The Department of Urban and Regional Planning (DURP) of Diponegoro University has a Kedaireka study team that works with BAPERLITBANGDA Brebes Regency in the 2023 Kedaireka Matching Fund project. The project is called “Roadmap for Local Economic Development Based on Rural-Urban Linkages” and it is part of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology’s initiative to build partnerships among universities, government and industry. The team is headed by Mr. Dr. Jawoto Sih Setyono, ST, MDP, and includes lecturers, master students, and undergraduate students. The project aims to provide policy recommendations using the IRD (Integrated Regional Development) approach to develop a local economy that is responsive, integrated and sustainable.
The team validated 14 urban areas in Brebes Regency through a survey on July 4 and 5, 2023. These areas were selected based on desk study and secondary data. The survey covered two regions, north and south, in Brebes Regency. The main cities in these regions were Brebes Urban Areas and Bumiayu Urban Areas, respectively. The team used apps-based survey equipment such as Avanza, cameras, maps and smartphones for the field visits. This survey was part of a series of steps to analyze the urban areas in Brebes Regency and produce a policy brief as the outcome of the Kedaireka Program. The next step was a preliminary presentation on the implementation of the Kedaireka 2023 Matching Fund program on July 20, 2023 in Brebes Regency.
The Kedaireka DURP UNDIP team, in partnership with the Regional Development Planning, Research and Development Agency of Brebes Regency, has reached out to several Regional Work Units and local business actors. The purpose of this outreach is to introduce the team and to provide an initial overview of the study activity plan “Development Roadmap Local Economy Based on Urban-Rural Linkages” that will be implemented.
Ilmiawan, ST, MT, the Head of the Regional Economic and Infrastructure Division and the representative of the Head of Baperlitbangda, Brebes Regency, started the presentation with an introduction and a brief overview of the region’s potential and challenges. Then, Dr. Jawoto Sih Setyono, ST, MDP, the team leader and the representative of Kedaireka PWK UNDIP, presented in detail the preliminary aspects of the study, such as the background, objectives, theoretical framework, and operational details. He also mentioned 4 (four) output products that would be produced from the study, namely databases, regional profiles, technical studies, and policy briefs related to local economic development and strengthening village-city linkages. These output products are expected to provide solutions to development problems and to be useful for all stakeholders in their regional development efforts.
The UNDIP DURP Team and Brebes Planning Agency hope that the presentation participants can appreciate the significance of implementing the 2023 Kedaireka Matching Fund and support the study by providing relevant data and information for the next 9 (nine) months.