In Government Capacity Building (GCB) program, Tanoto Foundation works in partnership with key ministries and agencies, including the National Institute of Public Administration (LAN), to improve the effectiveness of policymaking, enhancing the competencies of government leaders, and reinforcing institutional capacity. Through these efforts, GCB aims to advance human capital development as a foundation for Indonesia’s long-term growth.
Key Beneficiaries
22 – 65 years old
Our Goals
Leadership development
Research support
GCB operates in three areas:
Policy
Effective and inclusive policy.
Promote data-driven policymaking along with strong monitoring and evaluation systems for key policies.
Institution
Agile, collaborative, and accountable institutions.
Government institutions that are able to collaborate effectively in achieving shared outcomes.
People
Transformative leaders who foster a culture of innovation, accountability,and continuous improvement for their organization.
Competent leaders with strong policy analysis skills.
Our Impact
36,442
people from state universities, policy research institutions, and government attended webinars and virtual lectures
Community Voices
“Tanoto Foundation, through its Civil Service Leadership Development (CSLD), has demonstrated its strong commitment to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Indonesia. CSLD’s various activities for capacity building of Indonesia’s human resources have been inspiring and impactful. For example, through SDG Academy Indonesia, around 100 youth champions from various regions have been successfully formed to help Indonesia achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030”.
Dr. Vivi Yulaswati, M.Sc.
Chairman. Deputy for Maritime Affairs and Natural Resource, Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas, a.k.a Head of National Secretariat of SDGs Indonesia, Republic of Indonesia
“Collaboration is a logical organizational mantra in the era of disruption, and a necessity for leaders who want to bring organizations to respond to environmental changes. Resources spread across various institutions and entities should be maximized in a more productive work collectivity. This is what is being practiced in CSLD’s collaboration with Pusaka to help realize ASN future leaders, which is impossible to achieve alone. Hopefully this endeavor will become a tradition of bureaucratic work that will continue to be maintained”.
Yogi Suwarno, S.IP., MA, Ph.D
Head of Policy Analyst Development Center, National Institution Policy Analysist, Republic of Indonesia
“In order to formulate and produce progressive policies, the collaboration with Tanoto Foundation through the CSLD program has had a significant positive impact on our efforts towards a world-class bureaucracy. Through this collaboration, we have been able to develop our staff’s insights and perspectives on best practices in institutional architecture, governance and state systems. We hope to continue strengthening this partnership to realize an efficient, transparent bureaucracy that can have a positive impact on society”.
Nanik Murwati, S.E., M.A
Deputy of Intitution and Governance, Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform, Republic of Indonesia
The Indonesian government recognizes the urgency of addressing stunting and has set ambitious targets for its reduction. The 2023 Indonesia Primary Health Research (Riskesdas) shows progress, with the prevalence decreasing from 30.8% in 2018 to 21.5% in 2023. The government continues to be committed to further reducing stunting rates.
Through the SIGAP program, Tanoto Foundation contributes to these efforts by supporting the government’s initiatives at both national and sub-national levels. At the national level, the Foundation helps implement various nationwide stunting prevention and reduction programs. At the sub-national level, Tanoto Foundation supports several provincial and district governments in promoting cross-sectoral program convergence and implementing behavior change communication (BCC) strategies.
These initiatives involve collaboration with local government, development partners, implementing partners, and local organizations. Tanoto Foundation ensures consistent implementation, monitoring, and evaluation to measure progress and reinforce a collective effort toward achieving national stunting reduction targets.
In partnership with UNICEF, Tanoto Foundation launched a four-year program titled Unlocking Future Potential with Nutrition: Towards Zero Stunting, aimed at supporting the Government of Indonesia in tackling stunting across the country.
Since 2021, the program has used a Social and Behavior Change Communication strategy to target malnutrition in Central Java and South Sulawesi. It supports pregnant women, caregivers, and families to ensure proper nutrition and promote optimal child development during the first 1,000 days of life, with the ultimate goal of preventing stunting.
The first phase of the program produced an operating guideline for provincial governments to assist, supervise, and evaluate the district governments in the SBCC program implementation. The second phase, which commenced in 2022 and is running until 2025, is focused on providing technical assistance to the Central Java and South Sulawesi Provinces in implementing SBCC strategy and programs at their respective districts.
The Impact*
Over 15 million people impacted
Over 4.5 million pregnant women and caregivers impacted
Over 10.000 health workers and community volunteers trained
28 districts assisted
*as of 2024
Tracking Early Childhood Development
Beyond reducing stunting, Tanoto Foundation and UNICEF have supported the Government of Indonesia since 2020 in improving Early Childhood Education and Development (ECED). This collaboration focuses on adapting international standards to the Indonesian context and assessing children’s physical, cognitive, linguistic, and social-emotional development.
With a grant from Tanoto Foundation, UNICEF has developed two customized assessment tools—the Caregiver Reported Early Development Index (CREDI) and the Early Childhood Development Index (ECDI)—which can be adapted as measurement instruments for early childhood development in Indonesia.
Through a grant to the World Bank’s Multi Donor Trust Fund (MDTF), in which donors pool resources to address specific societal challenges and enhance capacity to deliver development results, Tanoto Foundation supports the Government of Indonesia’s national strategy in accelerating stunting prevalence reduction and implementing a multi-year, multimillion-dollar Investing in Nutrition and Early Years program in Indonesia.
Launched in 2020 and extended to 2029, the MDTF for Indonesia Human Capital Acceleration (IHCA) initiative supports the government’s National Strategy to Accelerate Stunting Prevention (StraNas Stunting) through policy support and the World Bank’s Investing in Nutrition and Early Years (INEY) program. It also focuses on improving the quality of learning outcomes in schools and addressing regional inequalities in human capital development.
The IHCA-MDTF’s main goals are to establish strong leadership, improve the quality of spending on national and local programs, improve sector and local performance, and empower citizen engagement in the frontline service delivery. To achieve this development objective, the World Bank provides programmatic policy, advisory, analytics and technical support to realize the government’s vision to improve human capital results.
Impact*
12 government policies were informed and shaped by knowledge generated from MDTF-supported activities
11 knowledge products were produced, including technical guidelines, presentations, analytical reports, and technical analyses
Over 41,000 health and development workers were trained using MDTF-supported modules — also on track to reach the 2027 target
Highlights*
USD 10M families engaged
USD 3M Tanoto Foundation funding
USD 7.61M Gates Foundation funding
USD 1.3M GAVI funding
EU 624,000 KfW German Development Bank funding
USD 11.86M funding leverage
Discover more about our other initiatives and partnerships aimed at addressing stunting
Tanoto Foundation partners with SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre to establish Professorships and Research Initiatives in the areas of Diabetes, Medical Oncology and Cardiovascular Medicine.
Current Awardees
Professorship in Medical Oncology: Professor Lim Soon Thye
Professor Lim Soon Thye’s research focuses on T-cell and NK-cell lymphomas because they are more common in Asia compared to the West and are more fatal than B-cell lymphomas, yet they are less well studied and treatment options are currently limited.
His discovery of genetic mutations associated with T and NK-cell lymphomas has opened up a potential new treatment that targets genetic mutations and reactivates the body’s natural defenses to fight lymphoma cells. He will also continue with epidemiological studies where several of his diagnostic and algorithmic platforms, when validated, can be incorporated into routine clinical workflows in hospital systems.
Professorship in Diabetes Research: Professor Wang Yibin
Professor Wang Yibin’s research on genetic and molecular mechanisms of complex diseases has led to the discovery of key regulators in branched-chain amino acid metabolism, offering novel therapeutic strategies for diabetes, heart failure, and metabolic disorders. His findings have contributed to new clinical trials and drug development efforts targeting these conditions.
Professor Wang Yibin specializes in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, with a focus on the genetic basis of heart failure, obesity, and fatty liver disease. His lab has uncovered stress-induced molecular networks that drive the progression of fatty liver, a major diabetes risk factor in Asian populations.
Professorship in Cardiovascular Medicine: Professor Stuart Cook (November 2012 – March 2025)
A recipient of the President’s Technology Award in Singapore in 2018, Professor Stuart Cook is a leading cardiovascular research expert, having done extensive work in human genetics, heart muscle disease and cardiac imaging. His research has led to the identification of new genes and pathways for heart disease, for better therapeutic targets.
Professor Stuart Cook led a study in Singapore to find out whether mutations in the titin gene are responsible for heart muscle weakness in Asians. This discovery catalyzed the development of a commercially available, next-generation test kit. The heart-testing device he helped to create in Singapore is used by 10,000 patients a year all over the world.
