Cultural-Based Collaborative Governance: Evidence from Multi-Driven Communities in SIPA, Indonesia

This study examines how interactions among local community actors shape alternative governance frameworks in event tourism, focusing on the Solo International Performing Arts (SIPA) in Indonesia. Drawing on collaborative governance and institutional theories, it addresses a critical research gap regarding how informal institutions stabilize multi-stakeholder networks facing resource constraints in the Global South. Utilizing an interpretive qualitative design, data were generated through semi-structured interviews with 23 informants, participant observation, and document analysis analysed via NVivo 14. Informants span four purpose-driven functional clusters: the Managing, Creative, Support, and Public-Digital communities. The findings reveal that SIPA's multi-layered orchestration bypasses rigid, top-down bureaucratic structures through continuous horizontal and vertical cross-community interactions. Crucially, four indigenous Javanese cultural values—gotong royong, guyub rukun, tepo seliro, and nguri-uri kabudayan—operate as active informal institutions rather than passive backdrops. These values serve as practical operational tools for non-monetary resource mobilization, hierarchical reduction, empathetic conflict resolution, and decentralized civic legitimacy. Consequently, this article conceptualizes culture-based collaborative governance as a hybrid model where formal state mechanisms provide structural space, while informal customary regimes regulate day-to-day operations and foster deep, sovereign community participation.

Culture-based collaborative governance, Informal institutions, Community participation, Indigenous values, Event tourism, Destination resilience

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