Smart Governance: The First Experience of the Two Metropolitan Cities in Indonesia

Abstract

In recent literature, smart governance is one of the main dimensions of a smart city. The study and its application continue to develop based on the characteristics of each city in various countries. In Indonesia, smart governance has been implemented in recent years as part of the e-government development. Two developing metropolitan cities, namely Bandung City in Western Indonesia and Makassar City in Eastern Indonesia, each have their own experiences. As a preliminary study, the experiences of the cities were studied using the general view and classical qualitative methods for theory and empirical orientation. The statement is based on field data obtained through interviewing informants, expert discussions, direct observation, and review of relevant documents. Furthermore, data were analyzed and synthesized in accordance with the study's focus theme. This study covers aspects of structure and process in smart governance. The study of structure relates to dynamics of multilevel governance involved in policy design, that is central government, local government, private sector, university, and non-governmental organization. Relation of the two local governments with central government and university is based on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Interaction of local government and private sector were based on a tender agreement of goods and services. For institutionalisation, there is some supporting system formed such as Smart City Council (SCC), Smart City Implementor (SCI), and Smart City Forum (SCF) to integrate related party relationships, including non-governmental organizations and community individually. Related to processes in smart governance, this focus explains bureaucratic management and public service. Bureaucratic management and public service have parameters to be called smart or not. In this study, policy design is a superstructure supporting all infrastructure in bureaucratic management and public service. In practice, smart governance is closely related to the unification of modern infrastructure and active superstructure. For conceptual, smart governance is an enabler of the e-government and smart city agenda.