Strengthening Community Empowerment Through The RT Keren Program In Kepanjenkidul District, Blitar City

Szatjana Muthia Yemima Panese; Hidayaturahmi Hidayaturahmi

doi:10.63922/ijevss.v5i04.6678

Szatjana Muthia Yemima Panese NIPA School of Administration Jakarta, Indonesia
Hidayaturahmi Hidayaturahmi NIPA School of Administration Jakarta, Indonesia

DOI: https://doi.org/10.63922/ijevss.v5i04.6678

Keywords: Strengthening Community Empowerment; RT Keren Program; Authority and Responsibilities.

Abstract

he Rukun Tetangga Keren (RT Keren) Program is an innovative policy of the Blitar City Government that decentralizes authority for planning, budget implementation, and development oversight directly to the neighborhood community level. This study aims to analyze the process of community empowerment through the RT Keren Program in Kepanjenkidul District, Blitar City, by examining two main dimensions of Cook and Macaulay’s ACTORS Theory: Authority and Responsibilities. The research uses a descriptive-analytical qualitative approach. Data were collected through direct field observations in 7 urban villages, examination of administrative documents and Budget Plans (RAB), and in-depth interviews with informants consisting of subdistrict and urban-village officials, physical and non-physical facilitator teams, administrators of the Urban Village Community Empowerment Institution (LPMK), the Family Welfare Empowerment Team (PKK), Neighborhood Association (RW) administrators, Neighborhood Association (RT) administrators, Community Group (Pokmas) administrators, and beneficiary residents. The findings show that, in the Authority dimension, the RT Keren Program has successfully transferred formal and substantive authority to residents through RT deliberation forums and Pokmas, enabling them to independently manage a budget of IDR 50,000,000 per RT per year. However, the exercise of this authority faces structural barriers in the form of disparities in administrative literacy and strict financial technical guidelines. In the Responsibilities dimension, the program has successfully revitalized the social capital of mutual cooperation and stimulated collective responsibility for maintaining physical infrastructure and sustaining non-physical economic units. The study recommends greater flexibility in technical guidelines for budget disbursement, periodic managerial training for Pokmas, and an extension of the post-training development cycle for non-physical programs to achieve resilient and empowered communities.

References

Aguswan, & Abdul Mirad. (2021). Pemberdayaan Masyarakat Desa Kuapan Kecamatan Tambang Kabupaten Kampar. Jurnal Administrasi Politik Dan Sosial, 2(2), 90–98. https://doi.org/10.46730/japs.v2i2.67
Ansell, C., & Gash, A. (2008). Collaborative Governance in Theory and Practice. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 18(4), 543–571.
Arnstein, S. R. (1969). A Ladder of Citizen Participation. Journal of the American Institute of Planners, 35(4), 216–224.
Badan Pusat Statistik Kota Blitar. (2024). Kecamatan Kepanjenkidul dalam Angka 2024. Blitar: BPS Kota Blitar.
Badan Pusat Statistik Kota Blitar. (2025). Kota Blitar dalam Angka 2025 (Blitar Municipality in Figures 2025). Blitar: BPS Kota Blitar.
Cook, S., & Macaulay, S. (1997). Perfect Empowerment: All You Need to Get It Right First Time. London: Kogan Page.
Denhardt, J. V., & Denhardt, R. B. (2015). The New Public Service: Serving, Not Steering (4th ed.). New York: Routledge.
Dwiyanto, A. (2021). Mewujudkan Good Governance Melalui Pelayanan Publik. Yogyakarta: Gadjah Mada University Press.
Hidayat, R., & Nurhasanah, E. (2024). Akuntabilitas Pengelolaan Dana Hibah Swakelola Tipe IV oleh Kelompok Masyarakat. Jurnal Tata Kelola & Kebijakan Publik, 6(1), 45–58.
Hikmat, H. (2013). Strategi Pemberdayaan Masyarakat (Ed. Revisi). Bandung: Humaniora Utama Press.
Keban, Y. T. (2018). Enam Dimensi Strategis Administrasi Publik: Konsep, Teori, dan Isu (Ed. 3). Yogyakarta: Gava Media.
Kementerian Dalam Negeri Republik Indonesia. (2018). Peraturan Menteri Dalam Negeri Nomor 130 Tahun 2018 tentang Kegiatan Pembangunan Sarana dan Prasarana Kelurahan dan Pemberdayaan Masyarakat di Kelurahan. Jakarta: Kemendagri.
Kurniawan, T., & Lestari, P. (2020). Modal Sosial dan Tradisi Gotong Royong dalam Pemeliharaan Sarana Pemukiman Perkotaan. Jurnal Sosiologi Perkotaan, 8(2), 112–125.
Mahmud, S., & Djafar, L. (2015). Pemberdayaan Masyarakat Perkotaan di Kecamatan Pontianak Timur Kota Pontianak. Jurnal Tesis PMIS-UNTAN-PSIIS, 4(1), 1–15.
Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldana, J. (2015). Qualitative Data Analysis: A Methods Sourcebook. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.
Moleong, L. J. (2017). Metodologi Penelitian Kualitatif. Bandung: Remaja Rosdakarya.
Pasolong, H. (2019). Teori Administrasi Publik. Bandung: Alfabeta.
Pemerintah Kota Blitar. (2022). Peraturan Wali Kota Blitar Nomor 6 Tahun 2022 tentang Program Rukun Tetangga (RT) Keren. Blitar: Bagian Hukum Setda Kota Blitar.
Pranata, I. W., & Handayani, S. (2022). Tata Kelola Partisipatif Dana Kelurahan di Jawa Timur. Jurnal Kebijakan dan Manajemen Publik, 10(3), 201–214.
Rahmawati, A., & Susilo, B. (2023). Peran Pendamping Komunitas dalam Penguatan UMKM Perempuan Perkotaan. Jurnal Pemberdayaan Masyarakat, 7(1), 78–92.
Saputra, H., & Devi, M. (2024). Kepemimpinan Fasilitatif Aparatur Kelurahan dalam Keberdayaan Masyarakat Lokal. Jurnal Transformasi Administrasi, 14(1), 33–46.
Setiawan, D., & Wulandari, R. (2021). Efektivitas Partisipasi Warga dalam Forum Musrenbang Tematik Perkotaan. Jurnal Ilmu Administrasi Negara, 18(2), 140–155.
Siagian, S. P. (2020). Administrasi Pembangunan: Konsep, Dimensi, dan Strateginya. Jakarta: Bumi Aksara.
Sugiyono. (2018). Metode Penelitian Kuantitatif, Kualitatif, dan R&D. Bandung: Alfabeta.
Suryono, A., & Utomo, B. (2023). Inovasi Kebijakan Perkotaan Berbasis Desentralisasi Rukun Tetangga. Jurnal Analisis Kebijakan Daerah, 5(2), 89–104.
Wisri, W., Novianti, C., Abdurrohman, A., Firmansyah, P., Lismawati, L., Indri, I., Noviyanti, M., Sofyan,M., Ningsih, N. K., Melina, G., Prayoga, A., Sholeh, M. A., & Syifa, A. (2025). Pemberdayaan Masyarakat Desa yang Mandiri dalam Mengembangkan Potensi Lokal Menuju Desa Tegalwangi yang Berkelanjutan. Jurnal Pengabdian Masyarakat Bangsa, 3(8), 3839–3847. https://doi.org/10.59837/jpmba.v3i8.3144
Zimmerman, M. A. (2000). Empowerment Theory: Psychological, Organizational and Community Levels of Analysis. In J. Rappaport & E. Seidman (Eds.), Handbook of Community Psychology (pp. 43–63). New York: Springer.