Executive Director

Dominggus Elcid Li

Biography: Dr. Dominggus Elcid Li has served as the Executive Director of IRGSC (Institute of Resource Governance and Social Change) since 2013, an Indonesian think tank based in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara Province. His research examines the correlation between subsistent communities and human trafficking. His research focuses on political sociology, focusing on corrupted institutions and the fade away of the State and its relation to subsistent communities. He is also investigating the subsistent community’s problem, particularly the urban poor’s predicaments as they migrant from rural West Timor area. Using action research, he is also developing several urban movements including anti-trafficking movement (2014-2015), urban participatory democracy (2016), and he has also developed the people’s biomolecular laboratory to address problems that people have faced during the pandemic COVID-19 (2020). He graduated in 2013 with a PhD in Sociology from the University of Birmingham.

Selected works:

• Li, D.E. (2020): Children Trafficking in Indonesia: the Defeat of Subsistent Mode of Production from Market Penetration in West Timor. Jurnal Perempuan, September, 2020.
• Li, D.E. (2020): Indonesian Social Justice Index. Book, second author. Jakarta, August 2020.
• Li, D.E. (2020): Republic and Social Injustice: The Tragedy of the Illiterate in Indonesia. Prisma, Vol.39.
• Li, D.E. Ed. (2019): Water Problem Among the Poors on the Border Area of Indonesia and Timor Leste. Book, IRGSC.
• Li, D.E. (2018): Globalisation, the Role of State, and the Rule of Law Crisis: Human Trafficking in the Eastern Part of Indonesia. Book Chapter, ISEAS, 243-264.
• Li, D.E. (2015): Indigenous Land, Global Capitalism, and Church Vision. In: Theology of Land, Makassar. Book Chapter, 227-238.
• Li, D.E./Paul. S./Bernadetha R./Wetangterah L. (2017): Human Trafficking and Corruption in Post Suharto Period ‘within’ Indonesian Border. IRGSC, Working Paper, Kupang.
• Lassa, J./Li, D.E. (2015): Understanding Social Exclusion in Indonesia. Asia Foundation. Link to publication.
• Lassa, J./Li, D.E. (2015): NGO Networks and the Future of NGO Sustainability in Indonesia, NSSC. National NGO Study and Service Centre. DFAT. Link to publication.
• Li, D.E. (2013). Silent Suffering, Historical sociology analysis of the East Timorese in Indonesia after 1999. University of Birmingham, PhD Thesis. https://etheses.bham.ac.uk/id/eprint/5184/1/Li14PhD.pdf

Areas of expertise:

• Human trafficking
• Rural Sociology
• Urban Movement
• Participatory Democracy
• Historical Sociology

Current position(s)

• Director of Nusantara School of Difference
• Member of FKUB Provinsi NTT (Interfaith Dialog Forum in NTT Province)
• Vice Chairperson of Pool Test Bimolecular Public Health Laboratory in NTT Province (Laboratorium Biomolekuler Kesehatan Masyarakat)

Past position(s)

• Indonesian Research Fellow, ASH Center, Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), Harvard University (2014-2015)
• Ford Foundation Fellow in University of Birmingham UK (2006-2008)
• Member of ITP (Peace Bridging Institute or Insititut Titian Perdamaian)
• Contributor for TV7, Metro TV in NTT Province, Indonesia (2004-2005)

Prizes and Awards:

• Harvard Kennedy School Indonesia Program (HKSIP) Indonesian Research Fellow,
• University 21 Fellowship (2009)
• Ford Foundation Fellow (2006-2009)
• ITP (Institut Titian Perdamaian) Fellowship (2004)

Membership and Networks:

• Institut Titian Perdamaian (ITP)
• Forum Academia NTT
• Nusantara School of Difference (NSD)
• CEDAR (Community Engage with Difference and Religion)
• Global Sociology (Indonesia)
• Indonesian Social Justice Network (ISJN)

Researcher

Yohanes V. Lasi Bobo

Biography:  Yohanes Victor Lasi Usbobo is an activist and a social researcher based in Kupang City. She has been involved in activism since college and after graduation she worked with various local, national and international NGOs working on conflict prevention, peace building and community empowerment issues.

He has participated in the Asian Professional Youth Exchange Program sponsored by Fredskorpset (Norek) Norway and was placed at the Shalom Foundation, Myanmar. He traveled to several states to provide training on the Conflict Early Warning and Early Response System and met with military leaders of several ethnic groups.

In 2013 he received a full scholarship from the Australian government and completed his master’s degree in International Development from Flinders University in South Australia.

Upon his return from his studies he joined the IRGSC and was involved in some of the research and evaluation carried out by the IRGSC on its partner institutions. She is interested in issues of conflict prevention and peace building, safe migration and trafficking in persons, indigenous peoples, women’s studies and border studies. The last research conducted was on Political-Economic Analysis in Belu District in collaboration between the Pikul Foundation and USAID – ERAT.

Areas of :

• Conflict prevention and resolution
• Indigenous community
• Early Warning System
• Peace Building
• Political-economy analysis

Current position(s)

• Lead Researcher, IRGSC, Kupang

Membership and Networks:

• Forum Academia NTT

Researcher

Pelipus Libu Heo

Biography: Born and raised in small island of Raijua has given him a first-hand experience of coastal economy as the heart of small island livelihood. With his education background in Fisheries and Coastal Areas Management he focuses his research on sustainable coastal livelihood or blue economy, especially in seaweed production and coastal area conservation. He is aware that coastal area development is not only a single-subject matter but rather interdisciplinary as coastal livelihoods deal also with power and assets control. He is also interested in political-economy analysis in complement to his coastal area studies to understand how political-economy aspects interfere or even shape our current coastal management practices.

Areas of expertise:

• Fisheries and coastal areas management
• Climate risk governance
• Political-economy analysis
• Journalism for change
• Sustainable developments
• Rural area
• Indigenous community

Current position(s)

• Junior researcher
• Project Manager Assistant for Implementation of SIGAP in Savu Island, YKAN partnership with IRGSC

Junior Researcher

Pelipus Pilo Haga

Areas of expertise:

• PRA
• Community Development
• Women Empowerment
• GEDSI
• Law
• Public Policy

Current position(s)

• Researcher

Junior Researcher

Yonatan Wadu

Areas of expertise:

• PRA
• Rural area development
• Indigenous community

Current position(s)

• Junior Researcher

Junior Researcher

Ria Udju

Biography: Ria Udju has focused her study on women empowerment in Savu through life-skill based education. She also enjoys writing about collective memories of women on their local wisdom that has been pass on through generation with oral methods. Aside from her research interest on women empowerment, she also specialized in quantitative data management and analysis.

Areas of expertise:

• Education for sustainable developments
• Women empowerment
• Indigenous community and local wisdom

Current position(s)

• Junior researcher
• Village facilitator for Implementation of SIGAP in Savu Island, YKAN partnership with IRGSC

Junior Researcher

Priska Christine Mystika Manek

Biography: Priska Christine Mystika Manek is a junior researcher at IRGSC since 2019. Engaged in research on human trafficking and active in advocacy and campaigning on human rights issues with IRGSC.

Areas of :

• Human Trafficking
• International Law

Current position(s)

• Junior Researcher, IRGSC, Kupang
• Field Facilitator, IOM, Timor Tengah Utara

Junior Researcher

Stevie Tualaka

Biography: As a plant pathologist, Stevie has focused her study on plant-pathogen interactions, molecular aspects of pathogenicity and disease diagnostics. She is also interested to study environmentally friendly pest and disease control methods. She has experienced identifying pests and diseases in apple and citrus crops in the SouthCentral Timor District, and using biological agents such as Trichoderma sp. to increase plant resistance.

Currently, aside from her interest study on plant protection, she is also focusing on the issue of the availability of seeing seaweed seedlings in Savu Island, due to the decline in genetic quality, by trying to apply the seaweed gene selection method through seaweed spores.

Areas of expertise:

• Plant pathology
• Plant Protection
• Biomoleculer
• Biotechnology

Current position(s)

• Junior researcher
• Village facilitator for Implementation of SIGAP in Savu Island, YKAN partnership with IRGSC

Junior Researcher

Rivan Rade Rihi

Biography: As an agriculture entrepreneur, he aims to develop a business model that can help a fair trade in the supply chain of key commodities in Savu (i.e sopi and seaweed). He aims to utilize his business accounting background to help understand better about challenges faced by SMEs in Savu in order to have a more efficient and equitable value chain. He is also interested in studying about rules of the game within his (indigenous) community, to advocate for a more participatory and inclusive economic development in Savu island.

Areas of expertise:

• SMEs strategic management
• Fair-trade
• Indigenous community and local wisdom
• Dryland farming

Current position(s)

• Junior researcher
• Village facilitator for Implementation of SIGAP in Savu Island, YKAN partnership with IRGSC

Junior Researcher

Nguru Kolo

Biography: Public Administration, especially on the accountability and transparency, is on his research and advocacy interest. Furthermore, his first-hand experience on coastal livelihood especially on seaweed farming, has certainly put his research interest specifically in the field of participatory sustainable development for blue economy. Being born and raised as a part of indigenous community that is faced by constant conflict such as land-grabbing other inclusion issues has encouraged him to do more research on indigenous people, conflict and development.

Areas of expertise:

• Seaweed economy
• Public administration
• Indigenous community

Current position(s)

• Junior researcher
• Village facilitator for Implementation of SIGAP in Savu Island, YKAN