Data-Driven Village Initiative in Ifale Jayapura Proven to Accelerate Local Economic Development

Ilustration by AI 

FORMOSA NEWS

A team of researchers and community service specialists from Universitas Cenderawasih successfully executed a data-driven village development initiative in Ifale Traditional Village, Sentani District, Jayapura Regency, Papua, conducted from March 3 to May 28, 2026. Led by Abner Herry Bajari alongside five scholars from Universitas Cenderawasih, the program addressed a long-standing challenge in rural governance: rural data that is fragmented, outdated, and isolated from economic decision-making. Utilizing a participatory community assistance model, the project transformed routine administrative records into a collective digital database designed to empower local micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), optimize the Lake Sentani fisheries sector, drive community-based tourism, and safeguard indigenous cultural assets.

Geographically and ecologically, life in Ifale Traditional Village is deeply connected to Lake Sentani. The village possesses substantial economic potential, including capture fisheries, fish processing, lake transportation, culinary ventures, traditional crafts, and cultural tourism. However, these resources could not be utilized effectively or equitably due to the absence of a verified, micro-level database. The village administration previously struggled to identify business operators, track production capacity, map market barriers, or identify vulnerable groups excluded from development benefits.

To bridge this data gap, the research team implemented a 10-week Participatory Community Assistance framework. This approach repositioned community members from passive survey subjects into active knowledge owners and data managers. The initiative trained 12 local data cadres out of 38 participants, comprising village officials, youth leaders, representatives of Village-Owned Enterprises (BUMKam), traditional leaders (ondoafi), and local business owners. The structured program progressed through five key stages: needs analysis, instrument design with ethical data governance, participatory data collection and mapping, validation and digitization, and a data-use planning forum.

Field enumeration covered 126 households (487 residents) with a 92% data completeness rate and an 88% cross-validation rate with customary authorities. Through this participatory mapping and survey process, the initiative successfully categorized and cataloged the village's economic assets:

• 41 MSME Units: Documented by product profiles, operational capacity, legal status, and market access needs.
• 28 Fishery Units: Encompassing capture fishers and lake product processors requiring value-chain enhancements and cold-chain infrastructure.
• 5 Key Tourism Assets: Mapping lakefront areas, ecotourism locations, and cultural sites for service readiness.
• 9 Cultural Assets: Archiving traditional practices, craftsmanship, and sacred sites under customary consent and access rules.
• Data Cadre Capacity Building: Average competency scores across five data management indicators rose significantly from 47.0 to 81.6 (a 34.6-point gain), with 83% of cadres demonstrating the ability to independently update the digital database.

The findings offer actionable insights for rural governance and public policy implementation. By combining an interactive database, a business directory, and spatial potential maps, the village government can now allocate development assistance with precision. Rather than applying uniform, top-down programs, interventions are tailored to specific needs—such as packaging support and licensing for MSMEs, cold storage facilities for fishers, and integrated tour packaging for Lake Sentani tourism. Furthermore, the project established an ethical framework for indigenous data sovereignty, ensuring sensitive cultural knowledge remains protected under traditional governance.

Abner Herry Bajari from Universitas Cenderawasih emphasized the long-term impact of integrating evidence-based planning into rural management. "Data-driven village empowerment is not merely about digitizing paper files; it represents a fundamental shift in development governance. When local cadres and residents own their data, economic program planning transitions from guesswork to evidence-based decision-making," he stated.

Author Profile

• Renida Jozelina Toroby, S.Sos., M.Si.: Lecturer and researcher at Universitas Cenderawasih specializing in social sciences, public administration, and rural community empowerment in Papua.
• Y. Gabriel Maniagasi, S.Sos., M.Si.: Academic at Universitas Cenderawasih focusing on public policy analysis, regional development, and local institutional development.
• Dr. Abner Herry Bajari, S.Sos., M.Si.: Lead researcher and head of the community service program at Universitas Cenderawasih, with expertise in participatory research methodologies, development communication, and indigenous economic mapping.
• Dr. Hiskia C.M. Sapioper, S.Sos., M.Si.: Lecturer at Universitas Cenderawasih specializing in village governance management and local economic development.
• Dorthea Renyaan, S.Sos., M.Si.: Academic at Universitas Cenderawasih actively involved in community assistance research, gender equality, and MSME development.
• Melkianus Rumbrawer, S.E., M.Si.: Economics researcher and lecturer at Universitas Cenderawasih focusing on fishery value chain analysis, BUMKam enterprise development, and local business planning.

Research Source

Article Title: Assistance in Building Data-Based Villages for Local Economic Development in the Ifale Traditional Village, Jayapura Regency
Journal: Indonesian Journal of Society Development (IJSD)
Publication Year: 2026 (Vol. 5, No. 3, pp. 343–360)
Official DOI : https://doi.org/10.55927/ijsd.v5i3.34

URL : https://journalijsd.my.id/index.php/ijsd/index