Innovation and Comparative Governance

Research Area

Innovation

Within the Innovation agenda, the Innovation and Comparative Governance (ICG) Cluster examines how public sector institutions adapt to complex societal challenges through institutional reform, digital transformation, and policy experimentation. ICG focuses on mapping innovation ecosystems in public governance to advance social justice, including climate-responsive policies and the integration of artificial intelligence in public administration. By combining empirical research and comparative analysis, the cluster investigates how emerging technologies, adaptive policymaking, and collaborative governance models can strengthen state capacity while ensuring accountability, inclusiveness, and sustainability.

Public Governance

Under the Public Governance theme, ICG explores the evolving architecture of public institutions, regulatory systems, and collaborative governance arrangements. The cluster researches public policy, e-government and AI-driven governance (AIGov), governance and law, co-creation processes, bureaucratic reform, public sector human resource management, and environmental governance. Through interdisciplinary and comparative approaches, ICG seeks to understand how governance systems can enhance policy effectiveness, institutional resilience, and democratic legitimacy in rapidly changing political and socio-economic environments.

Comparative Studies

Comparative inquiry is central to ICG’s identity as a research cluster. Through qualitative and quantitative comparative methods, including Most Similar Systems Design (MSSD) and Most Different Systems Design (MDSD). ICG analyzes institutional variation, policy transfer, and governance outcomes across local, national, and international contexts. This comparative lens enables the cluster to identify patterns, best practices, and contextual determinants of governance performance, strengthening theoretical development while providing grounded policy recommendations relevant to Indonesia and the broader global South.

Ethics

Ethics constitutes a foundational pillar of ICG’s research framework. The cluster examines corruption, integrity systems, administrative ethics, and normative questions in comparative public administration. By integrating ethical theory with empirical governance research, ICG seeks to understand how integrity frameworks, accountability mechanisms, and professional norms shape public trust and institutional legitimacy. In an era of digital governance and AI adoption, ICG also critically assesses emerging ethical dilemmas to ensure that innovation in public administration remains aligned with democratic values and social responsibility.

About

Innovation and Comparative Governance (ICG) is a research cluster at the Faculty of Administrative Sciences, Universitas Indonesia, dedicated to advancing knowledge and practice in governance innovation and comparative public administration. ICG serves as a platform for interdisciplinary research, teaching enrichment, and policy engagement, focusing on how public governance navigates innovation to ensure sustainable policy developed by ethical government.

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