Vol. 18 No. 2 (2026)

Unstructured, narrative-based addressing systems in many developing countries fragment spatial data management and hinder effective urban governance. Although Indonesia has formally established a national standard for urban and rural addressing (SNI 9037:2021), implementation remains limited, resulting in inconsistent, non-geocoded, and non-interoperable address records. Strengthening address standardization is therefore essential to improve public service delivery, spatial data integration, and national data interoperability. This study proposes a web-based address information system designed as a transitional mechanism to support the gradual implementation of standardized addressing without immediately eliminating locally embedded address practices. Using Mantrijeron subdistrict in Yogyakarta City as a case study, we develop a dual-schema geospatial database and a hybrid search mechanism that link existing community-based addresses to standardized formats. The results show that the system maps descriptive local address queries to standardized, spatially referenced building records. The transitional dual-system model allows local governments to promote address standardization while maintaining operational usability during the transition period. A usability evaluation indicates strong user acceptance among initial users, although readiness for broader implementation remains to be established. We conclude that effective address standardization in developing contexts may benefit from adaptive and inclusive digital strategies. Rather than imposing abrupt top-down reforms, transitional information systems can facilitate gradual compliance with national standards while strengthening urban governance and supporting the One Data Indonesia framework.

Since the Regulation of the Minister of Home Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia No. 70 of 2019 required all regional governments to adopt the Regional Government Information System (SIPD), the system has been expected to be fully integrated into planning, budgeting, and reporting at every regional agency. In practice, an obligation on paper has not automatically been matched by readiness in the field. In Gorontalo province, SIPD administrators across various regional agencies still contend with a range of problems, from uneven technical understanding to institutional support that varies markedly across agencies. This study analyzes three factors thought to affect the effectiveness of SIPD implementation: organizational commitment and support, human resource capacity, and technology readiness. Data were collected from 125 SIPD administrators across regional agencies throughout Gorontalo province through a questionnaire and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Human resource capacity emerged as the most decisive factor. Organizational commitment and support ranked second, because even the best system requires consistent institutional backing rather than the competence of individual users alone. Technology readiness showed a positive but statistically non-significant association, most likely because technological infrastructure in Gorontalo is already relatively adequate. In other words, the current barriers to SIPD implementation are no longer about devices or networks but about people and organizational governance.

This study identifies the contribution of the Future City Hub (FCH) to the Jakarta–Berlin sister city partnership, evaluates its role in Jakarta’s startup ecosystem, and proposes a model of sustainable governance. Using a descriptive qualitative design, we conducted a content analysis of primary, secondary, and tertiary sources. The findings suggest that globalization has shifted the dynamics of international relations, allowing local governments to act in the international arena through paradiplomacy. The Jakarta–Berlin partnership is one such arrangement, operating as an urban living lab that brings together academia, government, industry, and the public to foster innovation. Although the ecosystem surrounding the FCH has faced challenges since European Union funding ended, its host institution, the Jakarta Smart City Management Unit, has been designated a technical implementation unit operating under the regional public service agency financial management pattern, an arrangement that affords greater flexibility in financial management. The findings further indicate that the FCH has supported improvements in the quality of Jakarta’s startups by facilitating knowledge and technology transfer from Berlin. Through this model of paradiplomacy, the FCH may offer a reference point for other cities pursuing international collaboration to drive innovation in support of sustainable regional development. The study is intended to contribute to the development of policies that sustain the startup ecosystem in Jakarta.

The expansion of extractive development has intensified environmental conflicts in many indigenous communities, particularly where economic interests threaten ecological sustainability and local living spaces. The resistance of Samin women in the North Kendeng Mountains, Central Java, represents a significant environmental movement in which women have actively challenged cement industrialization and limestone mining. This study analyzes how Samin women construct ecological resistance by integrating the perspectives of ecofeminism, new social movement theory, and environmental justice. Using a qualitative case study approach, we collected data through in-depth interviews with key actors in the movement, field observations, and document analysis covering government regulations, environmental assessments, legal documents, and media reports. The findings indicate that the Samin women’s movement emerged in response to environmental injustice arising from extractive development that threatened water resources, agricultural livelihoods, and cultural sustainability. Through the philosophy of Ibu Bumi [Mother Earth], women transformed ecological knowledge and cultural values into political agency. Their resistance developed through symbolic actions, legal advocacy, and collective networks involving local communities, civil society organizations, academics, and broader environmental movements. This study argues that the Samin women’s movement is not merely opposition to cement plant development but represents a multidimensional struggle for ecological justice, cultural identity, and the protection of community living spaces.

The merit system is central to Indonesia’s bureaucratic reform agenda, which seeks professional, objective, and competency-based civil service governance. The assessment center is among the principal instruments developed to support it, yet many local governments still struggle to ensure that assessment results actually inform personnel decisions. This study analyzes the relationship between assessment center implementation and the utilization of assessment results in strengthening the civil service merit system in the Palembang City Government, and formulates a governance model integrating the two. A qualitative multi-case design was used. The first case examined assessment center implementation at the Palembang City Civil Service and Human Resources Development Agency; the second examined the utilization of assessment results. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, observation, and documentary analysis of regulations, official reports, and institutional records, and their credibility was established through source triangulation. The data were analyzed using thematic cross-case synthesis. The findings indicate that assessment center implementation is supported by institutional arrangements, regulations, and relatively adequate assessment mechanisms, but that assessment results are not yet fully utilized in personnel decision-making, resulting in a gap between the institutional capacity of the assessment center and the utilization of its outputs within the merit system. The study proposes an integrated assessment governance model comprising institutional capacity, competency intelligence, governance integration, and merit system strengthening, and offers it as a reference for competency-based talent management policy and for sustaining merit system implementation at the local level.

This study evaluates the effectiveness of super-app-based digital governance, focusing on Jakarta Kini (JAKI) as an integrated public-service platform. Despite the proliferation of over 27,000 government applications in Indonesia, which has produced systemic inefficiencies and fragmented services, comprehensive evaluations linking digital-service performance, bureaucratic integration, and public well-being remain limited in the academic literature. This research addresses that gap by analyzing the interrelationships among digital-service quality—system, information, and service quality—user satisfaction, and public well-being, while considering the role of bureaucratic integration within the JAKI ecosystem. Employing a secondary data analysis method, the study synthesizes information from the JAKI service database, official government documents, media reports, and scientific publications to identify institutional patterns and dynamics of digital governance. The findings indicate that system, information, and service quality are associated with user satisfaction, which in turn relates to public well-being, as measured by perception, participation, and acceptability. However, bureaucratic fragmentation, regulatory inconsistencies, and the absence of a unified governance framework emerge as significant impediments to optimizing digital-service integration. These insights underscore that effective digital services require robust institutional alignment and coherent governance. Theoretically, the study integrates the information systems success model with a well-being approach to digital governance, underscoring the importance of coherent policy, cross-sectoral governance harmonization, and inclusive digital literacy to maximize the impact of digital public services.

The phenomenon of qualification mismatch among vocational high school graduates in Batam represents a paradox in the context of the free trade zone (FTZ), which demands skilled technical workers. This study evaluates the quality of vocational education policy and the relevance of vocational high school curricula to industry needs in Batam using an integrative secondary research mixed-methods approach. Administrative data from national and local agencies covering statistics, education, manpower, and professional certification were analyzed through six proxy variables (X1–X6) to construct the Vocational Education Readiness Index (IKPV). The IKPV stands at 0.787, placing it in the optimal category, yet a structural paradox emerges: the Participation dimension achieves a perfect score (1.000) while the Acceptability dimension reaches only 0.559. Only 39.86% of vocational high school graduates are employed in relevant industry sectors, while 52.58% experience vertical mismatch. Three core failures are identified: signaling, curriculum, and regulatory failures. The study recommends evidence-based policy reform—regional regulations compelling industries operating in the FTZ to engage in the vocational education ecosystem, mandatory synchronization of vocational curricula with national competency standards, and a universal competency certification system aligned with industry.

The Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program requires an effective food safety assurance system to prevent contamination and foodborne disease throughout all stages of food service operations. This study analyzed the implementation of the Hygiene and Sanitation Eligibility Certificate (SLHS) and operational supervision in ensuring food safety within the MBG program and developed an integrated food safety assurance model (IFSAM). Seven informants were selected by purposive sampling based on their involvement in the program: a representative of the Palembang City Health Office, a sanitarian, a Nutrition Fulfillment Service Unit manager, a food handler, an MBG program supervisor, a school principal, and the head of the National Nutrition Agency office serving South Sumatra province. Data were analyzed thematically, with source and method triangulation to establish the trustworthiness of the findings. The results indicate that the SLHS serves as a system readiness mechanism by ensuring the preparedness of food service providers through compliance with hygiene and sanitation standards, while operational supervision functions as an implementation compliance mechanism that maintains the consistent application of standards throughout food production, distribution, and serving. The study also identified several challenges, including suboptimal risk-based monitoring, limited supervisory resources, insufficiently integrated cross-sectoral coordination, and as yet unsystematic feedback and follow-up mechanisms, potentially affecting the effectiveness of food safety assurance. The IFSAM integrates certification, operational supervision, cross-sectoral coordination, feedback mechanisms, and continuous improvement as a conceptual framework for food safety assurance in the MBG program.

Bureaucratic simplification in Indonesia was introduced to reduce hierarchical layers and promote a more agile, professional, and performance-oriented public administration; however, structural reform does not automatically transform deeply embedded bureaucratic cultures and work practices. This study examines the characteristics of bureaucratic culture following bureaucratic simplification and explains the factors underlying resistance to change within the Tangerang Regency Government. A qualitative phenomenological design was employed through in-depth semi-structured interviews, limited observations, and document analysis involving officials directly affected by position equalization and those responsible for its implementation. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis supported by NVivo 14 through systematic coding, categorization, theme development, and interpretation. The findings reveal five interrelated dimensions: hierarchical culture and decision centralization, administrative–digital accountability culture, structural–functional transitional culture, functional work culture, and resistance to change. Resistance emerged as the dominant theme, reflected in role ambiguity, career uncertainty, competency gaps, passive resistance, and defensive adaptation. Although team-based work, multitasking, data-driven coordination, service responsiveness, and professionalization have begun to develop, these practices remain constrained by hierarchical authority, dependence on formal directives, and structurally oriented work identities. This study conceptualizes post-simplification bureaucracy as a hybrid transitional culture in which emerging functional practices coexist with persistent structural norms, while resistance signals unresolved tensions surrounding authority, occupational identity, competence, career certainty, and organizational support. Effective bureaucratic simplification therefore requires sustained change management, clear role and career arrangements, competency development, empowered team leadership, and institutionalized team-based work systems.

Institutional differences between rural villages and urban villages may generate distinct governance strengths, although their implications for overall performance remain unclear. This study compares multidimensional governance performance between 28 rural villages selected through simple random sampling and all 28 urban villages in Tangerang regency, Indonesia. Administrative data covering 16 indicators across six governance dimensions were analyzed using Welch’s independent-samples t test, with Mann–Whitney U and permutation tests as robustness checks. Urban villages performed significantly better in accountability (t = 3.887, p < .001, d = 1.04), efficiency (t = 2.195, p = .033, d = 0.59), and institutional capacity (t = 2.424, p = .019, d = 0.65), whereas rural villages achieved higher participation (t = −3.528, p = .001, d = −0.94). No significant differences emerged in effectiveness, transparency, the governance performance index (t = 1.464, p = .150), or the total indicator score (t = 1.436, p = .157). These findings indicate that institutional design is associated with dimension-specific capabilities rather than with overall performance superiority. Reform in Tangerang regency may therefore be better targeted by dimension than through uniform aggregate targets—strengthening administrative accountability, resource efficiency, and institutional capacity in rural villages while expanding substantive citizen participation in urban villages.

The operationalization of state obligations in business and human rights does not follow a single uniform pattern. National action plans (NAPs) are widely used to operationalize the state duty to protect under the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). Formal adoption alone, however, cannot explain changes in national governance when policy instruments are renewed, strengthened, discontinued, or replaced. This study analyzes policy trajectories across seven NAP-adopting jurisdictions—the Netherlands, Colombia, Germany, Chile, Kenya, Thailand, and Japan—treating South Africa as a negative case and Indonesia as a deviant case of instrument substitution. It applies a normative-comparative legal approach, functional equivalence, document-based policy trajectory analysis, and directed content analysis to reconstruct changes in instruments, institutional ownership, monitoring, review, and participation, based on evidence verified through 30 June 2026. The findings indicate non-linear trajectories: iterative institutionalization, regulatory hardening, renewal lapse, incremental formalization, non-NAP pathway, and instrument substitution. From these trajectories, five analytical governance conditions are reconstructed: the primacy of functional substance over documentary status; continuity of institutional ownership; testability through measurable commitments, monitoring, and review; traceable meaningful participation; and a component-sensitive reading of resource constraints. Indonesia suggests that replacing an instrument can strengthen formal authority and governmental coordination while also shifting institutional ownership and participatory continuity. The article positions policy trajectory and instrument substitution as auditable analytical categories, moving the assessment of business and human rights governance beyond the mere existence of a document or the ranking of NAP performance.

In the era of globalization and decentralization, subnational governments increasingly participate in international relations through paradiplomacy, employing soft power to promote local identities and support national foreign policy. This study investigates the paradiplomatic strategies of West Java province, Indonesia, emphasizing cultural and religious branding as soft power instruments. Using a qualitative descriptive approach, the research relies on semi-structured interviews with officials of the Bureau of Government and Regional Autonomy, supplemented by policy documents, program reports, and secondary data. Findings indicate that West Java promotes local assets such as coffee and batik in international forums, while advancing religious branding through the English for Ulama program, developed in partnership with the British Council, which trains ulama, including women, for international dialogues on moderate Indonesian Islam. Supported by collaborations with Japan, South Korea, China, Australia, and the United Kingdom in capacity building, creative economy, and sustainable technology, these initiatives appear to enhance provincial visibility and to contribute to Indonesia’s public diplomacy by projecting tolerance, cultural richness, and progressive inclusivity. This research enriches the subnational diplomacy literature by underscoring the underexplored role of religious soft power and gender-inclusive engagement in developing contexts.