Governance and the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Why knowledge systems matter

Abstraksi

How will policy decisions be made and what type of knowledge will be used to inform those decisions ten years from now or twenty years from now? What will governance look like then? While several papers presented at the IDF rightly look at lessons learned and results and challenges for governance in Indonesia today, in this paper/presentation we look decisively into the future and explore some of the key questions linked to the challenges that the Fourth Industrial Revolution is posing to governance and knowledge systems at national and local level. To continue on the path of economic growth and prosperity middle-income countries, such as Indonesia, require increased capability of state actors and governance institutions to tackle complex and wicked development problems. The challenge for governments is that the design and implementation policies that contribute to increased productivity and which strengthen competitiveness have also to ensure that economic growth benefits all regions and all citizen. This challenge is not new, but the pace and transnational nature of the scientific and technological advances of the Fourth Industrial Revolution is bringing is challenging the capability of governments, institutions, and citizens to understand the impact that it can have on society and governance systems. The presentation draws from academic literature on Indonesia as well as other countries, experts' opinion pieces, and interviews with key informants in different countries.