This paper contributes to a long-standing debate in development practice: under what conditions can externally established participatory groups engage in the collective management of services beyond the life of a project? Using 10 years of panel data on water point functionality from Indonesia’s rural water program, the Program for Community-Based Water Supply and Sanitation, the paper explored the determinants of subnational variation in infrastructure sustainability. It then investigated positive and negative deviance cases to answer why some communities successfully engaged in system management despite being located in difficult conditions as per quantitative findings and vice versa. The findings show that differences in the implementation of community participation, driven by local social relations between frontline service providers, that is, village authorities and water user groups, explain sustainable management. This initial condition of state-society relations influences how the project is initiated, kicking off negative or positive reinforcing pathways, leading to community collective action or exit. The paper concludes that the relationships between frontline government representatives and community actors are important and are an underexamined aspect of the ability of external projects to generate successful community-led management of public goods.

This paper examines the transformative potential of e-government in public administration, focusing on its capacity to enhance service delivery, transparency, accessibility, cost efficiency, and civic engagement. The study identifies key challenges, including inadequate technological infrastructure, cybersecurity vulnerabilities, resistance to change within public institutions, and a lack of public awareness about e-government services. These barriers hinder the seamless operation and adoption of digital government initiatives. Conversely, the study highlights significant opportunities such as streamlined service delivery, enhanced transparency through real-time access to government data, increased accessibility for marginalized and remote communities, substantial cost savings, and greater civic engagement via digital platforms. Addressing these challenges through targeted strategies—enhancing technological infrastructure, bolstering cybersecurity, managing organizational change, and raising public awareness—can help policymakers and public administrators implement more effective and inclusive e-government initiatives. Additionally, the integration of these digital solutions can drive sustainable development and digital inclusion, fostering social equity and economic growth. By leveraging these opportunities, governments can achieve more efficient, transparent, and accountable governance. Ultimately, the successful implementation of e-government can transform the relationship between citizens and the state, building trust and fostering a more participatory democratic process.

The linkages between adequate service delivery and sustainable development have been given a little academic attention in the South Africa’s local municipalities. For this reason, the achievement of sustainable development has been difficult which has culminated in the occurrence of service delivery protests. These service delivery protests have posed critical threats to social security thus affecting the possibility to achieve sustainable development in South Africa. the paper findings showed that the delivery of inadequate services to the citizens is triggered by the failure to equally include citizens in the process. One of the threats that the paper found is the fact that these service delivery protests have become a major issue and any move to solve them without citizen participation has been unsuccessful. The paper findings also showed that that the lack of adequate service delivery to the citizens causes human insecurities which in turn affect the achievement of sustainable development. This is because the occurrence of the service delivery protests deteriorates national economic growth and human growth. They affect foreign investors and international tourists by instilling fear in them and yet they are contributors to sustainable economic growth that leads to sustainable development. The findings of this paper also presented that the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies can increase citizen participation during service delivery. It is through the use of citizen participation that openness, transparency, accountability, and representation principles that promote the delivery of adequate services are possible. The paper found that using AI technologies would also foster trust between the service provider and service receiver needed for delivering adequate services, thus achieve sustainable development in South Africa.

This study examines the factors influencing e-government adoption in the Tangerang city government from 2010 to 2022. We gathered statistics from multiple sources to reduce joint source prejudice, resulting in a preliminary illustration of 1670 annotations from 333 regions or cities. These regions included major urban centers such as Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, Medan, Makassar, and Denpasar, as well as other significant municipalities across Indonesia. After removing anomalous values, we retained a final illustration of 1656 annotations. Results indicate that higher-quality digital infrastructure significantly boosts e-government adoption, underscoring the necessity for resilient digital platforms. Contrary to expectations, increased budget allocation for digital initiatives negatively correlates with adoption levels, suggesting the need for efficient spending policies. IT training for staff showed mixed results, highlighting the importance of identifying optimal training environments. The study also finds that policy adaptability and organizational complexity moderate the relationships between digital infrastructure, budget, IT training, and e-government adoption. These findings emphasize the importance of a holistic approach integrating technological, organizational, and policy aspects to enhance e-government implementation. The insights provided are valuable for policymakers and practitioners aiming to improve digital governance and service delivery. This study reveals the unexpected negative correlation between budget allocation and e-government adoption and introduces policy adaptability and organizational complexity as critical moderating factors, offering new insights for optimizing digital governance.