What We Do
Our Mission
The Urban and Regional Development Institute (URDI) is an independent not-for-profit organization aimed at promoting sustainable urban and regional development in Indonesia by providing publication and other means for exchange of knowledge to enhance communication and cooperation among different stakeholders in the field of urban and regional development, developing research and policy analysis to provide alternative solutions to current issues and organizing training and other local capacity building exercise to support local governments in dealing with the current and future challenges and experience.
Urban and Regional Development Institute
URDI strives to continuously improve its qualities of being a reliable networking organization, by developing membership, associations, partnerships and cooperation at the local, national and international levels. While URDI’s core organization may be small, its networks are extensive, providing synergic strengths both for URDI as well as for the associated individuals or organizations.
It is an independent policy advocate and technical support organization, by maintaining its autonomy, objectivity and professional authority. While URDI often seeks cooperation and association with others – which may involve legal, financial, or organizational relationships – the research institution is ad infinitum committed to intellectual independence.
URDI maintained the organization as a quality research and training institute, by continuously improving its own staff of researchers, scholars and trainers while also bringing together all available external resources including highly-experienced or influential individuals. In addition to its intellectual independence, URDI makes every effort to provide quality services that fit the needs of the stakeholders in urban and regional development or that best serve the wider public interest. A unique center of excellence, by positioning itself as a broad forum that facilitates exchange of knowledge and experience, an independent advocate as well as a quality research and training institute that is expected to have impacts on both policy and implementation levels. As such, URDI plays a complementary role to the already established institutions concerning urban and regional development in the government, community and private sectors.
With such characteristics, URDI therefore can act as facilitator (in promoting communication, interaction and cooperation among the stakeholders), moderator (in finding solutions between conflicting interests), catalyst (in stimulating innovative development ideas or concepts), monitor (of the theoretical, policy as well as practical development), advocate (in promoting sustainable urban and regional development), advisor (in providing particular advice, recommendation or consulting services), and assistant (in local capacity building).
With URDI’s multitude of roles, the institution – both in its lean form of the core organization and in its expansive form of the networking organization – expects that its existence will help interested-parties in particular and the public in general in coping with the aforementioned challenges.