Source: https://www.onit.com/blog/what-is-a-request-for-proposal-rfp/ | Licensed by CC BY-NC 4.0

Applying to DIKTI or BRIN and waiting six months for a result is not the only research funding model available to a BINUS lecturer. An industry Request for Proposal (RfP) — a formal problem statement submitted by a company to BINUS RTT — can become the funding mechanism for your next full research cycle, often with faster timelines, clearer deliverables, and outcomes that build your Jabatan Fungsional profile more directly than most grant outputs alone.

This matters because the competitive pressure on public research funding is real and documented. BRIN’s RISPRO Komersial scheme — one of Indonesia’s most substantial applied research funding vehicles, offering up to Rp 2 billion per title per year — requires, among other conditions, that the proposed research has already reached TKT (Tingkat Kesiapterapan Teknologi, or Technology Readiness Level) 5 or above, has registered or pending HKI (Hak Kekayaan Intelektual, or Intellectual Property), and has an industry partner who commits a minimum 10% co-funding contribution in cash or in-kind (LPDP, 2024 — RISPRO Komersial Guidelines). This is not a scheme for early-stage ideas. It is designed precisely for researchers who have already built an industry-research relationship. In other words, ISM is not the alternative to a grant — it is what makes you eligible for the biggest ones.

The mechanics work like this. Industry partners who engage with BINUS RTT’s ISM program can submit a Request for Proposal — a structured description of a business challenge they need solved. BINUS RTT then identifies the right multidisciplinary research team to respond. When a match is confirmed and the team is assembled, the collaboration can be formalized through a Perjanjian Kerja Sama (PKS) — a cooperation agreement. That PKS is not just a legal document. It is a recognized external collaboration that carries Angka Kredit value under the research and pengabdian kepada masyarakat components of the Tri Dharma assessment. A contracted industry research project with a PKS provides both the output (research deliverables, HKI) and the evidence of external collaboration — two things a promotion panel reviewing your Lektor Kepala application will look for.

The flow from ISM engagement to full research funding can work in either direction. In the Technology Push track — where you bring an existing product to industry — the PKS or licensing agreement generates revenue and recognized collaboration credit. In the Market Pull track — where industry brings you a problem — you are effectively entering with a co-funder. Neither path requires you to win a competitive government grant before the work begins.

The University of Gadjah Mada (UGM) provides a relevant Indonesian reference point here. Its Direktorat Penelitian has operated a structured industry problem-matching mechanism for over a decade, and by 2023 reported that a significant proportion of its RISPRO Komersial proposals in applied fields had originated from industry problem submissions rather than researcher-led ideas, giving those proposals a built-in industry co-funding commitment from the outset — a requirement LPDP reviewers weigh heavily (UGM Direktorat Penelitian Annual Report, 2023). The competitive advantage of entering a grant process with a proven industry partner already in place is structural, not incidental.

For BINUS lecturers, the practical path is to use ISM not as a standalone activity but as the first stage of a funding pipeline. Engage with BRIDGE: Opportunities to identify open industry RfPs in your research area. If you respond to an RfP and your team is selected, work with RTT to structure the PKS correctly from the beginning — with IP ownership, co-funding terms, and publication rights documented before work begins. If you are on the Technology Push track and have a prototype, PPHK training will help you prepare the business feasibility and commercialization documentation that industry partners — and RISPRO reviewers — need to see.

The government grant is not going away as a goal. But the fastest route to winning one in the applied research category runs directly through an industry relationship you’ve already built.

For a complete overview of how ISM, RfPs, and the BINUS research partnership ecosystem connect, visit the Industry Partnership & Solution Matching page on BINUS RTT.

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