At the national level, INOVASI is providing support to both the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (MoECRT) and the Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA), as they work on: a new national curriculum; assessment systems; teacher standards, recruitment, training, deployment and professional development; and new approaches to character education and religious moderation. In addition, INOVASI has supported the Indonesian government’s response to COVID-19 by conducting studies on learning from home in different contexts, supporting the development and implementation of the emergency curriculum, and advising on the impact of the pandemic. Together with MoECRT, MoRA, and Bappenas, INOVASI continues to strengthen collaboration at the national and subnational levels - particularly in the four partner provinces, to strengthen strategic two-way planning.
West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) is the 13th largest province in Indonesia that has a population of more than 4.5 million. Although the enrollment rate for school enrollment has increased, not all students in NTB have studied effectively. The quality of learning in this province is still relatively low, especially at the basic education level. NTB was INOVASI's first province partner in the implementation of the program which was carried out in six districts, namely Central Lombok, North Lombok, Sumbawa, West Sumbawa, Dompu, and Bima. The program works to understand and address the challenges of learning in the classroom, particularly those related to students' literacy and numeracy skills. The program uses a unique approach in developing its various pilot programs and works and learns directly with its partners in the region in exploring and identifying local problems, then jointly designing relevant solutions to overcome the learning challenges encountered in the area.
The implementation of the INOVASI program in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Province is carried out in all districts on the island of Sumba, namely Southwest Sumba, West Sumba, Central Sumba, and East Sumba. The launch of the program in the NTT Province was carried out on November 2, 2017 through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the NTT Provincial Government, namely the Governor of NTT, Drs. Frans Lebu Raya, with the Ministry of Education and Culture, represented by the Head of the Research and Development Agency (Balitbang), Ir. Totok Suprayitno, Ph.D.
In North Kalimantan Province, the INOVASI program was officially launched on December 12, 2017 at the Ministry of Education and Culture, Jakarta. In Phase I, the program was implemented in two districts, namely Bulungan and Malinau. The success of the early grade literacy pilot in the two districts attracted the attention of Tana Tidung District to develop a similar program. At the end of 2019, Tana Tidung - with self-financing, replicated the early grade literacy pilot program. In Phase I, as part of the efforts to improve early grade literacy skills, INOVASI used a distinctive approach called Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA). This approach is designed to explore challenges, find local solutions, and pilot them until they successfully work. In North Kalimantan, this approach is applied to improve the quality of learning, strengthen the reading culture, and provide special services for children who are slow in reading. In the implementation, the district governments not only apply the approach in schools but also collaborates with the community.
In East Java Province, the implementation of the INOVASI program began with research and mapping studies at the end of 2017 which was carried out in order to find learning innovations in East Java Province, particularly at the primary education level. The study found 165 promising practices in literacy, numeracy, and inclusion. In Phase I (2017-2020), the program was implemented in five districts/cities, namely Sumenep District, Pasuruan District, Probolinggo District, Sidoarjo District, and Batu City. INOVASI also collaborated with other organizations & institutions in implementing various programs. In Phase II (2020-2023), the program focuses on strengthening Islamic education and overseeing the implementation of the dissemination program with five partner districts/cities. Cooperation also continues with the two Islamic organizations that oversee Islamic basic education institutions, as well as with TTIs in East Java.