Depok, 18 December 2025 — The Democracy and Local Governance (DeLOGO) Research Cluster of the Faculty of Administrative Sciences, Universitas Indonesia (FIA UI), held the DeLOGO Year-End Webinar as part of a seminar series themed “Reorienting Decentralization and Regional Leadership: Rethinking Central–Local Relations in the Governance of Autonomy.” The first day of the webinar focused on evaluating central–local authority relations and the capacity of local governments within the framework of regional autonomy.

The discussion opened with presentations on the philosophy and objectives of regional autonomy. The speakers emphasized that decentralization in Indonesia is not merely a policy choice, but a necessity arising from the country’s vast and diverse geography. Regional autonomy is understood as an instrument to create public welfare at the local level, measured not only in administrative terms, but also reflected in improvements in the Human Development Index (HDI), economic equity, and the quality of democracy. In addition, decentralization was reaffirmed as a constitutional mandate, as stipulated in Article 18 of the 1945 Constitution.

In evaluating 25 years of regional autonomy implementation, the speakers noted overall improvements in public welfare, such as increased life expectancy and average years of schooling. However, these achievements were considered not yet optimal due to persistent disparities in capacity among regions. Indonesia also continues to face challenges in democratic development, as reflected in the national democracy index, which remains categorized as a flawed democracy. Central–local relations that are not yet proportional often trigger resistance from regions due to perceptions of unfair treatment.

The webinar also raised various strategic issues in local government administration, ranging from the design of authority, institutions, civil service and ASN management, regional finance, to public services and mechanisms of guidance and supervision. The speakers highlighted that fiscal dependence on the central government, unhealthy local political dynamics, and the quality of bureaucratic governance remain key challenges in realizing effective autonomy.

In the context of authority design, the discussion emphasized the need for local governments to prioritize basic services and regional leading sectors so that the implementation of autonomy becomes more focused and efficient. An asymmetric approach to the delegation of authority was also considered important, taking into account differences in regional capacities. Autonomy was viewed not only as an administrative matter, but also as encompassing political dimensions that enable regions to develop more democratically.

The phenomenon of recentralization became a major focus of the webinar. The retraction of regional authorities through various sectoral regulations was seen as potentially weakening the spirit of decentralization. The speakers stressed the importance of finding a new balance point in central–local relations, where the central government focuses on regulatory functions, guidance, and supervision, rather than direct implementation at the local level.

From the perspective of fiscal capacity, the discussion revealed that only around 1 percent of regencies and municipalities have strong fiscal capacity, while the majority of regions remain highly dependent on transfers from the central government. Therefore, strengthening Local Own-Source Revenue (PAD), developing local potential, and enhancing the competencies of ASN in regional financial management were identified as important agendas for the future.

The webinar also touched on the need for institutional reconstruction at the central level, including discourse on reducing the number of ministries and agencies. The number of ministries, considered excessive, was seen as inconsistent with the spirit of decentralization, thus requiring restructuring through a function follows strategy approach so that the role of the central government becomes more strategic and does not overlap with regional authorities.

As a follow-up, the DeLOGO FIA UI Cluster will continue its studies on the reorientation of decentralization and regional leadership and convey the results to relevant stakeholders. Recommendations are also directed to the central government, the House of Representatives, and local governments to conduct policy evaluations, strengthen fiscal autonomy, and improve the quality of basic services and regional innovation.

Through this webinar, DeLOGO FIA UI reaffirmed its commitment to actively contribute to the development of decentralization policies that are more adaptive, equitable, and sustainable, in order to strengthen governance in Indonesia.