InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – Badan Pengelola Dana Perkebunan (BPDP) has emphasized that the BPDP 2026 Research Grant program will focus on studies capable of delivering tangible impact for the development of Indonesia’s strategic plantation commodities, from upstream to downstream sectors, particularly palm oil, coconut, and cocoa. The change in nomenclature from the Palm Oil Research Grant to the BPDP Research Grant also marks the expansion of commodities covered under the institution’s research funding scheme.
This was conveyed by Mohammad Alfansyah, Director of Downstream Sector Fund Distribution at Badan Pengelola Dana Perkebunan (BPDP), during the BPDP 2026 Research Grant Call for Proposal Socialization Webinar> on Thursday (30/4/2026), attended by InfoSAWIT.
According to Alfansyah, interest from academics and research institutions in the BPDP research grant program continues to show a positive trend. In the previous cycle, BPDP received more than 1,400 research proposals, and with the broader commodity scope supported this year, the number of submissions is expected to increase significantly.
“The enthusiasm from researchers at universities and research institutions is very strong. In the most recent period alone, incoming proposals exceeded 1,400. With the research scope now broader, the number of proposals this year will likely be even higher,” said Mohammad Alfansyah.
Focus on Research with Industrial Impact
He explained that the main objective of the BPDP Research Grant is to strengthen the development of plantation commodity-based industries through practical and applicable innovation. Therefore, BPDP expects submitted research not to stop at the academic level, but to make real contributions toward improving productivity, efficiency, value-added creation, and downstream product development.
“Whatever research is conducted must be directed toward strengthening, developing, and improving products. What we expect is research that produces real impact on the development of those commodities,” he explained.
BPDP also stressed the importance of proposal quality from the very beginning, especially in terms of administrative completeness, which has remained a major hurdle for some applicants. In last year’s selection process, several proposals were eliminated at the administrative screening stage, preventing their research substance from even reaching the evaluation committee.
Strictly Maintaining Assessment Independence
In implementing the BPDP 2026 Research Grant, BPDP ensured that the selection process will be carried out objectively and independently. For this reason, the Research and Development Committee has been instructed not to provide consultations specifically related to proposal substance until the submission deadline in June.
This measure is intended to maintain fairness in the evaluation process, ensuring that all proposals are assessed based on quality and relevance, rather than prior communication with evaluators.
In addition, institutional track records will become one of the important considerations. BPDP will evaluate the performance of universities or research institutions based on previous research outcomes, including output quality, reporting timeliness, and commitment to completing research according to target.
To broaden understanding among prospective research partners, BPDP plans to hold a series of direct outreach sessions in several regions, including Bandung, Central Java, Medan, Aceh, and eastern Indonesia, using a university clustering approach to ensure information reaches a wider audience.
Through these measures, BPDP hopes to attract more high-quality proposals, particularly research with strong potential for implementation, commercialization, and strategic policy support for the development of Indonesia’s palm oil, coconut, and cocoa sectors. (T2)
