Dr. Tri Sulistyaningsih, M.Si in delivering the "materi" (Photo: Hendra)
Smart City is a concept oriented toward improving the quality of public services with a sustainable perspective. Smart City is the embodiment of the concept of an ideal and modern city that can solve all public problems efficiently and effectively through the provision of innovations. Smart City is a consequence of the information technology revolution, which requires the government to manage the various resources it has based on information technology. Therefore, a Smart City is a form of optimizing public services that the government must provide to the community.
In Indonesia, Surabaya is the first city to popularize Smart City in Indonesia through Smart Governance, Smart Living, and Smart Environment programs. So it can be said to be successful, many regions in Indonesia then replicated the concept. So far, several regions, such as Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Batu, and other big cities, have declared themselves Smart City-based regions. The concept of a Smart City in Indonesia is relatively new so, naturally, it has many weaknesses and of course, has the opportunity to succeed. To take a picture of this, the Government Science Laboratory of UMM Malang held a National Seminar on Government Information Technology with the theme "Opportunities and Challenges of Smart City Development in Indonesia", Thursday (11/6/2022).
Blended seminars while still implementing strict health protocols, the three main speakers were Dwi Elfrida Martina S.IP., MPPM (Coordinator of Local Government Application Services, KEMENKOMINFO RI), Dr. Tri Sulistyaningsih, M.Si (Lecturer of UMM Government Science Program), and Djoko Sigit Sayogo, SE, M.Acc., Ph.D. (Lecturer of the Faculty of Economics and Business UMM). With the moderator, Helatsani Widia, S.IP., MA (Lecturer of Government Science UMM), this activity was attended by 150 lecturers and students of Government Science UMM and opened directly by the Dean of FISIP UMM Malang, Prof. Muslimin Machmud, M.Sc.
Dwi Elfrida Martina as the first speaker, emphasized the strong commitment of the central government. "Collaboration and collaboration with local governments continue to be carried out by the central government. The aim is to harmonize existing regulations, and their implementation can be measured and evaluated. Martina, a graduate of the Massachusetts Masters's degree in the United States, added that the primary key to Smart City is the government's courage and consistency in innovating. Without this, it is difficult to expect to achieve digital transformation in the electronic-based service model that is the main characteristic of Smart City, "closed Martina.
Student enthusiasm in activities (Photo: Hendra)
Djoko Sigit Prayogo, the second speaker, said that the government has three main functions: development, protection, and service. Smart City is implementing these three things. Indonesia has a tremendous opportunity to develop Smart cities and succeed. Although the digital divide is still significant in Indonesia, the gap can be reduced every year. That means that many of our people are literate in information technology to become Smart People. "Smart People means people's ability to use information technology to access internet-based public services," Djoko explained. However, the challenge is the government's culture still considers Smart City a danger to power.
Dr. Tri Sulistyaningsih, as the last speaker, emphasized that the primary key to Smart City in the region is leadership. "Smart City is data and analysis, how to process data optimally, if each Regional Apparatus Organization (OPD) manages its data, there is no smart. This synergy can only occur if the regional head can be firm and has a high commitment. "In Indonesia, the commitment of the Governors, Regents, and Mayors has not been outstanding, that's why in many areas Smart City has not been implemented (a priority) or if it is still full of problems, but the improvement is not optimal," added Tri. Tri added that in Indonesia, public expectations for Smart City are very high but the capacity of the government is minimal, one of which is the low political will of regional heads.
