Aisha Marzuki, Head of Exploration Division, UNDP Acceleration Laboratory, Indonesia

How do you use technology/politics to improve the lives of citizens? Tell us about your role or organization.

Indonesia is home to more than 270 million people on more than 17,000 islands, and lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire, making it vulnerable to natural disasters, including earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, and volcanic eruptions. The country recorded one of the world’s deadliest natural disasters during the 2004 Aceh earthquake and tsunami. The economic, environmental and social costs of these disasters, exacerbated by climate change, have spurred collective action and innovative approaches (more here).

As Head of Exploration at the UNDP Accelerator Lab Indonesia, I use various sources of data to build a case for change, identify emerging trends in development, and create innovative partnerships to enable impact. To understand increasingly intractable development challenges, use different techniques to collect, analyze, and visualize data to create actionable intelligence.

We had the opportunity to collaborate with the Ministry of National Planning to conduct simple research in developing a bottom-up policy brief for flood mitigation, to be implemented jointly with civil society organizations and grassroots communities. Through immersion, public surveys, and listening to social media, the research combined dense data on social construction from affected communities with thin data on public perception about infrastructure and water-related disasters.

The integration of multiple data sources has enabled the government to pursue evidence-based policy making and develop comprehensive mitigation measures that represent local knowledge and aspirations.

What is the most impactful project you have worked on this year?

The Inclusive Policy Project successfully paved the way for a change in mindset about the role of social innovation and methodological resilience in Indonesia. By providing a safe space for dialogue between policy makers and local communities, we were able to identify potential gaps and building blocks between prevailing regulation and the reality on the ground.

By facilitating meaningful exchanges, we have developed a policy brief (accessible here) backed by both traditional and unconventional data sources. This is in consideration of contributing to Indonesia’s National Urban Flood Control Program.

An important ‘win’ of the project was the incorporation of indigenous knowledge, nature-based and local solutions into policy design. Ultimately, policy makers were eager to adopt a more innovative and systematic approach to disaster mitigation, while community partners were eager to participate as agents of change.

Supervising the shift between different partners has been really exciting, as this is the first step to achieving systemic flexibility. Furthermore, there have been initial discussions about the potential to use machine learning to integrate insights from past datasets into interactive dashboards that display disaster forecasts and vulnerability levels from non-traditional indicators to better inform at-risk communities.

What unexpected thing are we learning from 2021?

The second year of the epidemic allowed time to slow down, reflect on and realign the goals. The downturn has also affected my professional lenses, as reviewing our portfolio approach to systemic resilience requires some adjustments and collaboration with extraordinary partners.

From the data sets in the Inclusive Policy Project, I was struck by the vastly different perception among development sector stakeholders and local communities, even from such menial aspects as the “definition of floods”.

This realization requires us to acknowledge knowledge from the people closest to the problem, as more new approaches arise from unexpected places.

What is your favorite memory from last year?

Design a dynamic survey of the future for the audience as part of the launch of the Accelerator Lab that integrates data collection on emerging trends and innovative personalities in innovation (take the test here).

By using concepts of motivation and advocating engaging visual elements in a dedicated microsite, the survey thrived in reaching various respondents in the country and abroad, the majority of whom were young adults and young professionals.

We quickly analyzed the survey results and used them to develop future scenarios to spark thought from the audience. The journey was challenging yet rewarding, and it brought positive feedback and interest in repeating it from other labs and UNDP counterparts!

What tool or technology are you excited to explore and what are your priorities in 2022?

Early warning and action are pivotal to reduce the impact of future extreme weather events and climate change. Ensuring that local knowledge from communities is included in policy discussion and development is a key priority.

Furthermore, building the capacity of government stakeholders to understand the value of incorporating these ideas and creative use of new data sources is critical to increasing methodological flexibility.

Building on insights from the Inclusive Policy Project, we begin a new journey of citizen science prototypes and placement making. I’m keen to dig into local and contextual data sources around agile strategies. These data sets can complement existing national databases on disasters using tools and methods such as low-cost sensors and cultural mapping.

Additionally, using technology as a platform allows us to foster better collaboration between citizens and experts while bringing data back in real time to communities as agents of change that enable us to move toward data empowerment. I am interested in developing digital toolkits that increase citizen awareness through transparency, such as the right to know, that democratizes environmental information that affects citizens’ health.

Who are the heroes and mentors who inspire you?

There have been many sympathetic guides throughout my journey who I have had the pleasure of learning and working with: Bas Leurs who have demonstrated the value of interdisciplinary practices; Toshi Nakamura for giving crucial lessons for innovation in development; and Aarathi Krishnan who empowers others to create a platform for underrepresented voices.

All of their hard work has laid the foundation for a just future where there are great opportunities for change and motivated me to look for new ways to do things and push boundaries through my role.

What makes you wake up in the morning?

Believing that everyone – especially those considered marginalized and vulnerable – has the power to change. Through many field trips, two things are clear: the resilience of the people and their strength to grow amidst challenges is unparalleled.

In Extreme Economics (2019), Richard Davies presented various case studies on resilience. For example, in the face of disaster, survivors of the 2004 Aceh tsunami quickly returned and rebuilt their community and businesses, despite advice to move away from the coast.

After nearly two decades, these societies have survived and thrived in their own way, beyond survival. Having the opportunity to learn and unlearn and re-learn from similar grassroots communities motivated me to grow and create lasting change in the community.

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