BRIN’s Digital Transformation Boosts Regional Innovation Management via Dialogue and Institutional Trust

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FORMOSA NEWS - Surabaya - Digital transformation within the facilitation services provided by Indonesia's National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) effectively strengthens regional innovation management capability across local governments by fostering two-way symmetrical communication and institutional trust. This insight emerges from a scientific study conducted by researchers from the Distance Learning Master of Management Program at Telkom University's School of Economics and Business: Reyza Pratama, Ratih Hendayani, and Yuhana Astuti. Conducted in July 2026, the study captured responses from 152 local government officials across 38 districts and cities in East Java to analyze how digital facilitation drives local innovation ecosystems.

Indonesia's public sector modernization framework was significantly advanced through Presidential Regulation No. 95 of 2018 on the Electronic-Based Government System (SPBE) and Presidential Regulation No. 78 of 2021 establishing BRIN. Functioning as an innovation intermediary, BRIN supports regional governments with research policy formulation, data provision, online training, and technical assistance. However, given geographical dispersion and varying administrative capacities among local governments, delivering digital activities like webinars alone does not automatically guarantee improved innovation capability. This research highlights the necessity of combining digital infrastructure with meaningful interactive engagement so that national guidance is successfully translated into actionable regional policies.

Connecting Digital Technology with Interactive Dialogue

The researchers employed a quantitative explanatory design utilizing a cross-sectional survey to test direct, mediating, and moderating relationships. Respondents included strategic and functional officials from Regional Research and Innovation Agencies (BRIDA), regional planning and innovation agencies (Bapperida/Bapperinda, Bappeda), and related units directly involved in BRIN's facilitation activities.

Data collected from eligible participants were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) via SmartPLS 4. The structural model formally examined the direct impact of digital facilitation on regional innovation capability, the mediating role of symmetrical communication, and the conditional effect of institutional trust.

Key Research Findings

Statistical testing yielded several major empirical findings:

• Direct Capability Enhancement: Digital transformation in BRIN facilitation positively and significantly enhances perceived regional innovation management capability. Digital arrangements improve information accessibility, streamline coordination, and provide traceable documentation.
• Driving Force Behind Symmetrical Communication: Digital transformation exerts a dominant positive effect on two-way symmetrical communication. The core value of digital channels lies in enabling active dialogue, timely feedback, and mutual clarification between BRIN and regional officials.
• Partial Mediation of Symmetrical Communication: Symmetrical communication partially mediates the link between digital facilitation and regional innovation capability. Digital infrastructure achieves higher value when paired with dialogic exchanges that contextualize national guidance to local realities.
• Direct Influence of Institutional Trust: Local officials' confidence in BRIN’s competence, integrity, and commitment exerts a strong direct positive effect on innovation capability. Although the interaction term between trust and communication did not reach the 5% statistical significance threshold, higher trust levels were shown to reinforce the indirect path.

Policy Implications and Regional Impact

The study offers practical recommendations for public sector management and policy formulation. For BRIN, digital facilitation should be managed as an integrated service process rather than a sequence of standalone events. Broad webinars should be systematically linked to targeted consultation clinics, issue-tracking systems, and designated focal points to ensure responsive follow-up.

For local governments, participation in national facilitation programs must be institutionalized internally. Guidance and knowledge acquired should be converted into meeting records, action plans, cross-unit task assignments, and local policy drafts. Leveraging digital documentation preserves institutional memory and ensures continuity during personnel transitions.

Emphasizing the core takeaway of the study, the research team noted:

"Digital transformation in the public sector yields greater public value when technology is combined with dialogic communication, credible relationships, and traceable follow-up mechanisms," stated Reyza Pratama and the research team from Telkom University.

Author Profiles

This study was authored by researchers from the Distance Learning Master of Management Program, School of Economics and Business, Telkom University, Bandung, Indonesia:

1. Reyza Pratama, S.E.: Lead Researcher and Master of Management graduate student at Telkom University, specializing in Strategic Management, Public Sector Digital Transformation, and Regional Innovation Systems. (Corresponding Author Email: reyzapratamarp@student.telkomuniversity.ac.id).
2. Dr. Ratih Hendayani, S.T., M.M.: Assistant Professor at Telkom University's School of Economics and Business with expertise in Operations Management, Information Systems, and Marketing Management.
3. Dr. Yuhana Astuti, S.Si., M.M.: Assistant Professor at Telkom University's School of Economics and Business specializing in Strategic Management, Organizational Governance, and Innovation Management.

Primary Source Citation:

Article Title: Digital Transformation in Intergovernmental Facilitation and Regional Innovation Capability: Examining Symmetrical Communication and Institutional Trust
Journal: Indonesian Journal of Advanced Research (IJAR)
Publication Year: 2026 (Vol. 5, No. 9, pp. 1629–1644)
Official DOI: https://doi.org/10.55927/ijar.v5i9.17138
URL: https://journal.formosapublisher.org/index.php/ijar