Village Resource and Rural Infrastructure Study 2008-2009: Wave 3 (Indonesia)

Abstract

Survey VRRI (Village Resource and Rural Infrastructure) is a study that aims to understand the ability and willingness of villagers in poor villages to provide the resources to maintain the infrastructure of the village. In this regard, the study will obtain a profile of total net income of a poor village in throughout a year by conducting a survey at both village and household levels.
Village net income profile aims to inform policy makers about the characteristics of village's ability to pay for the maintenance of existing (and future) infrastructure projects and do the costing models for infrastructure maintenance.

By collecting a total net income of villages, it seeks answers to the following research questions: i) Are villagers in poor villages able to finance the cost to maintain their priority infrastructures on their own? ii) If they do, are villagers willing to use the available resources for infrastructure maintenance?
Or, in other words, to what extent do different villagers (within as well as between villages) value existing infrastructures? To that end, the study will collect information on income, the various (positive and negative) risks and shocks faced by poor villages, and the various mechanisms used by households to cope with such risks and shocks; and estimate (through a simulation) the total cost that must be borne by the district for the maintenance of infrastructures that they consider priorities.

There are 2 components of field survey for the study:
(a) Village Survey, consists of panel survey of household and village financial. For the household survey, the survey instrument is mainly focused on questions about assets, income, expenditure, and household demographic characteristics. All household will be examined for a year in 4 rounds (every 3 months). For the village financial survey, the data about income, expenditure, assets, village general characteristics, and village dynamics will be periodically examined.

(b) Infrastructure Survey will perform technical calculations of the cost that would be required to maintain the infrastructure of the village as well. Maintenance costs include routine and periodic maintenance and only covers the cost of maintenance is regulated by the village. Costs should reflect the cost of maintenance for the facilities that have sustainable design (ideal) which may be different from existing designs in the village. Infrastructure Survey will be conducted only once a year.

The types of infrastructure that are included in this survey are roads, bridges, and clean water supply facilities.