Collaborative Governance in the Development of Digital Villages in Karanganyar Indonesia

Abstract

Digital villages are important as one of the right solutions for increasing community participation and being more effective in the application of information and communication technology in village life. However, there are still digitalization problems in villages related to poor data quality and limited information on village potentials to reduce the quality of information services to the community and other related parties. The lack of intensive cooperation between the government, village communities, and the private sector is the main cause of this problem. This study aims to explore the impact of collaborative governance on supporting the development of a digital village in Karanganyar Indonesia. The main sources of data in this study were obtained from in-depth interviews, FGDs, and relevant secondary data. The results of the study indicate that the development of digital villages has led to an increase in the capacity of hardware and various application systems so that they can provide varied information services and serve as a medium for improving the community’s economy. In addition to mutual agreement in overcoming problems, making the right decisions, collaboration, and collective learning, the capacity and commitment of the village head are also important triggers for the achievement and reputation of digitalization in Karanganyar village. The practical implications of this study recommend flexibility in implementing central government policies and provide wider space for creativity and innovation to village officials according to their capabilities in developing digitalization of services and various potentials in the village. This research also offers further studies related to collaboration procedures and mechanisms to accelerate the digital villages development.
 Keywords: collaborative governance, development, digitalization, village