Jakarta, April 2010. A series of integrated Workshops on National Innovation System (NIS) is being held in Jakarta from March 2010 to October 2010. The Workshops are designated for two purposes: 1) to promote, to generate awareness, and to create innovation network among governmental bodies both at national and regional/local level; and 2) to strengthen and to create network among the existing technology intermediaries. The Workshops were opened by a half-day VIP Seminar attended by The Minister of Research and Technology – Mr. Suharna Surapranata, The Minister of Communication and Information – Mr. Tifatul Sembiring, and The German Ambassador for Indonesia – H.E. Dr. Norbert Baas.

The workshops are held by the Ministry of Research and Technology of The Republic of Indonesia (RISTEK) co-sponsored by The German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) and organized by the Business Technology Center Network (BTC-NETWORK) – an institution under RISTEK – chaired by Dr. Idwan Suhardi, coordinated by Santosa Yudo Warsono. The content of the workshops are derived from the Modular Training Concept Innovation (MTCI) developed by the German association of Industry and Engineers (VDI|VDE|IT).

Out of 12 MTCI modules, 3 modules are selected. They are: 1) Main Elements and Success Factors of a National Innovation System; 2) Regional Innovation Potential Analysis (RIPA) as Basis for Tailor-made R&D Policy; 3) Training Approach for Innovation Managers. The first module is to generate awareness among central government bureaucrats as well as important decision makers, the second is for local government, and the third is capacity building for the existing technology intermediaries. The selection of the three modules was based on the argument that one have to work at different levels to construct a well-functioning National Innovation System.
Formerly, the main driver of innovation was technology. New inventions changed the way people live, think, work, and behave. Nowadays, government policies and intervention has become much more significant as a determinant of a Nation's innovation performance. As Innovation drives economical growth in sustainable way, all countries would have to acquire the know-how of NIS and implement the knowledge.

The problem of Indonesia is not merely the knowledge. Local experts and some projects exist already but not the political commitment and there are simply not enough people who believe in NIS. Therefore, the integrated workshops serves as a campaign to raise awareness starting from Indonesia's bureaucrats and technology intermediaries who are expected to be the agent of change.

The workshops follow one typical anatomy: one workshop is divided into two. For instance, the 3-day workshop on Main Elements and Success Factors of a NIS held in March 30th –April 1st, 2010 will be followed by a 2-day workshop in October 2010. During April to October 2010, the participants are given specific homeworks which result will be evaluated or discussed in the 2-day workshop. Such arrangement is designated to ensure the sustainability and the impact of the workshops.

Within the workshops, one shall witness the synergy between the German experts – Dr. Gerd Meier zu Köcker, Peter Hahn, and Franz Gelbke – and the Indonesia's experts – Dr. Tatang Taufik and Dudi Hidayat. The participants were encouraged to have as much of discussion as necessary and challenged to work in a group on problem solving. After the workshops, the participants are assigned homeworks and the network is maintained through regular meetings and mailing lists.
Up to the end of April 2010, two workshops and one event has been successfully organized: The half-day VIP Seminar, the 3-day Workshop on National Innovation System, and the 3-day Workshop on Training Approach for Innovation Managers. The 3-day Workshop on Regional Innovation System is scheduled to be held on May 25th to May 27th, 2010; and the 2-day Workshops on all three topics are planned to be held in October 2010.