SurveyMETER conducted an independent study on the progress of the elderly-friendly cities policy in 14 municipalities in Indonesia. It is intended to obtain a decent picture of the development of elderly-friendly city policies after the 2013 Elderly Friendly City Assessment Study was carried out then followed up with the dissemination of study results from 2013 to the end of 2016. In detail, the objectives of the study are as follows:

• Understanding the elderly-friendly city advocacy activities from any institution that is carried out in the city as well as the interaction of these advocacy agencies with the city government (policymakers) either through media campaigns (TV, radio, bulletin boards, brochures, and so on).
• Seeing the extent to which the city government takes sides in realizing an elderly-friendly city through the existence of local regulations, community services, and other initiatives that have been carried out.
• Identifying whether or not there is a government initiative in realizing an elderly-friendly city in collaboration with policymakers, NGOs, the private sector, media, and the general public to produce public declarations, policy commitments/plans, regional regulations, budget allocations, and policy implementation.

The study was conducted in 14 municipalities namely Medan (North Sumatra); Payakumbuh (West Sumatra); DKI Jakarta; Depok, Bandung (West Java); Yogyakarta (Yogyakarta Special Region); Surakarta, Semarang (Central Java); Surabaya, Malang (East Java); Denpasar (Bali); Makassar (South Sulawesi); Balikpapan (East Kalimantan); and Mataram (West Nusa Tenggara).

The study was conducted implementing a qualitative method (in-depth interview) which then be strengthened by analysis of related documents, media publications, and field observations. Informants are policymakers in the offices and institutions related to the elderly policy program in the 14 sample cities, Including Mayor/Deputy Mayor, Bappeda, Health Service, Social Service, Spatial/Region Planning Service, Regional Elderly Commission, NGO for Elderly, and the general public.

Overall, the field data collecting process was carried out from April to May 2017. However, preparation of the desk study in the form of news and publications searches related to the progress of elderly-friendly city policies in all municipalities targets commenced in February 2017. Moreover, the field data collection in Balikpapan, Denpasar, and DKI Jakarta was carried out from December 2016 to February 2017 then packaged in a public policy and the costs-benefits study towards an elderly-friendly city. Some overviews of the study implementation in every city are presented in a separate article. (JF)