Author: Nurma Fitrianingrum, Project Officer for Program Review Tifa Foundation
Editor: Brigita Rumung, Knowledge Management & Comms Officer Tifa Foundation
A report on the pilot implementation of the district-level Program Review in Bantul Regency, Yogyakarta on June 27, 2023.
Tifa Foundation, Japan Initiative, and Atmawidya Alterasi Indonesia have piloted the Program Review in Bantul District. This activity marks the achievement of implementing the Program Review agenda at the district level, since it was piloted in mid-2021 from the village level. In the Program Review pilot in Bantul Regency, 2 programs were selected for evaluation, including Tax Award and installation and maintenance of public street lighting.
Pajak Award is one of the flagship programs of the Regional Revenue and Asset Financial Management Agency which has been implemented since 2017 to give appreciation to taxpayers and institutions that help collect taxes, such as kalurahan (village) and kapanewon (sub-district) for the achievement of tax payment and collection. As a district in the top 5 nationally for the highest number of accidents, the public street lighting installation and maintenance program should also be evaluated. This program is routinely implemented by the Transportation Agency of Bantul Regency.
The event was attended by 31 community representatives who were members of the assessment community, as well as evaluators from bureaucrats, entrepreneurs, academics and practitioners. In addition, there were approximately 100 invitees from the Bantul local government and stakeholders of the two evaluated activities, including the Regent of Bantul, H. Abdul Halim Muslih, and the Vice Regent of Bantul, Joko Purnomo. In his speech, the Regent of Bantul, Abdul Halim Muslih, wanted the government program of Bantul Regency to achieve its goals and be able to provide excellent and good public services to the community.
"With the Review Program, hopefully it can increase community participation in development, because the community can actively provide feedback on the implementation of development and this will be the basis for improving, or replacing, or changing these programs in the future. Community participation is important to achieve our objectivity in conducting reviews, so it is necessary for the community to be involved in evaluating government activities," Abdul said.
Tax Award and Street Lighting: How was the Evaluation?
The evaluation results decided that thePajak Award needed to be improved, which was voiced by 24 people, while 6 residents thought the program was good and should be continued, 1 resident thought that the activity could be stopped. Meanwhile, the installation and maintenance of street lighting was decided to be improved with 22 votes, while 10 assessors felt that the activities were good and could be continued without changes.
Responding to the results of the trial, Deputy Regent of Bantul, Joko Purnomo, said he agreed with the assessors' choice that the Tax Award needed to be improved in accordance with the existing input. Regarding street lighting, Joko acknowledged that there were planning errors in previous years so that development was less effective.
The President of the Japan Initiative, Hideki Kato, welcomed the first Program Review trial at the district level in Indonesia.
"This kind of regional autonomy initiative is still rare in other countries. We hope that the Review Program can be disseminated not only in various regions in Indonesia, but also in other Asian countries," said Hideki.
Hideki said that through this method, the government can directly listen to the aspirations and needs of the community in order to create synergy between the two parties. "Through this method, it can be an opportunity for the community to learn and understand the hard work of the government," Hideki added.
Chairman of Atmawidya Alterasi Indonesia, Titok Hariyanto, who accompanied the preparation process of the Bantul Regional Government team, stated that the trial carried out was a form of innovation in evaluating development programs / activities, complementing the monitoring and evaluation mechanism that had been carried out in the internal DPOs and BAPPEDA.
If so far the monitoring and evaluation carried out by the local government is more inclined to the technocratic aspect; the evaluation of development programs using the Program Review method provides an opportunity for the community to become "judges" of development programs that have been implemented by the government.
The Tifa Foundation as a partner of the Japan Initiative, in collaboration with Atmawidya Alterasi Indonesia in the implementation of the Program Review trial hopes that this activity can continue in Bantul Regency.
"The evaluation of development using the Program Review method is in line with Tifa Foundation's vision to promote the realization of an open society so it is worth continuing," said Oslan Purba, Executive Director of Tifa Foundation.
Tifa Foundation believes that active community participation is needed not only in the planning process but also in the process of evaluating development programs. This is to ensure that the development results are in accordance with the needs of the community, the process is carried out transparently and can be accounted for.
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