Rethinking Dynamic Collaboration in Village Fund Management: Addressing Human Resource Disparities, Cultural Contexts, and Multi-Stakeholder Coordination in Karo Regency

Abstract

Village Fund management requires collaboration among government institutions, village actors, communities, and non-state stakeholders, yet existing studies have paid limited attention to how actor-capacity disparities, institutionalization, and local cultural contexts shape collaborative dynamics. This study examines multi-stakeholder collaboration in Village Fund management in Karo Regency, Indonesia. Using a qualitative approach, data were collected from 23 purposively selected informants representing local government, village government, Village Consultative Bodies, community representatives, NGOs, academics, village facilitators, and journalists through in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and participant observation. Thematic analysis was guided by the collaborative governance framework of Emerson, Nabatchi, and Balogh and complemented by Salignac’s collaboration assessment model. The findings show that collaboration remains weakly institutionalized, with unequal stakeholder capacities, information access, resources, and decision-making influence constraining principled engagement, shared motivation, and capacity for joint action. At the same time, culturally embedded institutions such as Merga Silima, Tutur Siwaluh, and Rakut Sitelu shape trust, reciprocity, legitimacy, and collective relations within the collaborative process. The study contributes theoretically by highlighting actor-capacity asymmetry and cultural embeddedness as important contextual conditions of collaborative governance. Practically, it suggests strengthening institutionalized coordination, information sharing, capacity development, and culturally responsive participation in Village Fund governance.