The STEPPES Project (Strengthening Planning and Management Capabilities in the Educational Sector) is a 4-year staff training effort of the Bureau of Planning in Indonesia's Ministry of Education and Culture. The project's overall objective is to achieve an effective capacity at the provincial level for planning and managing educational policies and programs that meet each province's specific needs in accordance with nationally defined education objectives. The project provides district and provincial staff with inservice training in subject areas supporting improvement in educational planning and management effectiveness through shared decision-making. The STEPPES training program emphasizes four objectives: (1) a clearly defined concept of bottom-up planning; (2) a simple, practical implementation mechanism; (3) an accurate and smooth information flow; and (4) motivated staff confident of their important decision-making role. The project was based on several assumptions: relevance, active learning, uniformity and diversity, teacher role, and evaluation and feedback. Training policies and steps are briefly summarized. The section of the report titled "Experiences" details program strengths and areas needing improvement. The importance of matching program objectives to adult learning principles is emphasized throughout. (Eight references) (MLH)