Dr. Johanna Birnir is a Fulbright Specialist Program at Gadjah Mada University in 2025.

Dr. Johanna Birnir, Professor at the University of Maryland, in collaboration with the Department of Politics and Government (PolGov), Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), successfully implemented a Fulbright Specialist project focused on strengthening quantitative research capacity within an established ecosystem of academic and practitioner partners.

The project that was carried out in February 2026 consisted of two primary activities. First, a workshop on academic writing for postgraduate students. This activity was organized as part of the America 250 Years Celebration. As the central component, they also carried out an intensive three-day workshop on quantitative data analysis using the open-source statistical programming language R.

“The data workshop was designed as an immersive, hands-on training covering descriptive statistics, data management, and applied analysis in R to make sure that participants not only understood conceptual foundations but also developed operational competency”, Dr. Birnir said.

“The workshop also contributed to the PolGov’s longer-term initiative to establish a “Sister Lab” with University of Maryland and to develop institutional capacity,” Dr. Amalinda Savirani from UGM added.

Dr. Savirani further asserted that the capacity building effort will benefit not only PolGov researchers, but also partner NGOs and local universities, particularly early-career researchers who require exposure to a broader range of methodological tools.

Thirty participants attended, representing PolGov researchers and students, local
universities, and Indonesian civil society organizations (CSOs).

Participant evaluations indicate high levels of satisfaction with the clarity of instruction, relevance of materials, and usefulness of hands-on exercises, particularly the applied R sessions. They also reported increased confidence in conducting descriptive statistical analysis and in integrating programming tools into their research workflows.

Dr. Birnir said that the immediate impact on the host institution was twofold. First, the project directly strengthened PolGov’s quantitative methodological capacity. Second, by including CSO partners who manage and analyze Indonesian election data, the project supported efforts to consolidate dispersed datasets and promote more systematic data management practices. This has implications for improving transparency, replicability, and public accessibility of electoral data in Indonesia.

Looking ahead, the activities initiated during the Specialist visit are intended to continue. Future plans include joint data consolidation initiatives related to Indonesian elections and case-based applications to deepen skills development, and potential virtual follow-up sessions to reinforce competencies acquired during the workshop.