Let local voices be heard: a tale of partnership for e-Government

ABSTRACT

This article aims to uncover the ways in which different, yet closely related, discourses on the Indonesia–Korea e-Government partnerships are constructed and evaluated through the lens of donor–recipient cross narratives. The current frameworks for measuring and evaluating the effects of e-Government have given too much attention to the material dimension, thereby falling short of providing a holistic view of the discourse on the partnerships. To provide analysis that best represents the main discursive points articulated by principal actors, we developed a more comprehensive conceptual framework that encompasses both ideational and material dimensions.

KEYWORDS:

• Korea
• Indonesia
• e-Government
• SP4N-LAPOR
• e-Government Cooperation Centre (eGCC)

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 The formal name of SP4N-LAPOR is “Korea Official International Cooperation Agency (KOICA)–UN Development Programme (UNDP) Partnership for Capacity Development for an Integrated National Complaint Handling System in Indonesia”. The abbreviation SP4N-LAPOR derives from the Indonesian language. Six local authorities – Tangerang Regency, Provincial Government of the Special Region of Yogyakarta, Sleman Regency, Bali Province, Badung Regency, and West Sumatra Province – are involved in the KOICA’s pilot projects.

2 The interviews (July to September 2019) are, in chronological order, as follows: Interview I (junior official, KemenPAN RB); Interview II (senior official, Executive Office of the President of Indonesia); Interview III (two ombudsmen); Interview IV (senior official, MOIS); Interview V (junior official, UNDP); Interview VI (junior official, KemenPAN RB); Interview VII (senior official, Yogyakarta); Interview VIII (senior official, Sleman); Interview IX (senior official, Sleman); Interview X (three officials, Tangerang); Interview XI (two officials, Bali); Interview XII (two officials, Badung); Interview XIII (three officials, KOICA); and Interview XIV (senior official, KemenPAN RB).

3 As of 2019, Korea’s ICT ODA was being conducted by 18 public institutions.

Additional information

Funding

This research was made possible through the visiting fellowship programme provided by the Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta.

Notes on contributors

Arie Paksi

Arie Paksi is an Assistant Professor at the Department of International Relations at the Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Seongwon Yoon

Seongwon Yoon is a Research Professor at the Institute for Euro-African Studies at Hanyang University, Republic of Korea.

Prathivadi Anand

Prathivadi Anand is Professor at the Department of Peace and International Development at the University of Bradford, UK.

Kiyoung Lee

Kiyoung Lee is an Executive Principal Researcher at the National Information Society Agency and a PhD candidate at Yonsei University, Republic of Korea.