Several information systems and cultural statistics used in policy development have been or are being developed in the past four years, including:
1. Cultural Development Index;
2. Integrated Cultural Database System (under development); and
3. Integrated Cultural Data.
Given the importance of data and information in development, the Ministry of National Development Planning/National Development Planning Agency (KemenPPN/Bappenas) in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Culture, and the Central Bureau of Statistics has the initiative to develop a Cultural Development Index. The Cultural Development Index is drafted by referring to the UNESCO Culture Development Indicators (CDIs) concept. The UNESCO CDIs have a series of dimensions and indicators that highlight the contribution of culture to develop, encourage economic growth, and help individuals and communities expand life choices, and adapt to change.
The Cultural Development Index is an instrument to measure the performance of cultural development. In this case, the Cultural Development Index is not intended to measure the cultural value of a region, but rather to measure the performance of cultural development. The Cultural Development Index, which contains the following seven dimensions, is expected to be able to provide a more holistic picture of cultural development: (1) cultural economy index; (2) educational dimension; (3) socio-cultural resilience dimension; (4) cultural heritage dimension; (5) cultural expression dimension; (6) literary culture dimension; and (7) gender equality dimension. The seven dimensions show that cultural development covers a broad scope and is cross-sectoral in nature.
Based on the 2018 Cultural Development Index, Indonesia's cultural development is quite well, but it still needs improvement. The value of the national Cultural Development Index, with a value range from 0 to 100 is 53.74. The value for each dimension is as follows: cultural economy dimension (30.55), educational dimension (69.67), socio-cultural resilience dimension (72.84), cultural heritage dimension (41.11), cultural expression dimension (36.57), literacy culture dimension (55.03), and gender equality dimension (54.97). The dimension of socio-cultural resilience has the highest value, while the cultural economy dimension has the lowest value compared to the other dimensions. It shows that the ability of Indonesian culture to maintain and develop cultural identity, knowledge, and practices in social life is quite well. However, the contribution of culture in supporting economic development still needs to be improved.
With the publication of this Cultural Development Index, it is hoped that cultural development can be increasingly targeted and of better quality. This Cultural Development Index serves as the basis for knowledge-based policy formulation, will help policymakers so that the formulation of cultural development policies can be more precise according to the conditions of each region. Besides, the Cultural Development Index can also be utilized by academics and those interested in cultural studies to enrich data and information related to cultural development.
The government will develop an Integrated Cultural Database System, which is a central cultural database system that integrates all cultural data from various sources. The Integrated Cultural Database System contains data related to:
1. Objects of the Advancement of Culture;
2. Cultural human resources, cultural agencies, and cultural institutions;
3. Cultural facilities and infrastructure; and
4. other culture-related data.
The Integrated Cultural Database System is the main data reference in the efforts to advance culture. The following are examples of the functions of the Integrated Cultural Database System to Advance Culture:
1. Identification of Objects of the Advancement of Culture which will be the priority in the Advancement of Culture effort;
2. Proof of Indonesian ownership of the Objects of the Advancement of Culture in the event of a dispute with a foreign party; and
3. Reference to the granting of permits to large industries and foreign parties for the commercial use of Objects of the Advancement of Culture.
While waiting for the Integrated Cultural Database System development to finish, the Ministry of Education and Culture is also developing an Integrated Cultural Data. Integrated Cultural Data is a reference to cultural data that supports the Integrated Cultural Database System under the mandate of Law 5 of 2017 on Advancement of Culture. There are currently four cultural data references in the Integrated Cultural Data, including:
1. Unique Number of Cultural Personnel: Identification code for all Cultural Human Resources;
2. Cultural Institution Identification Number: Identification code for all Cultural Agencies and Institutions;
3. Tangible Object Identification Number: Identification code for all Cultural Advancement Objects that are tangible; and
4. Intangible Object Identification Number: Identification Code for all Intangible Objects of the Advancement of Culture.
In general, information systems and cultural statistics used in policy development are intended to contribute to the following achievements of the National Strategy for Culture (see Goal 1, Main Policies and Measures that Contain Strategies and Frameworks for the Development of an Integrated Cultural and Creative Economy Sector):
1. Protect and develop values, expressions, and practices of traditional culture to enrich national culture (Agenda 2);
2. Institutional reform and cultural affairs budget to support the advancement of culture agenda (Agenda 6); and
3. Strengthen the role of the government as facilitator in the advancement of culture (Agenda 7).