CHALLENGES AND REGIONAL LEGISLATIVE STRATEGIES IN GUIDING COMMUNITY-BASED DEVELOPMENT: A CASE STUDY IN INDONESIA
Keywords:
Regional Legislature, Governance, Public Participation, Community Needs-Based Development, Legislative Strategies
Abstract
Regional legislatures play a crucial role in ensuring that development policies align with the needs of the community. However, within Indonesia’s decentralized governance system, various challenges persist in the legislative process, including weak coordination with the executive branch, low public participation, and limited capacity among legislators to formulate evidence-based policies. This study aims to identify the main challenges faced by legislative bodies in overseeing community-needs-based development and to formulate strategies that can be implemented to improve the effectiveness of regional legislation. This research employs a qualitative approach using a case study method in several regions across Indonesia. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with legislative members, academics, and civil society organizations, and analyzed using thematic analysis techniques. The findings indicate that executive dominance in policy formulation, limited capacity among legislators, and a lack of transparency in the legislative process are the main factors hindering the effectiveness of the legislative role. Recommended strategies include enhancing legislators’ capacity through evidence-based training, strengthening public participation mechanisms through digital platforms, and implementing policy reforms to increase legislative independence in overseeing regional development. The conclusion of this study emphasizes that the success of community-needs-based development depends on the extent to which the legislative body can perform its role transparently, accountably, and participatorily. The results of this research contribute to the literature on local governance and offer practical recommendations for policymakers to improve the effectiveness of regional legislation. Further research is recommended to expand the geographical scope of the study and to explore more deeply the impact of regulations on the implementation of community-needs-based development.
References
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Afrilinda, A., Satmaidi, E., & Iskandar, I. (2022). The Implementation Of Administrative Bureaucracy Reform At Bengkulu Regional Office Of The Ministry Of Law And Human Rights Based On Presidential Regulation Number 81 Of 2010 Concerning The Grand Design Of Bureaucracy Reform Of 2010-2025. Bengkoelen Justice: Jurnal Ilmu Hukum, 12(1), 22–33. https://doi.org/10.33369/j_bengkoelenjust.v12i1.21319
Al'Afghani, M. M., Kohlitz, J., & Willetts, J. (2019). Not built to last: Improving legal and institutional arrangements for community-based water and sanitation service delivery in Indonesia. Water Alternatives. Retrieved from https://www.water-alternatives.org/index.php/alldoc/articles/volume-12/v12issue1/490-a12-1-16/file
Albareda, A., & Fraussen, B. (2023). The representative capacity of interest groups: explaining how issue features shape membership involvement when establishing policy positions. https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/dj54y
Antlöv, H. (2019). Community development and the third wave of decentralisation in Indonesia: The politics of the 2014 village law. Kritisk Etnografi: Swedish Journal of Anthropology. Retrieved from https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1427093/FULLTEXT01.pdf
Bawn, K., Cohen, M., Karol, D., Masket, S. E., Noel, H., & Zaller, J. (2012). A Theory of Political Parties: Groups, Policy Demands and Nominations in American Politics. Perspectives on Politics, 10(03), 571–597. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1537592712001624
Chalmers, A. W., Berkhout, J., Lowery, D., Destrooper, T., Braun, C., & Carroll, B. J. (2016). Legislative Lobbying in Context. The Policy and Polity Determinants of Interest Group Lobbying in the European Union. 22(4), 447–461.https://www.narcis.nl/publication/RecordID/oai%3Ascholarlypublications.universiteitleiden.nl%3Aitem_3198980
Chan, W. K., & Shi, S.-J. (2022). Central coordination, regional competition, and local protectionism: Social decentralisation in China’s long‐term care reform. Social Policy & Administration, 56(6), 956–969. https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.12854
Fajarini, P. F., & Okdinawati, L. (2022). Challenges and the opportunities of community-based innovation in Indonesia. Humaniora Journal. Retrieved from https://journal.binus.ac.id/index.php/Humaniora/article/view/8197
Fernández-i-Marín, X., Knill, C., Steinbacher, C., & Steinebach, Y. (2023). Bureaucratic Quality and the Gap between Implementation Burden and Administrative Capacities. American Political Science Review. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0003055423001090
Guragain, G. P. (2024). Community Engagement in Local Governance. 5(1), 51–60. https://doi.org/10.3126/kv.v5i1.70888
Haryanto, T. (2022). Community contractual networks: Community-based natural resource governance in hotbeds areas using contractual networks theory. Wageningen University & Research. Retrieved from https://library.wur.nl/WebQuery/wurpubs/604919
Jumanne, A. S. (2025). Public Participation Modalities and Framework: A Review of Legislative Processes. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, VIII(XII), 1707–1715. https://doi.org/10.47772/ijriss.2024.8120146
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Kartowijono, K., Yuliantiningsih, A., Sudrajat, T., & Jati, B. K. H. (2023). Community-Based Collaborative Management: Impacts and Challenges of Sea Turtle Conservation on the South Coast of Central Java, Indonesia. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/download/118615126/1Jurnal_Unisulla_Kartono_Q1.pdf
Kopal, K. (2022). Devolution of Decision-Making: Tools and Technologies towards Equitable Place-Based Participation in Planning. IntechOpen eBooks. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.102555
Lukman, A. (2020). Community-based management of the USAT Liberty, Bali, Indonesia: Pathways to sustainable cultural heritage tourism. Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development. Retrieved from https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/jchmsd-05-2019-0053/full/html
Madue, S. M. (2012). Complexities of the oversight role of legislatures. 47(2), 431–442. https://journals.co.za/content/jpad/47/2/EJC127171
Maharjan, B., & Lal, A. C. (n.d.). Reaching the Unreached: Factors Affecting Community Participation in Local Development Project - A case of Taukhel.
McCarthy, J. F., Steenbergen, D. J., & Warren, C. (2017). Community-driven development and structural disadvantage: Interrogating the social turn in development programming in Indonesia. Journal of Development Studies. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00220388.2016.1262024
Mustafaev, B. (2023). Regarding the formation of a development strategy in the conditions of decentralization of economic management in the region. Economics & Education. https://doi.org/10.55439/eced/vol24_iss4/a62
Pattalongi, M. D., Yulianingrum, A. V., & Elviandri, E. (2024). Meaningful Participation in the Formation of Regional Legal Products: An Ideal Model of Local Regulation In the Implementation of Regional Autonomy. Pena Justisia: Media Komunikasi Dan Kajian Hukum (Edisi Elektronik), 23(3), 1910–1922. https://doi.org/10.31941/pj.v23i3.5574
Petunia, T. A., & Selepe, M. (2020). Strengthening policy- and decision-making processes through community participation: A municipal perspective. Africa’s Public Service Delivery and Performance Review, 8(1), 10. https://doi.org/10.4102/APSDPR.V8I1.409
Reid, M. (2012). Managing Central-Local Government Relationships: The Case of New Zealand. Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance, 11, 3–32. https://doi.org/10.5130/CJLG.V0I0.3055
Sewu, L. S., & Basani, C. S. (2024). Issues of legal certainty after the issuance of minister of manpower regulation no. 18 of 2022 on minimum wage determination for 2023. Journal of Advance Research in Social Science and Humanities. https://doi.org/10.61841/phzk3754
Shin, J. H., & Lee, H. (2017). Legislative Voting Behaviour in the Regional Party System: An Analysis of Roll-Call Votes in the South Korean National Assembly, 2000–8. Government and Opposition, 52(3), 437–459. https://doi.org/10.1017/GOV.2015.28
Szoke-Burke, S., Mebratu-Tsegaye, T., & Sommer, W. (2021). Transparency for Whom? Grounding Land Investment Transparency in the Needs of Local Actors. Social Science Research Network. https://doi.org/10.7916/D8-JYAY-7009
Tobing-David, V. E., Adi, I. R., & Nuryana, M. (2024). Conditions of Sustainable Welfare: A Cross-Case Empirical Analysis of 22 Locality-Based Welfare Systems in Decentralised Indonesia. Sustainability. Retrieved from https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/4/1629
Tselios, V., & Rodríguez-Pose, A. (2022). Can decentralization help address poverty and social exclusion in Europe? Territory, Politics, Governance, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/21622671.2022.2098174
Verma, M. S. (2022). Agenda Control in the Indian Parliament and the Impact on its Oversight Function – Analysis and Evidence. 18(1), 23–50. https://doi.org/10.55496/oskr8423
Wetterberg, A., Antlöv, H., & Dharmawan, L. (2016). Village governance, community life, and the 2014 village law in Indonesia. Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00074918.2015.1129047
Wijaya, Y. A., & Ishihara, K. (2018). Evolution of Community-Driven Development Policy and Community Preferences for Rural Development after the Enactment of Village Law 6/2014: A Case Study of Indonesia. Retrieved from https://ritsumei.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=repository_action_common_download&item_id=5210&item_no=1&attribute_id=22&file_no=1
Wulandari, C., & Budiono, P. (2019). Impacts of the New Decentralization Law 23/2014 to the Implementation of Community-Based Forest Management in Lampung Province, Indonesia. Retrieved from https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/285/1/012006/pdf
