Bijak Memilih ("Vote Wisely")

What makes your solution innovative?

First, the platform is designed to be easily accessible and engaging for its target audience. Rather than relying on traditional civic education channels, which may not be effective in reaching young people, Bijak Memilih uses digital media and social networks to deliver its content. This approach makes it easy for individuals like Bianca, who work long hours and have limited formal channels for civic education, to access the resources they need to become informed and engaged citizens.

Second, Bijak Memilih also incorporates gamification to engage with its user actively like offering interactive quizzes and micro-interaction on the website that could maintain users’ attention and engage younger audiences.

Finally, the platform's content is tailored to the needs and interests of its target audience (busy middle-class young professional and underserved youth). The platform is not bombarded with contents but presented in a concise, visualized and meaningful way. Moreover, we would also do user-generated content where users can submit their content including videos, memes, infographics, opinions so that it can foster a sense of ownership and helps bridge the gap between civic education and lived experience, making it more likely that individuals will engage with and retain the information presented. 

Bijak Memilih is designed to be interactive and participatory. The platform provides opportunities for individuals to engage with and contribute to the civic education process. By inviting users to share their thoughts and ideas, Bijak Memilih creates a space for dialogue and collective action, empowering young people to become active participants in the democratic process.

What are your impact goals for the next year and the next five years, and how will you achieve them?

While the platform part of Bijak Memilih is a political-cycle-specific flagship intervention oriented towards the election, our goal of improving the political and policy making process in Indonesia will continue through the 'movement' part of Bijak Memilih, as well as Think Policy and WIUI's broader interventions. At Think Policy, we will continue doing political and policy education through trainings provided to youth (Academy), policy and political dialogues with the government (Forum), developing network of policy professionals (Community), as well as social media engagement (Insights). In the past three years alone, our impact as an organization has been focusing on changing not only the awareness and attitude, but also behavior towards politics and public policy in Indonesia, and we will continue to do so. At WIUI, we produce beginner-friendly bite-sized socio-political contents in social media, online discussions, and in person meet-ups. By combining journal articles and legislations with memes and pop culture, WIUI has made politics fun, inclusive, and not intimidating for our audience who range from middle-school up to fresh graduates. The What Is Up Indonesia Discord Server also houses over 4,500 active young internationally-raised Indonesians from all around the world, giving them a space to connect and grow together.

To achieve these goals, we will continue to leverage our partnerships especially with local civil society organizations and youth groups to identify post-election activities that remain relevant to local and national politics. We will also leverage social media platforms and targeted digital advertising to reach our target demographic where they are and ensure that our materials are accessible and relevant to them.

Furthermore, we plan to continuously iterate and improve our platform based on user feedback and data analysis to ensure that we are delivering high-quality civic education materials that are tailored to the needs and interests of Indonesian youth.

Which of the UN Sustainable Development Goals does your solution address?

• 16. Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
• 17. Partnerships for the Goals

How are you measuring your progress toward your impact goals?

Bijak Memilih employs specific indicators to measure its progress and impact, ensuring that its solution is effective in achieving its goals. First, we track the number of individuals who have accessed and engaged with our platform. This includes not only unique visits to our website, but also those who have taken our quizzes, filled out our aspiration and feedback forms. Our aspiration form is a feature that allows everyone to submit issues relevant to them or express their frustrations, which provides us with insights to prioritize our content. We also monitor the growth of our social media channels, such as the number of followers and engagement rates, as it helps us gauge the reach of our content and events.

Second, we measure our impact by monitoring the number of people who attend our online and offline events. We gather feedback and assess the satisfaction rate of the attendees to understand how our events have helped them better understand policy-related issues. This information is crucial in improving the quality of our programs and events.

Finally, we evaluate our impact by monitoring changes in policy and discourse. Our aim is to mainstream policy discussions, and we track whether our content has been cited or shared by media, journalists, politicians, or other opinion leaders. This is important because it indicates that our content is being recognized as a reliable source of information and is contributing to the discourse on evidence-based policy solutions.

What is your theory of change?

End of Program Outcome: A democratic political system that serves the people in Indonesia

Intermediary Outcome #1: Informed electorates

Intermediary Outcome #2: Issue-driven, participatory political process

<line of accountability>

Output #1: Web-based platform

Output #2: Social media

Output #3: Forums/events

Describe the core technology that powers your solution.

Bijak Memilih harnesses cutting-edge technology to bring about a revolutionary change in civic education and political participation. At the heart of our solution is a user-friendly and interactive web platform, built using the powerful no-code website builder, Typedream, and integrated with Notion for seamless content updates. This enables us to present complex information in a modern and chic design, with little to no technical background required for collaboration. Furthermore, we leverage insights from Google Analytics to track user visits, engagement, time spent, heatmaps, and overall impact.

Our innovative approach extends beyond the web platform to popular social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, where we engage our target audience with memes and micro-blogs related to civic education and political participation. Our social media handles are also seamlessly integrated with our website, creating a one-stop-shop for our users. We aim to enhance the platform's functionality further by providing features for user interaction and discussion, similar to Quora. Moreover, we plan to scrape hashtags and sentiments related to issues, candidates, and parties on social media, bringing them to our website. This would enable our team and partners to participate in debugging and preventing hoaxes, bringing about a transformative impact on civic education and political participation.

Which of the following categories best describes your solution?

A new application of an existing technology

Please select the technologies currently used in your solution:

• Software and Mobile Applications

If your solution has a website or an app, provide the links here:

https://www.bijakmemilih.id/

What type of organization is your solution team?

Hybrid of for-profit and nonprofit

How many people work on your solution team?

Full time: 2. Part time: 16. Contractors (researchers, event project manager, etc): 5

How long have you been working on your solution?

10 months

What is your approach to incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusivity into your work?

At Think Policy The team behind Bijak Memilih we take diversity, equity, and inclusivity seriously, and we strive to incorporate these principles in every aspect of our work as well as every line of our product (including Bijak Memilih). We believe that diverse perspectives are essential to creating innovative and effective solutions to complex social problems and a crucial element of good public policy. We aim to create a space where everyone feels respected, valued, and heard, regardless of their background or identity.

In our programs and products, we aim to accommodate a wide range of participants, including those with different abilities. For instance, we always try to accommodate sign language interpretation in some of our online and offline events and provide closed captioning for virtual and recorded learning videos to make them more accessible. Our bootcamp alumni pools represent different regions in Indonesia, including tier 1,2, and 3 cities, with a balanced representation of women and men and a diverse pool of institutions. In our forum programs, we incorporate Chatham House Rules, where people can speak their voice and opinion regardless of the institution they belong to. In every flagship event, we strive for those on stage—whether moderators, speakers, or panelists—to represent the diversity of our community, through geographic region, race, gender identity, expertise and sector.

At Bijak Memilih, our flagship product, we have a dedicated page for "Minority Rights" because we believe it is an important policy issue that deserves attention from everyone, especially our leaders. Minority and underrepresented groups still face discrimination and disadvantage, and through Bijak Memilih, we aim to raise awareness about how leaders and political parties stand on these issues. Currently, the Minority Rights card focuses on three issues: religious liberty, indigenous rights, and laws on sexual violence crimes.

In our internal Think Policy secretariat team, we also strive for diversity, equity, and inclusivity. Our secretariat team is composed of 62% women-leaders, and we provide flexible work arrangements like work-from-anywhere options, to ensure that everyone can participate in our team regardless of their location or circumstances. The WIUI team is composed of 40% women-leaders, and a combination of individuals from minority ethnic/religious/LGBTQ+ groups. All members work remotely, providing flexible work arrangements that accommodate different circumstances and locations.

Furthermore, we have a dedicated Monitoring and Evaluation tribe within the secretariat that not only measures the impact of the work we are doing but also ensures that our programs and products always remain inclusive. This team collects feedback from our participants and constantly evaluates our initiatives to ensure that they are meeting the needs of our diverse target audiences.

Think Policy We believe that incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusivity in the organization is not just a box-ticking exercise, but a fundamental part of who we are and what we do.

What is your business model?

As a young nation, Indonesia continues to rely on outdated 20th century paradigms that center around formal structures and individual leadership. This approach has resulted in a siloed policy-making process that can no longer meet the demands of the 21st century. We urgently need to transition to a more agile, collaborative, and cross-sectoral approach to address complex challenges.

While developed through collaboration between Think Policy and WIUI Indonesia, Bijak Memilih’s secretariat is run and funded through Think Policy as the organization with an established legal entity. At Think Policy, we've taken on this challenge with a one-stop platform dedicated to promoting evidence- and empathy-based adaptive public policy solutions for Indonesians across sectors. We serve students, young professionals, public servants, and non-public servants, including companies with government relations, NGOs, and relevant community within the five line of programs: 

• Academy. Classes and learning tools designed to prepare critical thinkers across sectors in addressing 21st century challenges. Example of products: handbook, workshop, bootcamp, and MOOC 

• Advisory. As a research and consulting arm focusing on providing profound insights to inform public policy processes. 

• Forum. Private and public (online and offline model) dialogues connecting cross-sectors to get a solution and eliminate siloed process

• Insight:  Research and content creation designed to bridge the gap between collective awareness and citizen participation in a healthy democracy. 

• Community: Pool of Think Policy program’ alums that can be partnered for various partnership types. 

Other than that we also have our flagship product, Bijak Memilih, that is specifically designed for the 2024 election. 

To ensure Think Policy's long-term sustainability, it is crucial to have a clear revenue model that funds its operations, team, and expands the impact. Since 2019, Think Policy as a social enterprise has tested and developed a mixed revenue model based on the nature of its products. In this model, the organization generates revenue through two main channels.

Firstly, Think Policy sells customized services to companies and governments. For example, Think Policy offers workshops to companies through a B2B model, where clients pay upfront and Think Policy adjusts the curriculum based on the client's needs. Similarly, the advisory services provided by Think Policy are designed for government partnerships, following a B2G model, where the clients pay consultancy fees. By selling customized services, we can cater to the needs of companies and governments with specific policy challenges, creating a more targeted and effective solution.

Secondly, Think Policy also receives funding from donors and grants, especially for products where this model makes sense. For instance, some of our bootcamps are funded by donors like some philanthropy agencies allowing us to provide training to regional and district government workers and leaders who may not have the resources to participate otherwise. Similarly, for our flagship product, Bijak Memilih, Think Policy intentionally seeks grants, funding from competitions like MIT Solve, or  donations that is not affiliated to party/any political figures to ensure that the organization remains neutral, accessible to the general public, accountable for its content, and free from potential conflicts of interest.

Combining these revenue models allows Think Policy to serve a significant market size while being just, inclusive, and sustainable.

Do you primarily provide products or services directly to individuals, to other organizations, or to the government?

What is your plan for becoming financially sustainable?

With its current mixed-revenue model, Think Policy is confident in its ability to become a financially sustainable organization. The organization aims to cover its operating expenses and achieve its long-term goals while remaining financially viable.

One of Think Policy's key strategies is to continue diversifying its revenue streams whenever relevant. As explained earlier, this means generating revenue through a range of sources, such as grants, donations, paid webinars, and advisory fees. By having multiple sources of income, Think Policy aims to avoid dependence on any one source and minimize the impact of funding fluctuations. In 2023 and beyond, Think Policy plans to double down on its revenue-generating model. For instance, it has recently established an advisory arm and already secured 4 service contracts with the non-profit organization and government agencies. The organization aims to have more clients in the coming years. Additionally, due to increasing demand for MOOCs, and to scale its impact beyond B2B paid webinars/workshops, Think Policy is also planning to sell its learning videos through a B2C model. For the donation model, the organization plans to continue seeking sustained donations from partners who share its values.

Another strategy is to increase visibility and outreach by expanding its network and partnerships with strategic organizations, individuals, as well as practitioners and communities in the policy space. By doing so, Think Policy can attract more donors and supporters who share its mission and vision. In addition, the organization aims to continuously operate as a lean organization, streamlining processes, automating tasks, and leveraging technology to improve efficiency and productivity. With a hybrid model of part-time and full-time employees and a fully remote work arrangement, Think Policy aims to keep its operational costs effective. By doing so, the organization can allocate its resources more efficiently and maximize its impact.

Overall, Think Policy's plan to become financially sustainable involves a combination of revenue diversification, increased outreach and visibility, and operational efficiency. By executing these strategies effectively, the organization can continue delivering high-quality policy research and analysis while achieving long-term financial sustainability.

Share some examples of how your plan to achieve financial sustainability has been successful so far.

Since 2021, we have established partnerships with donors for both short-term and long-term periods. Some of our donor partners include: 

• Rutgers Generation-G, which funds our Academy and Forum products;
• The World Health Organization Academy; 
• some philanthropy agencies, which has been our partner in three phases (sustained donation) 
• Knowledge Sector Initiative under the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has funded our online Think Policy handbook and some bootcamps. 

These donations and grants amount to more than 500,000 USD in total.

In addition to grants, we also generate revenue through a series of paid webinars, both B2C and B2B, as well as advisory fees, which account for more than 30% of our total revenue.