy generation simulation from several specifications and brands of solar power plant based on the weather conditions and weather forecasts in a specific area or territory. In combining the two, the system developed will inform users (e.g. private organisations, governments and communities) which solar power plant is the most suitable for the location.
Halmahera Industrial Estate: A Sustainable Future for the City Through Infiltration Industrial Symbiosis, by Nur Fitriah Andriani, Afrizal Ma’arif, Viqhi Aswie. Halmahera Eco-Industrial Estate is a concept for the development of a new city in East Halmahera which utilises industrial symbiosis, combining the construction of a power plant and the ferronickel industry. By applying the concept of industrial symbiosis, it is expected negative impact caused by the power plant waste can be minimized, and otherwise waste is expected to provide benefits for other industries.
Energia Distribution Consultant: an Online Simulator for the Development of Renewable Energy, Surabaya City Power System, by Ahmad Febri Firmansah, Akhmad Rizki Hidayatullah, Sabila Bagus Panuntun. Energia Distribution Consultant is an online simulator to provide the most appropriate recommendation for users in Surabaya on electricity distribution based on users’ electricity needs.
Pulse Lab Jakarta is grateful for the generous support of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Government of Australia.
