The participation of persons with disabilities in drafting and implementing public policy is not achieved merely by giving them space to attend and voice their opinions. What matters more is ensuring that their voices and needs are genuinely taken into account and actually shape policy. This was one of the concerns raised in the discussion "Socialization of the OGI National Action Plan for Persons with Disabilities," organized by the Sentra Advokasi Perempuan, Disabilitas, dan Anak (SAPDA) together with PWYP Indonesia, with support Open Government Partnership – European Union on 19 August 2026 in Yogyakarta. The discussion brought together regional disabled persons' organizations, including HWDI DIY, PPDI Yogyakarta, Pertuni Yogyakarta City, Gerkatin Yogyakarta, Bawayang, NPC DIY, Potads, the Inclusive Village Forum (FKI), and several other related organizations.
Open Government Indonesia (OGI) is a strategic collaboration between the government and civil society to promote transparent, accountable, participatory, inclusive, and innovative governance. OGI's core principles position civil society not merely as an object of development but as an equal partner entitled to be actively involved from problem identification and commitment drafting to implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.
The OGI National Action Plan (NAP) offers a highly strategic entry point for disabled persons organizations to oversee public policy, especially since disability issues are now part of OGI's strategic agenda, particularly under the pillars of inclusive public services and improved access to justice. In OGI NAP VIII (2026–2027), disability issues are reflected in several commitments, including Commitment No. 4, which involves the Supreme Court and SAPDA.
Bridging Formal Involvement and Meaningful Participation
OGP standards emphasize inclusive participation through ongoing dialogue, accessible information, and a feedback loop in which the government responds to citizens' input. Meaningful participation requires persons with disabilities to be involved from the outset so that they have real influence over policy direction through three main stages: co-design, co-implementation, and co-evaluation.
However, SAPDA's experience overseeing Commitment No. 4 of the OGI NAP shows that the availability of participation spaces does not automatically lead to meaningful involvement. Nurul Saadah, Director of SAPDA, said her organization only became familiar with and directly involved in the OGI NAP in 2026. In practice, the implementation of commitments still depends heavily on the commitment of ministries and agencies, the intensity of coordination, and how well the bureaucracy understands the substance of co-creation. Ministries and agencies often remain oriented toward administrative outputs rather than ensuring that inclusiveness is genuinely upheld.
This is made worse by a common pattern on the ground in which persons with disabilities are treated as mere "complements" to fulfill formalities. Their needs are often exploited to strengthen activity proposals or funding applications without adequate accessibility provisions or support, creating a wide gap between formal involvement and meaningful participation.
The Reality of Public Services, Infrastructure, and Cultural Spaces
Accessibility must be seen as part of the substance of government openness, not merely a matter of physical facilities. Much of the public infrastructure built in the regions has yet to meet real needs on the ground, largely due to the lack of public dialogue from the planning stage.
Barokah, representing Bawayang, a shadow puppetry arts community whose members include blind, deaf, and physically disabled persons, described how public facilities such as tactile guiding blocks on streets are often built without any explanation of their function to the public. These guiding paths are frequently blocked by parked vehicles and street vendors. In the cultural sector, public spaces that support the arts, such as museums and the Taman Budaya cultural center, still lack physical accessibility, forcing artists with disabilities to organize self-help efforts so that their peers can access exhibition spaces.
Limited access to other basic public services is also felt by the Deaf community. Tejo Birowo, representing Gerkatin Yogyakarta, described the lack of communication access for Deaf persons when using health facilities. Many Deaf residents are unaware that certain administrative services at community health centers (Puskesmas) or hospitals carry fees because of unclear information. He urged the health and public transportation sectors to introduce discount schemes or an integrated Disability Card, as already implemented by the state railway company PT KAI.
In the same vein, Mr. Tebi, a disability advocate, criticized public facilities and public transportation that still rely on voice announcements without running text or dedicated staff, causing Deaf residents to frequently miss their turn when queuing for services.
Barriers to Access in Elections and Frontline Services
Government openness is also tested in the exercise of citizens' political rights. Election experience shows that the implementation of inclusive regulations often stalls and fails to reach frontline services.
A representative of Pertuni Yogyakarta City highlighted that elections are not yet accessible to blind voters due to the limited availability of Braille ballot templates. Beyond elections, the representative also raised concerns about dangerous sidewalks in the city center, where blind residents often fall into holes without knowing where to file a complaint.
Responding to the problems at polling stations (TPS), a representative of the Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) acknowledged that the main challenge lies in the understanding of field officers. Technical training is often not fully absorbed by voter data updating officers (Pantarlih) and polling station working committees (KPPS), so officers' sensitivity in prioritizing elderly voters and voters with disabilities, as well as in managing queues, remains very low.
Disaggregated Data as the Foundation of Open Government
Accurate, disaggregated, and participatory disability data is the most crucial foundation for open and inclusive governance. Messy data problems keep recurring in the planning of health services, economic empowerment, and the development of citizens' potential.
A representative of the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) DIY described how difficult it is to scout talent among athletes with disabilities in the regions due to the absence of data disaggregated by type of disability and age group. Data collection will never be accurate if it relies only on calculations on paper without directly involving persons with disabilities. Participatory data collection involving classifiers who understand the different types of disability is essential for screening to be well targeted.
From a territorial perspective, a representative of the Wirobrajan Inclusive Kemantren Forum (FKI) observed that socialization of the OGI NAP and the National Action Plan for Persons with Disabilities (RAN PD) remains very limited at the grassroots level. Yet OGI mechanisms could be put to greater use by village governments to promote integrated data collection, including mapping the mobility needs of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) run by persons with disabilities at the local level.
Meanwhile, a representative of the Indonesian Association of Women with Disabilities (HWDI) of Yogyakarta/DIY added that approaches through community leaders and families are crucial. Women with disabilities often face a double burden of domestic roles and finding time for organizational work, making support from their surroundings key to their participation.
Consolidating OGI and National Action Plan-Person with Disability as Advocacy Instruments
To ensure that the idea of open government brings real benefits to citizens, OGI must be connected to the broader disability development agenda, such as the National Action Plan for Persons with Disabilities (RAN PD) 2027–2032 and the Regional Action Plans for Persons with Disabilities (RADPD). Disabled persons' organizations can use OGI mechanisms to oversee seven strategic targets: inclusive data collection and planning; barrier-free environments; protection of political rights and access to justice; individual empowerment and independence; an inclusive economy; improved education and skills; and equitable access to health services.
As the Special Region of Yogyakarta is one of the members of OGP Local, there is a significant opportunity to bring OGI's co-creation practices to the local government level (Bappeda DIY and Yogyakarta City) through development planning deliberation forums (Musrenbang).
Valissa Aulia Rahmi, representing the OGI National Secretariat/Bappenas, affirmed that all input identified in the forum will be followed up and conveyed to the relevant ministries and agencies to improve communication channels and the feedback loop system.
As concrete next steps, the forum agreed on two key agendas. First, to encourage the establishment of an integrated, community-based independent data collection system so that disability data no longer depends on rigid project budgets. Second, to draw on SAPDA's legal expertise to open a community legal clinic that assists persons with disabilities with legal issues such as civil matters, inheritance, divorce, and the protection of basic rights.
This consolidation shows that meaningful participation does not end with involving persons with disabilities in consultation forums. Participation must be translated into access to information, involvement in planning, space to provide input, and feedback mechanisms that allow people to see how their input is followed up. By linking OGI mechanisms with the disability development agenda at the national and regional levels, disabled persons' organizations will have stronger leverage to ensure that public policies truly respond to their needs and experiences.