Mr Muba Simanihuruk is a recognized expert in the field of social development and indigenous people research with experience in identifying Social Safeguards requirements, conduct assessments or studies pertaining to village governance, community social dynamics, political structures, and indigenous people perception, and cultural heritage. He is also well-versed on many social and environmental safeguard requirements. He has a Master’s degree in Sociology with over 20 years of experience in the social sector. He has more than 10 years of experience in social development and safeguarding projects. He is well aware of the various nuances which exist within the vast collection of cultural heritages in Indonesia, including those belonging to indigenous peoples. He has conducted numerous projects taking into consideration various social sensitive issues and carried out participatory rural appraisal as well as participatory poverty assessments designed for community development and wellbeing. He has also independently handled Social Impact Assessment and Safeguarding projects for various international and national organizations, as well as the national and sub-national governments in Indonesia, including USAID, JICA, OXFAM-GB and other international funding agencies. In these projects his main responsibilities include site visits, preparation of documents, identifying the project affected people and project related impact on them, public consultation, in-depth report writing, direct social assessments, as well as advocacy work.

Mr. Muba Simanihuruk is a senior researcher at Resilience Development Initiative (RDI) focused on Children Social Welfare and Health.