Latest Articles
Original Research Article
ABSTRACT
This study examines how budget-planning policy is implemented at the Secretariat of the Papuan People's Assembly (Majelis Rakyat Papua, MRP) in South Papua Province and how that planning supports the Assembly's oversight of the Papuan Special Autonomy Fund. Using George C. Edwards III's implementation model (communication, resources, disposition, and bureaucratic structure) as the analytical lens, the study adopted a qualitative descriptive case design drawing on in-depth interviews with five purposively selected informants, field observation, and analysis of the Secretariat's 2025 and 2026 Budget Implementation Documents (DPA). Planning was procedurally compliant, anchored in a layered regulatory hierarchy and executed through formal coordination forums. Substantively, however, the budget fell by about 48% between 2025 and 2026, the dedicated programme supporting the MRP's mandated tasks (Rp6.14 billion in 2025) disappeared from the 2026 DPA, personnel spending rose to 48.5% of the total, and logistics and protocol items expanded sharply. Rigid price standards, information-system constraints, late approvals, staff multitasking, and rented premises compounded these shifts. The findings reveal a decoupling between procedural compliance and oversight capacity, suggesting that Edwards III's variables should be read through the budget as revealed priority. Ring-fenced oversight lines and performance indicators are recommended.
Original Research Article
ABSTRACT
Bureaucratic simplification is a key agenda item for public sector reform in Indonesia, but reducing hierarchical layers does not necessarily automatically transform the way government organizations operate. This study aims to analyze how structural simplification translates into a team-based work system in local government and to identify organizational conditions that support and hinder this transformation process. The study employed a descriptive qualitative approach in the Organizational Section of the Regional Secretariat of Magetan Regency, Indonesia. Data were obtained through in-depth interviews with seven purposively selected informants—the Head of the Organizational Section, three Team Leaders, and three implementing staff—and supplemented by direct observation and document analysis. The analysis employed Grindle's policy implementation framework and Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña's interactive model. The results indicate that structural simplification has encouraged more flexible coordination, competency-based task allocation, and more decentralized operational decision-making. However, the transformation of the work system has not been fully achieved because team-based practices still coexist with a hierarchical work culture, unequal managerial capacity among Team Leaders, overlapping assignments, and relatively rigid administrative and budgetary mechanisms. This study concludes that structural simplification is a supporting condition, but not sufficient, to produce work system transformation and organizational agility. Effective transformation requires coordinative leadership, cultural adaptation, workload management, and alignment of administrative systems.
Original Research Article
ABSTRACT
Indonesia's Presidential Regulation No. 46 of 2025 pushes public procurement toward fully electronic, end-to-end processes, yet little is known about how this mandate is enacted in remote regencies. This study examines the implementation of procurement digitalisation through e-procurement at the Goods and Services Procurement Management Unit (UPPBJ) of West Kutai Regency, East Kalimantan, and identifies its supporting and inhibiting factors. Using a qualitative descriptive design guided by George C. Edwards III's implementation model, data were gathered through in-depth interviews with six key informants, observation, and documentation, and analysed with the Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña interactive model. Communication, disposition, and bureaucratic structure function well: outreach and technical guidance are continuous, officials are certified and committed, and the platform itself encodes procedures and deadlines. The persistent weaknesses lie in resources the unit does not own, namely internet connectivity, server stability, national data-centre continuity, and suppliers' digital readiness. We argue that e-procurement disciplines the bureaucracy from within while exposing it to infrastructural fragility from outside, a tension that sharpens at system-enforced submission deadlines. The study proposes distinguishing owned from borrowed capacity within Edwards' resource dimension and recommends connectivity redundancy and explicit contingency protocols.
Original Research Article
ABSTRACT
Merit-based civil service recruitment is an important instrument for building a professional, objective, transparent, and accountable bureaucracy. However, its implementation at the local government level still faces institutional, technological, and accessibility challenges. This study aims to analyze the implementation of the merit system in the recruitment of State Civil Apparatus Candidates (CASN) in the West Kutai Regency Government based on PermenPANRB Number 6 of 2024 and identify supporting and inhibiting factors for its implementation. The study used a descriptive qualitative approach with the Van Meter and Van Horn policy implementation framework. Data were obtained through semi-structured interviews with 17 informants consisting of committee/implementers, successful and unsuccessful participants, and supported by documentation. Data were analyzed through coding, categorization, theme development, and thematic interpretation. The results show that the merit system has been implemented through needs planning based on Job Analysis and Workload Analysis, SSCASN, CAT BKN, value transparency, and determination of graduation based on scores and rankings. Implementation is supported by clear regulations, implementer competence, budget support, inter-agency coordination, and a digital system. However, limited local CAT facilities, distance to test locations, travel costs, uneven internet access, and varying quality of information services remain obstacles. Research concludes that the success of merit-based recruitment is determined not only by procedural objectivity but also by the institution's ability to provide equitable access throughout the recruitment process.
Original Research Article
ABSTRACT
Achieving universal health coverage through the National Health Insurance (JKN) program depends not only on expanding enrollment but also on the quality of policy implementation at the local level. The Premium Assistance Program (PBI) is designed to ensure health protection for the poor and vulnerable, yet its implementation still faces various administrative and institutional challenges. This study aims to analyze gaps in the implementation of the PBI-JKN program in Kelapa Lima Village, Merauke District, using the four dimensions of implementation proposed by Edwards III: communication, resources, disposition, and bureaucratic structure. The study employed a qualitative descriptive approach with six institutionally-based informants selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, observations, and documentation, and were subsequently analyzed through data organization, coding, the development of categories and themes, and triangulation. The results indicate that the PBI-JKN program is operational at the local level but has not yet been fully optimized. Gaps primarily arise in the speed and consistency of information, updating beneficiary data, technical capabilities, administrative completeness, limitations on authority, and interagency coordination. The disposition of implementers is relatively supportive; however, this commitment has not yet been fully able to overcome the system’s limitations. Across all dimensions, data governance and interagency coordination are critical mechanisms that influence the accuracy of targeting and the responsiveness of services. This study concludes that strengthening the implementation of PBI-JKN requires data integration, improved technical capacity, clearer communication, and more responsive interagency coordination mechanisms.
Original Research Article
ABSTRACT
This qualitative study examines the implementation of complaint-handling and whistleblower-protection policy at the Regional Inspectorate of West Kutai Regency, Indonesia, as mandated by Regent Regulation Number 27 of 2024. Using a descriptive qualitative design grounded in George C. Edwards III's policy implementation model, data were collected through in-depth interviews, field observation, and documentation, then analyzed through data condensation, display, and conclusion drawing and verification, with credibility strengthened by source and method triangulation. Findings show that internal communication of the regulation is well institutionalized, whereas external outreach to remote communities remains fragmented and limited. Human and budgetary resources are nominally adequate but constrained by heavy auditor workloads and the absence of an integrated digital complaint system. Implementers display strong professional integrity and neutrality, yet show weak proactive follow-up in reporting case status to complainants. The rigid, hierarchical bureaucratic structure safeguards procedural legality but slows resolution speed. Persistent geographic barriers and lingering public doubt over identity confidentiality further hinder policy effectiveness. The study recommends developing an integrated digital reporting platform, intensifying grassroots oversight literacy campaigns, and simplifying disposition procedures through binding service-level agreements to strengthen public trust and whistleblower protection.
Original Research Article
ABSTRACT
This study aims to analyze the implementation of Presidential Regulation Number 44 of 2017 through cross-agency coordination at the Yetetkun Cross-Border Post (PLBN), Boven Digoel Regency, South Papua Province. PLBN Yetetkun has a strategic position as a service and supervision hub for the Indonesia-Papua New Guinea cross-border, involving various agencies with different functions and authorities. This study uses a qualitative approach with a case study design. Data were obtained through in-depth interviews, observations, and documentation of PLBN managers, technical agencies, local governments, and border communities. Data analysis used the interactive model of Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña, which includes data condensation, data presentation, and drawing and verifying conclusions. The main analysis used the Edwards III policy implementation model, which includes communication, resources, disposition, and bureaucratic structure. The results show that cross-agency coordination at PLBN Yetetkun has been running through operational communication, information exchange, division of tasks, and the implementation of relatively clear service procedures. Commitment of implementers and harmonious working relationships are supporting factors for implementation. However, obstacles remain, including limited personnel, unstable communication networks, limited facilities, geographical conditions, the absence of permanent police personnel, and suboptimal formal coordination. The study concluded that the effectiveness of policy implementation at the Yetetkun PLBN depends heavily on the ability to integrate communication, resources, implementer commitment, and institutional structure into ongoing operational coordination.