Governance in a village fund program in East Java Indonesia

The Village Fund program is a 'Big Bang' liberalisation policy, issued by the Indonesian government, aimed at helping develop rural areas and empowering local people that have been facing governance challenges. This research aims to analyse and evaluate local peoples' involvement in village governance. We used a mix of research methods to investigate village governance frameworks. Field data was collected by semi-structured interviews of 200 villagers in the East Java district. Participants scored their responses on a qualitative data point scale (1-5). We found indications that poor governance still exists in the Village Fund management program. The main problem is a low level of participation, and lack of transparency, in handling the Village Fund instrument. Therefore, we suggest pragmatic approaches, such as providing incentives for rule compliance and strengthening monitoring mechanisms, to improve good governance practice within Village Fund programs.