SOSIOHUMANIORA, 9(1), February 2023, pp. 40-58 2579-4728 (ISSN Online) | 2443-180X (ISSN Print)
The communication strategy of the government procurement of goods and services agency (LKPP) in socializing the use of the e- catalogue to promote the transparency
Herman Purba, Rizaldi Parani*, Reni Sara Indrawati, Edo Rinaldo
Universitas Pelita Harapan, Jl. Jenderal Sudirman No. 50, Karet Semanggi, Daerah Khusus Ibu Kota Jakarta, Indonesia Correspondance:rizaldi.parani@uph.edu
Received: 7 January 2023; Reviewed: 23 January 2023; Accepted: 26 January 2023
Abstract: The Government Procurement of Goods and Services Agency (LKPP) has presented the E-Catalogue service, which is aimed at creating transparent governance of government procurement of goods and services, involving community participation in monitoring, as well as being a provider that markets goods and services.
To achieve these goals, LKPP needs to implement an appropriate communication strategy in disseminating the use of the E-Catalogue. The approach in this study is qualitative and is supported by the use of the case study method. The data in this study were collected through in-depth interviews, observation and literature review.
The data were then processed through coding techniques to draw conclusions. The study found several communication strategies that have been implemented by LKPP, including setting rules and distributing circulars, creating content on websites and social media, publishing articles in mass media, using social media, forming working groups, providing assistance to regional governments, providing consulting services, and also providing routine training for government institutions and service providers. The authors also found that the communication strategy implemented by LKPP has been well implemented. This can be seen from the increase in the number of products listed in the E-Catalogue and the goods and service providers involved. However, several obstacles such as infrastructure, human resources, understanding and ease of use of the E-Catalogue continue to remain, which must be addressed by LKPP.
Keywords: LKPP, E-Catalogue, Transparency, Communication Strategy, Government
Abstrak: Lembaga Kebijakan Pengadaan Barang dan Jasa Pemerintah (LKPP) menghadirkan layanan E-Katalog.
Layanan ini ditujukan untuk menciptakan tata kelola pengadaan barang dan jasa pemerintah yang transparan, melibatkan partisipasi masyarakat dalam melakukan monitoring, serta sebagai penyedia yang memasarkan barang dan jasa. Untuk mencapai tujuan tersebut, LKPP perlu mengimplementasikan strategi komunikasi yang tepat dalam menyosialisasikan penggunaan E-Katalog. Pendekatan dalam penelitian ini adalah kualitatif dan didukung dengan penggunaan metode studi kasus. Data dalam penelitian ini dikumpulkan melalui wawancara mendalam, observasi, dan studi literatur. Data kemudian diolah melalui teknik coding untuk ditarik kesimpulannya. Hasil penelitian ini menemukan beberapa strategi komunikasi yang telah diterapkan oleh LKPP, diantaranya penetapan aturan dan membagikan surat edaran, pembuatan konten di website dan media sosial, publikasi artikel di media massa, pemanfaatan media sosial, membentuk kelompok kerja, pendampingan ke daerah, menyediakan layanan konsultasi, dan juga dilakukan dalam bentuk pelatihan rutin untuk institusi pemerintah maupun penyedia layanan. Kami juga menemukan bahwa strategi komunikasi yang dilakukan oleh LKPP sudah berjalan dengan baik. Hal ini dapat terlihat dari peningkatan jumlah produk yang tayang serta penyedia barang dan jasa yang terlibat. Namun, beberapa kendala seperti infrastruktur, sumber daya manusia, kesepahaman dan kemudahan dalam penggunaan E-Katalog masih menjadi pekerjaan rumah yang harus segera dibenahi oleh LKPP.
Kata Kunci: LKPP, E-Catalog, Transparansi, Strategi Komunikasi, Pemerintahan.
© 2023 The Authors
https://doi.org/10.30738/sosio.v9i1.14071 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
INTRODUCTION
The development of technology, information and communication (ICT) has affected all sectors of human life. Digital devices, integrated with the internet network, have helped human beings finish their jobs. Glybovets & Alhawawsha (2017) emphasized that the
presence of the internet is highly important in society and various organizations, so that it needs to be adopted to achieve several processes, such as communication and helping management of organizations. One sector that has experienced changes due to the development of ICT is the government. Government institutions are experiencing changes in their governance, which are currently more focused on the digitalization process, by utilizing various digital devices that are already available.
This process of change in governance towards a new era in digitalization is also known as e-government. Yong (2003) defined e-government as the utilization of technology to shape people's participation, and as part of a policy breakthrough and government awareness of the development of digital technology. The Indonesian government also specifically notes that changes in technology-based governance are particularly important in today's digital era.
The last survey conducted by the United Nations (UN) in October 2022 noted that Indonesia was ranked 77th out of 193 countries regarding the implementation of e-government and the transformation of electronic-based government systems (Kominfo, 2022). This is certainly a positive achievement related to the transformation of the Indonesian government system.
The Indonesian government is increasingly adopting the implementation of the e- government system. Pramono (2021) stated that the implementation of e-government is a process of modernization carried out by the government to support the services provided to the community, both at the central and regional levels. This opinion is also supported by research conducted by Dhaoui (2022) that observed that e-government has a positive impact on governance and increasing efficiency related to community services to support achievement and sustainable development at various levels. Therefore, changes in governance towards e-government are very important to accommodate more active public participation in the development and activities of government institutions and facilitate the process of providing community services.
Realizing the implementation of responsible development and good governance is the duty of the government in serving the community. This was mentioned by Ali & Saputra (2020), who stated that one of the functions of government is the provision of public services to the community. Digital technology is an instrument that supports interactive communication with the public and capable of increasing transparency between the government and the community through better interactions (Tejedo-Romero et al., 2022).
Therefore, every element in government institutions has to be transparent and involve community participation in meeting the needs and protecting the community.
Transparency of government activities is useful as a realistic and published public service standard for the community. The implementation of good public services must be based on service standards. The function of public service standards, among others, is as a benchmark used to serve the community, guidelines for service delivery and a reference for evaluating service quality. Tahir (2014) argued that government administrators are obliged to carry out good public service standards. Examples of public service standards that are used as evidence to the community are high quality services, prompt services, services that are easily received by the community, services that reach all levels of society, and services that are measurable in their implementation. Support from all levels of society and government
administrators is necessary in providing transparency of information and procedures according to rules that can be accounted for.
One of the achievements of government transparency is realized by completing the creation of applications that can be monitored in an electronic-based public service system or electronic-based government service system. Such an application supports the implementation of public services both at the central government and regional government levels. According to Silalahi (2004) the decentralization of the post-New Order government communication was relatively more democratic because it was believed to have created an information gap between the government and the general public. Public information is no longer controlled by the government. Thus, there is a necessity for government institutions to disseminate public information to citizens and utilize public opinion in realizing a process of transparency in government administration.
Improvement in the performance of government administrators in running national programs can be seen from the application of e-government programs, especially in the procurement of goods and services. The application of the e-government concept enables government administrators to interact directly and work better with businesses, regardless of their physical world location. This includes digitizing procurement services to and from businesses in order to improve service quality, convenience and cost effectiveness. The electronic procurement of goods and services in question is the use of the Electronic Procurement System, General Procurement Plan Information System, Electronic Catalogue (E-Catalogue), and Provider Performance Information System (Pusdiklat PBJ, 2020). The entire range of programs support the government in implementing transparent and accountable governance.
The creation of the E-Catalogue is an interesting breakthrough made by the Government of Indonesia in facilitating the government's procurement of goods and services. Musatari, Suardi, & Syukri stated that “the E-Catalogue is an electronic information system that displays lists, types, specifications, technicalities and prices of certain goods from various government goods and service providers” (2022, p.194). The e-catalogue, which are compiled and managed by the Government Procurement of Goods and Services Agency (LKPP), is considered capable of providing convenience in the procurement process to minimize fraud and corruption, as all transactions can be seen by anyone and are transparent.
Problems related to the procurement of government goods and services have been in the spotlight recently. Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) states that the procurement of goods and services is the second largest cause of corruption in Indonesia, causing state losses of IDR 5.3 trillion (Juliantari, 2022). Therefore, the Indonesian government needs to continue to develop procedures for using an effective electronic procurement system to encourage fair competition in government procurement of goods/services by building the electronic catalogue.
The deployment of procedures for using the electronic goods and services procurement system in Indonesia certainly faces a number of challenges, as has been experienced by the central government in implementing this program in various regions. The vast territory of Indonesia, stretching from Sabang to Merauke, presents a challenge in itself in disseminating information, especially with regard to the socialization of central
government programs to each region. As an archipelagic country consisting of 37 Provinces, 416 Regencies and 98 Cities, with individual cultures and norms, the central government needs to prepare the right communication strategy to disseminate information, especially related to the transformation of the government system. This is needed as an effort to implement e-government policies that are evenly distributed from the central government to the local government level. One of the implementations of the policies lies in the field of procurement of goods and services through the E-Catalogue system.
Another challenge is the limited access and digital infrastructure available in Indonesia.
APJII (Indonesian Internet Service Providers Association) survey results in 2022 found that the internet penetration rate in Indonesia currently reaches 77.02% with 210,026,769 people out of a total population of 272,682,600 in 2021 (APJII, 2022). The still-large number of persons who lack internet access also has an impact on the LKPP e-catalogue program, which is the mainstay for the Indonesian government in the digital procurement of goods and services, causing less than optimal performance. The e-catalogue managed by LKPP do not only pertain about the Central and Regional Governments.
There is an important role for entrepreneurs or service providers who market their products in the E-Catalogue, such as companies, agencies, to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) who are also involved in the process of procuring goods and services.
This is the result of a direct instruction from the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, who suggests that the use of Indonesian products must be encouraged, one of which is by giving instructions to the Central, Regional and State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) to use at least 40 percent of the total goods and capital budget to be allocated to domestic products (Watra, B.L, 2022). This government spending activity will later be held through the E-Catalogue system. Thus, MSMEs have the opportunity to enter and market their products or merchandise in the E-Catalogue system so that later the Central Government, Regional Governments and SOEs will carry out purchase transactions in the system without conducting conventional procurement.
The scope of implementation of the E-Catalogue system, from the perspective of MSME actors, is still quite low. The Minister of National Development Planning, Suharso Monoarfa, stated that currently there were around 600 thousand MSMEs in Indonesia who were involved in marketing their products in the E-Catalogue system (Kristianus, 2022). This is still far from the number of MSMEs that have gone digital by marketing their products in various e-commerce services. Teten Masduki, the Minister of Cooperatives and MSMEs, stated on one of the national news platforms that as of August 2022, it was recorded that 19.5 million MSMEs had marketed their merchandise on various available e-commerce platforms (Santia, T, 2022). Such a large gap between the number of MSMEs that have marketed their products in e-commerce services, and those already in the E-Catalogue, certainly shows the lack of socialization carried out by the Government of Indonesia in cooperating with MSMEs in various regions to be involved in marketing their products through the E-Catalogue system.
The e-catalogue program initially found difficulties, and encountered many obstacles in the communication strategy. Malinda & Hardjomuljadi (2018), in their research on road construction project procurement projects in Jakarta, saw that the use of the E-catalogue has several influencing factors consisting of (1) principles of government procurement of
goods/services (2) implementation of road construction project procurement and reliability of information technology (IT) infrastructure (3) cultural issues (4) cost issues (5) legal issues (6) knowledge security issues about the e-procurement system and (7) issues of E-Catalogue implementation. In addition, cultural issues were also suspected as one of the influential factors in the use of the e-catalogue. This was stated by Azwar Anas, chairman of LKPP for the 2021-2022 period. In his presentation at the Association of All Indonesia District Governments (Asosiasi Pemerintah Kabupaten Seluruh Indonesia–APKASI) Procurement Expo, 19 August 2022, Azwar Anas explained that at that time there were only 195 Regional Governments out of a total of 542 Regional Governments in Indonesia that conduct transactions using the e-catalogue. This is still far from the central government's 2022 target, which expects all local governments to use the e-catalogue application. Therefore, the Government of Indonesia needs to implement strategic steps in accelerating the process of disseminating policies that can be implemented to all local governments in Indonesia.
The results of observations made by researchers also found that the use of information technology implemented by LKPP to socialize the goods and services procurement system through E-Catalogue to the public has not been optimized. There are 3 official online pages from LKPP for information and complaints regarding the use of the E- Catalogue, including: (1) https://katalog.lkpp.go.id/pelayanan-informasi/, however this link cannot be accessed; (2) a link page for complaints at https://pengaduan.lkpp.go.id/ and (3) another application called “Lokal”, which is the abbreviation of ‘Layanan Otomatis Keterangan Ahli’ (Expert Information Automated Service) at https://lokal.lkpp.go.id/. The less than optimal use of the information service can be seen from their usage, appearance and function. Based on the description of the problem above, the problem formulation determined by the researcher is: what is the communication strategy carried out by LKPP (Government Goods and Services Procurement Policy Agency) in socializing the use of the E-Catalogue to realize transparency in the implementation of the goods and services procurement transaction system? The purpose of this research is to analyze the communication strategy implemented by LKPP in socializing the use of the E-Catalogue to support the transparency of the administration of the government goods and services procurement transaction system.
METHOD
This study uses the qualitative approach. Mohajan defined qualitative research as “a form of social action that stresses on the way of people interpret, and make sense of their experiences to understand the social reality of individuals” (Mohajan, H. K, 2018). Supporting Mohajan's statement, Neuman (2014) stated that qualitative research always requires a description or narrative related to specific actions so that it can connect concepts with existing data. Therefore, a qualitative approach is used because this research seeks to provide an overview regarding the communication strategy carried out by LKPP as a regulator together with the local government to socialize the use of the E-Catalogue as a manifestation of transparency in the procurement of goods and services.
The method used in this research is the case study. Creswell states “in a qualitative case study, the questions may address a description of the case and the themes that emerge from
studying it” (Neuman, 2014). A case study is a method in the qualitative approach that aims to provide an overview of new and ongoing cases or phenomena in society. This research seeks to explore something new in realizing transparency in the procurement of goods and services in Indonesia. This applies both at the central and regional levels through the presence of the E-Catalogue which is disseminated by LKPP to all levels of government and business actors in Indonesia.
The data in this study were collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews, observation, and literature studies. The data is processed through coding techniques to draw conclusions that can answer the research questions. This research also involves individuals who are members of the public relations sector as well as the procurement of goods and services to provide an in-depth description of the socialization process carried out in introducing the E-Catalogue. This is also part of implementing the value of transparency along with the development of e-government in Indonesia.
For this reason, the unit of analysis in this study is the individual with the application of purposive sampling techniques to become a representative of the entire research subject.
Tongco stated “The purposive sampling technique, also called judgment sampling, is the deliberate choice of an informant due to the qualities the informant possesses” (Tongco, M.
D. C., 2007). The researchers determined 3 informants in this study, including Mufti as a key informant as a public relations officer for LKPP Indonesia, and two additional informants, Agustan as the Head of the Goods and Services Procurement Section for Banten Province, and Nurun from the Cooperatives and Micro Enterprises and Trade Office of Trenggalek Regency. The selection of the informants in this study was based on the capabilities of each informant in providing an in-depth description or opinion, so that they were able to answer research questions.
RESULT AND DISCUSSIONS Understanding of the use of E-Catalogue
The creation of the e-catalogue is a form of e-government implementation carried out by the Indonesian government. The e-catalogue managed by the Government Goods and Services Procurement Policy Agency (LKPP) are intended for all elements of government institutions in Indonesia, from the central down to the regional levels. Mufti, as the key informant from LKPP stated: “Currently there are 3 types of Electronic Catalogue in LKPP, including the National Catalogue, which is managed directly by LKPP, Sectoral Catalogue, which are managed by Ministries, such as the Ministry of Health, and finally Local Catalogue, which are managed by Regional Governments."
Figure 1. E-Catalogue website home page
The use of the E-Catalogue offers the process of procuring goods and services that can be done easily and quickly. This was acknowledged by the informant Agustan, who is the Head of the Bureau of Procurement of Goods and Services for the Province of Banten, who said: “So, by going through a local catalog it is actually simpler, easier, you just have to click.
Within one to three days, or maybe a week at the longest, the item is already available and payment can be made.” The use of this e-catalog is following the objectives of the e- government program that is being echoed by the Government of the Republic of Indonesia.
Fang defines E-Government as:
“a way for governments to use the most innovative information and communication technologies, particularly web-based Internet applications, to provide citizens and businesses with more convenient access to government information and services, to improve the quality of the services and to provide greater opportunities to participate in democratic institutions and processes” (2002, h.1)
The presence of the E-Catalog is expected to increase the participation of government institutions in using local products. In addition, LKPP also invites the involvement of the community and business actors in digitally marketing their products as well as to oversee every goods and service procurement transaction carried out by government institutions.
However, it turns out that not all users agree with this. Based on the research findings obtained, some users feel that using the E-Catalogue is not as easy as imagined. This was disclosed by Informant Nurun from the Trenggalek Regency Government who said: “For Trenggalek Regency, it is true that several Regional Work Units (SKPD) find it difficult to implement the local catalogue. It's not impossible. But in our opinion, it is not flexible.” Even so, the presence of the E-Catalogue has been able to provide changes in governance in Indonesia, especially in the field of procurement of goods and services.
The E-Catalogue is a product/service that shows the seriousness of the Indonesian government in implementing e-government. Ganapati (2015) stated that there are two types of government applications that can be implemented in e-government, namely applications that focus on internal organizational services, and applications that are citizen-oriented and intended for external use. Therefore, the e-catalogue is one of the government's support for the public, so that they can enjoy goods and services procurement services openly, and provide equal opportunities for every citizen to be involved in it.
In addition, buyers, which in this case are government institutions, can compare prices and products with various available sources of goods and services. This creates transparency in the transaction process for the procurement of government goods and services.
Information transparency and openness is one of the main indicators of e-government implementation. Mufti said, “Society can see more transparently and learn about the system for their spending activities.” The presence of the e-catalogue is an online-based service that is able to accommodate this need.
E-Catalogue also present a new ecosystem for the procurement of goods and services that involves various stakeholders in it. Not only government institutions, but also the involvement of the community and businesses also play an important role. This was conveyed by informant Nurun as follows, “We have the Team for the Increased Use of Domestic Products (P3DN), in which one of the prerequisites of the procurement process must involve SMEs and go through local catalogue." The involvement of MSMEs is a positive point from the presence of the E-Catalogue. This is apparently able to develop the selling value of local products that are marketed. Therefore, the participation of all stakeholders, either central and regional government institutions, or MSMEs and business actors, plays an important role in the development of the E-Catalogue.
Figure 2. E-Catalogue product showcase
Provincial and Regency/City Governments, as part of the extension of the central government as well as the main users of e-catalogue, must understand this service properly and thoroughly. This is important to be able to provide maximum public services. Informants from the Provincial Government of Banten and the Regency Government of Trenggalek stated that all Regional Apparatus organizations within the scope of each region already understood what an e-catalogue was. This was confirmed by a statement from Nurun, who stated: “Electronic procurement of goods and services is not something foreign to us, because we have known how to use it for a long time. In 2022, we have done procurement electronically.” Agustan, from the Provincial Government of Banten also stated, “Even though it has only been implemented since March 2022 in Banten Province, I think the procedure is quite good because almost all Regional Apparatus Organizations (OPD) have implemented it”. This is a positive signal from changes in governance carried out by the Indonesian government towards the digital era. The right communication strategy will help the
socialization process of the E-Catalogue to increase usage and create a more transparent goods and services procurement transaction ecosystem.
DISCUSSION
The communication strategy implemented by LKPP to Socialize the use of E-Catalogue
All Indonesian government programs aim to provide the best service for the welfare of the Indonesian people. In this e-catalogue application service, it is hoped that all Indonesian people can become participants. According to Liliweri (2011: 248), a communication strategy will be considered successful if it is in accordance with the goals to be achieved, and its implementation is in accordance with what the communicator wants. Therefore, each institution or organization, in this case LKPP, must have the right communication strategy to be able to reach the public or other government institutions in disseminating a policy or other important information.
In achieving the objectives of the policy of transparency in the procurement of goods and services through the use of e-catalogue that are effective and on target, LKPP has several communication strategies that have been implemented to date. This communication strategy is divided into two parts, which are aimed at government institutions and business actors/MSMEs. This was disclosed by the Mufti as Public Relations of LKPP RI, “The approach to communication with the local government is to invite MSMEs in the region to get listed in the electronic catalogue. It is not as hard as one can imagine. The system has been built by LKPP, and the MSMEs simply log in. For MSMEs, a working group (Pokja) has been created, whose purpose is to encourage MSME participation in the electronic catalogue. The communication made through the working group is intended to inform that using the catalogue in LKPP is not difficult.
One of the implementations of a good communication strategy is to provide socialization on a regular basis. According to Liliweri, (2011: 248) the purpose of communication with this socialization process is to a) Announcing, which is a strategy that is useful for spreading the core information of a message that is of interest to the target audience so that it can bring up other supporting information to the surface; b) Motivating, is part of a strategy that aims to motivate someone to do what is conveyed in the contents of the message; c) Educating, is a strategy aimed at providing education through the messages conveyed so that people can judge whether they are good or bad or whether they need to accept the messages being conveyed.
Figure 3. Communication strategy through dissemination of regulations and circular letters
LKPP has implemented several communication strategies aimed at reaching government institutions as users and business actors/MSMEs as providers. The element of announcing has been fulfilled in the socialization carried out through circulars to each government institution, creating content on the official LKPP website, using social media, and sending articles to various national and regional mass media.
Mufti said, “We prepare the regulations, encourage and shape local government perceptions regarding the use of electronic catalogue. In addition, we are trying to use social media to create informative content related to the ease of using electronic catalogue, FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) and encouragement for businesses so that they are willing to get listed in the electronic catalogue.” This was also acknowledged by Nurun from the Department of Cooperatives and Micro Enterprises and Trade of the Trenggalek Regency, who stated, “The LKPP provides circulars for the implementation of transactions of government goods and services to the Regional Government. Then, these are forwarded to other Regional Apparatus Organizations to be implemented in each agency. This shows that the efforts made by LKPP in socializing the E-Catalogue at the announcing stage have gone well. It can be seen starting from the making of regulations, which are then handed down to each regional government, as well as the appeals addressed to business actors through social media.
In addition, LKPP also implements a communication strategy aimed at motivating audiences to act in accordance with the instructions from the messages that have been conveyed. Some of the communication strategies that have been implemented are through the formation of working groups (Pokja) for business actors/MSMEs, in which socialization is carried out through WhatsApp groups that have been created previously, and by holding
“business opportunity” seminars. This is in accordance with what was conveyed by the Mufti who stated, “We have formed Working Groups in every province in Indonesia. These Working Groups will work like a task force, whose members are staff from LKPP. We have created WhatsApp groups for each PIC, whose members are MSMEs and the Goods and Services Procurement Bureaux in each region to provide assistance. In addition, we also invited business actors who have previously been successful in conducting transactions with the government to share success stories with other business actors. This is an effort to form the trust and willingness of MSMEs to start doing transactions in the electronic catalogue.
Lastly, with regard to educating, LKPP has also carried out several communication strategies to socialize transparency in the procurement of goods and services through the use of E-Catalogue. Some of the communication strategies implemented are: (1) scheduled consultation clinics; (2) outreach through webinars or training; and (3) agenda for workshops at the regional level. This activity was initiated by LKPP as the regulator for the use of the E- Catalog. LKPP then invited other government agencies starting from the central, provincial, city/district levels, as well as business actors to get involved. Online E-Catalogue consultation clinic which is held every day. But seminars and workshops are held within a certain period of time. Governments in the Regions can cooperate with LKPP to determine the implementation time. In addition, they also invited business actors in the area to join in the activities. This was conveyed by Mufti, “Our main focus is to provide training to local governments first. However, it is not uncommon for local governments to invite us to come to each region to provide explanations regarding the E-Catalogue to existing MSMEs. Apart
from that, we have also created a special channel aimed at providing online consultations to MSMEs who do not understand about E-Catalogue.”
Figure 4. Socialization of the use of E-Catalogue by LKPP through training seminars
So far, the communication strategy carried out by LKPP in socializing the transparency of the procurement of goods and services through the presence of the E-Catalogue has been going well. Through the communication strategy that has been implemented, the public and government institutions that are going to be involved in the procurement of goods and services are starting to recognize the existence of the E-Catalogue, have the willingness and ability to operate them. Thus, a climate of transparent procurement of goods and services can be created as expected from the use of the E-Catalogue themselves.
Direct Socialization
In promoting a transparent goods and services procurement system through the E- Catalogue, LKPP carries out various communication strategies that have been designed to reach the intended audience. For this reason, LKPP conducts direct and indirect socialization.
Direct socialization is carried out in person by LKPP to the public, business actors, and government institutions.
One way of conducting direct socialization is through the delivery of circulars related to regulations and policies. The circular letter issued by LKPP to the local governments is an example of a structured pattern in the implementation of communication from the central government to the regions. Agustan stated, "The socialization included delivering circulars to all heads of Regional Apparatus Organizations (OPD) and guidelines for the implementation of the Banten Province Regional Expenditure Budget (APBD) instructing Decision Making Officials (PPK) to conduct transactions in the local catalog of Banten Province, instructing heads of OPDs to encourage providers who become partners to register and display their products in local catalogue.
The concept of using power in communication dynamics to shape behavior change can be seen in these findings. Schockley-Zalabak (2006, p.48) stated that “power is an effort made to influence the behavior of others and produce results as desired”. This is then reinforced by the structuration theory and the four flows models of Anthony Giddens and Robert McPhee (Littlejohn, 2017), which stated that, “in organizations, when we communicate between one institution and another, we create a structure or pattern of rules that traces from large institutions to small organizations.” Structuration theory is often applied to organizational communication because of the importance of structure in a system for organizing.
McPhee & Zaug (2001) also developed a four-flow model on the basis of communication in organizations:
a. Negotiation of membership-socialization, an identification and self-positioning. In this case LKPP as the policy center for the procurement of goods and services determines its position as the policy-making structure in purchasing goods/services in Indonesia.
This can be seen from the communication made by the Mufti as LKPP Public Relations based on the results of the interview which stated, "The procurement is not managed by LKPP. We shape the systems, regulations, and policies. However, the maCnagement remains in the hands of each local government. However, we still invite and motivate local governments to invite service providers or MSMEs to use electronic catalogue.”
b. Arrangements in the organization, LKPP in government institutions as a policy maker is Casked to make arrangements in the organization related to a more transparent process of procuring goods and services, involving all relevant stakeholders.
ThCe researchers observed from the communication obtained based on the results of interviews with the Trenggalek Regency Government regarding organizational arrangements in government. Nurun stated, “The relevant office, in this case the Office of Cooperatives, Micro Enterprises and Trade of Trenggalek Regency, conducts outreach to each MSME. The office, together with LPSE, created a team called the Team for the Increased Use of Domestic Products (P3DN) to increase MSMEs' involvement in the transaction process in the E-Catalogue, which had been prepared by LKPP for each region.”
c. Coordinating activities, interacting to align or adjust local work activities.
The form of direct socialization carried out by LKPP in socializing the use of the E-Catalogue is to form a Working Group or Task Force in each Region. Mufti stated, “The LKPP forms Working Groups (Pokja) or Task Forces (Satgas) in each region. The task force from LKPP usually provides assistance to the regions, creating WhatsApp groups. For example, the person in charge of the Banten catalog, discussed the difficulties or constraints experienced. Someone from the electronic catalog technical team made the necessary follow-up.” The groups or teams were given the mandate to participate in socializing the use of the E-Catalogue and increasing the involvement of MSMEs and business actors to market their products through the E-Catalogue.
In addition, LKPP also organizes outreach in the form of online consultation clinics which are held every day to provide assistance if obstacles are found in the use of the E-Catalogue. Agustan said, “There is a kind of special socialization in LKPP that lasts for approximately one hour. So, anyone can actually carry out consultations if there are problems in managing local catalogue, both providers and local governments.”
LKPP also routinely organizes training and seminars both on-site and online to share and disseminate experiences among E-Catalogue users and to inform developments in goods and services procurement transactions through E-Catalogue in each region.
When viewed from the perspective of the concept of socialization in an organization put forward by Shockley-Zalabak, the findings of this study can be related to the concept of metamorphosis socialization. Metamorphosis socialization is the initial mastery of basic skills and information as well as adjustment to organizational life (Shockley-Zalabak, 2006). In this case, LKPP as the institution directly responsible to the president in the field of procurement of goods and services tries to form a common understanding regarding the E-Catalogue and equip all stakeholders involved to be able to use this service properly. Moreover, E- Catalogue are a novelty in the pattern of procurement of goods and services in Indonesia. Therefore, it is hoped that these various adjustments will be able to socialize the use of the E-Catalogue and create a more transparent and participatory pattern of procurement of goods and services.
d. Institutional position of the social order of institutions. LKPP conducts external communication to gain recognition and inclusion in social transaction networks.
To realize this, LKPP of the Republic of Indonesia has conducted socialization directly to several related ministries. Mufti stated, “We have coordinated and collaborated with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Home Affairs in the form of system integration. LKPP prepares an E-Catalogue system, but each agency manages finances according to their needs.” This was also conveyed clearly by Shockley-Zalabak, namely that “communication in an organizational context can be maximized as a decision-making process. Decision making is an organizing process needed to direct behavior and resources towards achieving the goals of the organization” (Shockley-Zalabak, 2006). The continuity of the process of procuring goods and services is highly dependent on the financial condition of each agency.
LKPP realizes this by implementing the right communication strategy to collaborate with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Home Affairs. Collaboration in the form of system integration is also quite appropriate, especially since these two ministries play an important role in determining the financial system of central and regional agencies. The system built by LKPP through the use of E-Catalogue certainly cannot work without a supporting financial system from each agency. So, with this collaboration the aim of transparency in the procurement of goods and services through the use of E-Catalogue can take place and be followed by every existing agency both at the central and regional levels.
Indirect socialization
Apart from conducting direct socialization, LKPP has also implemented a communication strategy in the form of indirect socialization. Indirect socialization in this case refers to socialization carried out through the use of other media, such as mass media, print, digital, to social media. The indirect socialization is aimed at reaching a wider audience so that they are aware of the presence of the E-Catalogue and then have the desire to participate in it.
LKPP implements several communication strategies to support the indirect socialization process. Some of these strategies include the use of websites, social media Instagram and Twitter, as well as the mass media.
This was stated by the Mufti, “There are several social media that are used, such as Twitter for monitoring current issues and Instagram for the interaction process. In addition, the Public Relations section also approached the mass media, such as Kompas, Tempo, Detik, Media Indonesia, and Bisnis Indonesia, to bring interesting topics about LKPP to be discussed, including electronic catalogue. Socialization through the website is also carried out. It just feels less effective because it is only one-way.”
Agustan, as the Head of the Banten Province Goods and Services Procurement Bureau also stated, “We have scheduled at least twice a month for publication of local electronic catalogue through newspapers in Banten Province, namely Kabar Banten. In addition, each Regional Apparatus Organization also has its own Instagram account to realize public information disclosure, especially regarding the procurement of goods and services, as well as publication through websites that are linked directly to the Governor and the Regional Secretary, the implementation of which is mandatory.
Figure 5. Dissemination of E-Catalogue through social media
Based on these findings, the researchers observed that LKPP has made various efforts aimed at sharing information needed by the public regarding the goods and services procurement system through the use of E-Catalogue. The communication strategy that was carried out also did not only focus on one medium; socialization was carried out in several media according to their respective functions.
Based on the research findings above, the researcher sees continuity with what has been done by central and regional LKPP with the concept of Communication as Influence in the Meaning-Centered approach put forward by Shockley-Zalabak. Shockley-Zalabak (2006) stated that communication in an organizational context is a necessary process for creating and changing an organizational system, influencing other people, and how people respond to that influence to contribute to the organization. Through the communication strategies that have been carried out, the researchers found that LKPP had made various efforts supported
by the use of the media in forming shared perceptions and realities regarding the use of the E-Catalogue. The goal, of course, is to create a transparent and participatory goods and services procurement system. Thus, all elements of society can contribute, whether they monitor the transaction process carried out by agencies, or are directly involved as providers of services or products that are marketed through the E-Catalogue.
The intensity of government socialization in responding to comments from social media is part of the government's openness to the public. Lee & Kwak (2012) proposed a model on the maturity of the process of openness in government, based on public involvement. The levels in the use of government social media consist of providing transparency, participation, and collaboration in getting public involvement. The researchers found that the socialization carried out by LKPP regarding the use of E-Catalogue on social media had not yet reached the open collaboration stage, which is marked by the occurrence of open participation. Yet, there has been no open collaboration or even engagement.
Challenges in socializing the E-catalogue program
Various efforts and communication strategies undertaken by LKPP to socialize a transparent goods and services procurement system through the presence of E-Catalogue have so far been going well. One indicator that can be used as a reference is the increase in the number of products marketed through e-catalogue. This was disclosed by Mufti, “About whether the communication strategy that we have implemented to date is effective or not, we can say that it is effective. So far, it has been proven that more than 2 million products have been included in the electronic catalogue.” This was also agreed by Agustan who said,
“In my opinion, it is still very effective today. Because without spending any money, the providers and MSMEs that have joined now are approaching more than three hundred providers. LKPP itself targets a thousand products to appear in the local electronic catalog belonging to Banten Province. However, we currently have over four thousand live products.” The two findings above show how the communication strategy implemented by LKPP in socializing the E-Catalogue has so far been successful. This also has an impact on increasing the participation of the public and government agencies in procuring goods and services through the E-Catalogue.
However, from the user's perspective, the success of the communication strategy implemented by LKPP is not only limited to increasing the number of displayed products, but also how the LKPP can carry out maintenance in the goods and services procurement transaction system that is carried out through the E-Catalogue. This was stated by Nurun who said, “We regret the relatively slow response from LKPP regarding the constraints experienced by MSMEs, because not all providers understand IT. We also see that the system built is not user-friendly, it is too complicated to order, for example, 20 rice boxes. So, at present, sometimes we are the ones who help run it.” Of course, this can be a concern and at the same time an input for the LKPP at the national level, so that it does not only focus on the quantity of the number of products displayed, but what is equally important is how to manage its utilization properly.
The success that has been achieved by LKPP in socializing the use of the E-Catalogue, of course, cannot be separated from the various challenges that appeared during the socialization process. Some of the challenges found during the socialization of the e-
catalogue included a lack of information technology knowledge regarding the use of the e- catalogue system, difficulty accessing technology to underdeveloped areas, lack of human resource skills in the use of information and communication technology. One of these obstacles is that the public equated the LKPP as the e-catalogue. Mufti said, “We have received complaints regarding problems while accessing the LKPP website, the person asked,
‘Is the LKPP website down?’ After being checked by the PR, it turned out that what was down was the e-catalogue.” This is also in accordance with the concept of identification put forward by Shockley-Zalabak (2006), that in the dynamics of organizational communication, dynamic social processes will determine how identity is built. Therefore, LKPP needs to underline that LKPP is an institution that creates the system that is implemented and the E- Catalogue is a product created to support the implementation of the system. This is also related to challenges in building awareness about the products of the E-Catalogue service unit, because there are 16 other organizational units in the LKPP government hierarchy which are highly influential to one another.
Obstacles in public services need to be resolved immediately so that the e-catalogue program can run well. In connection with barriers to public services, (Dwiyanto, 2011) says that there are still problems that always occur in public services to the community, such as processes that are slow, convoluted, services that require people to pay high prices, lack of certainty when the service will be completed, even though the services provided already based on information technology. This is also in line with other obstacles mentioned by Nurun, “Several agencies have difficulty implementing e-catalogue, especially for local catalogue because they are inflexible and convoluted. We were also asked to prepare a Procurement General Planning Information System (SiRUP) which previously we did not need to use in procuring government goods and services.” The ease of using E-Catalogue services and building intensive communication with users needs to get more attention from LKPP.
This aims to encourage increased participation in the use of E-Catalogue as a platform capable of realizing transparency in the government's goods and services procurement system.
CONCLUSION
The communication strategy undertaken by LKPP in socializing a transparent goods and services procurement system through the use of E-Catalogue has been working well. The communication strategy is carried out in several ways, starting from establishing rules and distributing circulars, creating content on the website and social media, publishing articles in the mass media, using social media, forming working groups, providing assistance to the regions, providing consulting services, and also in form of routine training for government institutions as well as service providers or MSMEs. The communication strategy implemented so far can be said to have been quite successful. This is marked by an increase in the number of displayed products and the number of participating service providers to make transactions through E-Catalogue.
However, behind this success there is still some homework that must be completed by LKPP to support the creation of a transparent goods and services procurement ecosystem through the use of the E-Catalogue. The most dominant obstacles are infrastructure, human resources and the size of the area being targeted by the socialization, which require
additional time, as well as agreement on the utilization of e-catalogue. With a communication strategy that is fast, precise, considerate, and easy to obtain access to information, miscommunication and complaints felt by users can be minimized.
Another homework we found was that there were too many features in the e-catalogue to confuse visitors as well as users. Therefore, based on our observations, there are several recommendations that can be used for improvement, including that LKPP can make a more focused campaign program, focusing on just one or two features for some time, so as to get input that can be evaluated together. Key Opinion Leaders (KOL), as persons who have certain expertise, both in terms of knowledge and abilities, whose opinions are well listened to by the wider community, are needed in improving the communication of products and services owned by LKPP. Apart from that, resources that have knowledge related to LKPP business units, competence and good communication skills are needed in conducting socialization of e-catalogue.
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