From June 26-29, 2007 ICIP in cooperation with the Ford Foundation held a Needs Asessment Workshop for its program on Distance  Learning for Islamic Transformation through Pesantren. This workshop invited prospective pesantren partners and aimed to discuss ICIP's research findings on the state of ICT (information and communications technology) awareness and readiness in pesantren and determine what the main socio-economic and educational issues facing pesantren and their surrounding communities.

The workshop was opened by Dr. Alexander Irwan (Ford Foundation) and Dr. M. Syafi'i Anwar (Executive Director of ICIP). In his opening address Dr. Irwan said that the Ford Foundation was pleased to be assisting this program as it has long considered Islamic organisations to be an important part of Indonesian society. Adding to this, Dr. Anwar said that it was hoped that this program would be able to serve a dual purpose of providing education for those who have dropped out of school as well as establishing pesantren as a center for societal transformation.

In the first session, ICIP assessor Ahmad Fuad Fanani reaffirmed that pesantren can have a positive role in their surrounding communities and society in general. As examples of this, he mentioned the case of pesantren al-Falah in Bogor, which has helped develop the agricultural expertise of the community surrounding it, as well as the fact that many prominent Indonesians are pesantren graduates. On the electronic form of the distance education proposed by this program, Mr. Fanani said that it was well suited to pesantren, as it allowed a long time for study of materials, and that this proces itself (working with technology) would also serve to aid the pesantren's future development.

Dr. Undang Sumantri from the Ministry of Religious Affairs also believed that pesantren had much to gain from a program such as this. The Open and Distance Learning (ODL) model allowed participants to gain greater access to education despite geographical limitations, diversify educational bodies and increase life skills. However in order to do this, pesantren will need to raise people's awareness regarding technology, ensure sustainability of the program and gain support from wider society.

In the session on life skills, M. Shofan (ICIP assessor) argued that pesantren need to improve the teaching methods used in their educational system. Rather than treating the students as objects of education who know nothing, they must be encouraged to take a more active role in their education. One of the programs being undertaken to address this is the Wajar Diknas program for formal education and life skills for non-formal education. These programs however require solid support from both the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Religious Affairs in order to ensure they continue to operate effectively.

Ir. Teguh Imanto from the Directorate-General of Education outside of Schools said that such cooperation is already in effect with a Memorandum of Understanding (No. 19/E/MS/2004) which stated that the management of equivalent education is in the hands of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, while the content of material was the domain of the Ministry of Education. The target of this program is pesantren, in the hope that equivalent education programs will not only be able to help santri to enhance their knowledge, functional skills and provide them with a certificate so that they can go on to higher education, but also to reach those who did not enjoy a formal educaiton in the wider community. The main advantage of this kind of program is that it can be done outside of the traditional learning routine of students, in any place without rigid guidelines.

In the third session on Pesantren and ICT infrastructure, Radjimo Sastro Wijono (ICIP assessor) said that there are three elements in conducting ICT based education in pesantren: content, communication and computers. In terms of learning style, interactive and non-interactive can be found in pesantren. In terms of ICT infrastructure, seven out of eight pesantren in his assessing region were equipped with infrastructure, though the quality and quantity of this varied. What has not been revealed however is the reason why ICT facilities are limited in pesantren and also whether or not it has become a priority in pesantren.

R. Anton Rahardja, an expert on ICT development, said that pesantren needed to develop ICT as a part of national education. If they were able to do this, they would be able to increase the effectiveness of education in pesantren. This is because ICT has several advantages in education, including accelerating information and data services, creating a transparent and accountable culture, is an efficient media for promotion, increases global communication and allows access to learning materials from around the world.

In the final session, ICIP assessor Windy Triana said that human resources for, and understanding of, ICT remained limited in pesantren. In fact, most people in pesantren were only at the level of 'basic knowledge' of ICT.  She said that some factors that influence the quality and quantity of pesantren human resources are: 1. educational background of the teachers and staff of the pesantren; 2. quantity and quality of ICT infrastructure; 3. access to ICT; 4. the need of pesantren communities for ICT. She said what needs to be prepared are: 1. mastery of ICT; 2. positive perceptions towards technology; 3. a change of learning methods.

In addition, Ms. Dewi Meiriza said that there are several factors that need to be prepared in terms of provider: 1. CT specialist (LMS developer, multimedia developer, LMS administrator and infrastructure administrator); 2. Subject matter expert; 3. Instruction Designer; 4. LMS administrator and maintainer; and 5. Facilitator. She said for the focal point (user) there are several factors that need to be mastered: 1. Institution management; 2. ICT specialist (who can maintain computers, both their hardware and software, understand configuration and troubleshooting, master client-server concept); 3. teacher and facilitator.

Throughout the workshop participants also took part in group discussions based on their own experiences in their respective pesantren. Among the reccommendations put forth, the participants hoped that they would receive constant support from ICIP as well as assistance from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Religious Affairs to ensure that the program runs effectively. However they also realised that steps would need to be taken by pesantren throughout the program to ensure its sustainability after the 3-year period is complete and pesantren are then required to handle the system themselves. They also discussed the management of possible negative effects of the installation of this system, including potential resistance from some members of the community as well as the need to monitor the flow of information to ensure that inappropriate materials are not being accessed by students.

Mr. Syafiq Hasyim (Deputy Director of ICIP) closed the workshop by saying that he hoped that pesantren would not only focus on using the program to ensure their students receive an equivalent educaiton certificate, but also to promote life skills in the pesantren and surrounding community. In addition he hoped that pesantren would be able to form cooperative agreements with their respective local governments to ensure sustainability of the program beyond the 3 year period.

A follow up workshop to this is scheduled to be held in early August 2007.