Diding Sakri, Ph.D
Diding Sakri, is a distinguished development policy leader, public finance specialist, researcher, and civil society strategist with more than two decades of experience advancing inclusive governance, public policy reform, fiscal decentralization, and equitable development in Indonesia. As one of the founding declarators of Perkumpulan INISIATIF, he has played a defining role in shaping the organization’s intellectual vision and institutional development since its formative years. He served as INISIATIF’s first Executive Director from 2005 to 2009, providing strategic leadership as the organization established itself as a research-based advocacy institution focused on citizen participation, governance reform, participatory development, and innovation in local public policy. His leadership reflects a sustained commitment to bridging evidence, institutions, and citizen interests in pursuit of more accountable and inclusive governance.
Throughout his career, Diding has worked at the intersection of public finance, governance, development planning, decentralization, poverty reduction, and institutional reform, engaging with government, civil society, international development partners, and multilateral institutions. His professional experience includes roles with The World Bank, The Asia Foundation, Research Triangle Institute (RTI), The ASEAN Secretariat, and other development institutions. At INISIATIF, his work contributed to important innovations in fiscal decentralization, local planning and budgeting, universal public health services, and the mainstreaming of pro-poor approaches into local development policy. He also developed and advanced practical approaches to pro-poor budget analysis and advocacy, helping civil society organizations strengthen their capacity to influence public expenditure and local government decision-making. His contribution is distinctive for combining strategic policy thinking with grounded institutional and field-level experience.
Diding holds a PhD in Development Studies from King’s College London, where his doctoral research examined intergenerational income mobility in Indonesia and the structural factors shaping equality of opportunity. His research demonstrates a broader intellectual commitment to understanding how public policy, education, access to basic services, and socioeconomic circumstances influence people’s capacity to improve their lives across generations. His scholarship subsequently contributed to Great Gatsby and the Global South: Intergenerational Mobility, Income Inequality, and Development, published by Cambridge University Press in 2023 with Andy Sumner and Arief Anshory Yusuf. His career embodies a rare combination of institutional leadership, policy expertise, empirical research, and long-term commitment to social justice—positioning him as a senior voice capable of connecting Indonesia’s development challenges with wider international debates on inequality, public finance, governance, and inclusive growth
Areas of Expertise: Public Finance & Fiscal Governance, Development Policy & Institutional Reform, Decentralization & Local Governance, Public Policy & Regulatory Reform, Development Planning & Budgeting, Poverty, Inequality & Social Mobility, Inclusive Growth & Social Development, Participatory Governance, Rural & Local Development, Public Service Reform, Evidence-Based Policy Research, Civil Society & Policy Advocacy