Formulating priorities for improving governance in Bolaang Mongondow Selatan Regency: a SWOT and analytical hierarchy process approach

This study aimed to establish priorities for enhancing governance in regional governments by integrating Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis with the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Secondary data were drawn from the Kabupaten Bolaang Mongondow Selatan Dalam Angka publications for 2021 to 2025, encompassing indicators related to government administration, regional finance, civil servants, villages, population, employment, education, health, and other supporting metrics. A descriptive time-series analysis was conducted to assess governance conditions over a five-year period; a SWOT analysis was used to identify internal and external strategic factors; and a normative AHP was employed to determine strategic priority weights by synthesizing secondary indicators and policy considerations. The findings indicate that Bolaang Mongondow Selatan Regency possesses strengths in the stability of its village government structure, the availability of annual sectoral databases, regulatory support, and the potential for digital service integration. Weaknesses were identified in limited regional fiscal capacity, reliance on transfer funds, suboptimal data integration, and disparities in civil servant quality and cross-sector service delivery. Opportunities were found in digital transformation agendas, bureaucratic reform programs, performance-based accountability systems, and multi-stakeholder collaboration. Threats include fiscal volatility, program fragmentation risks, disaster pressures, territorial vulnerability, and rising public expectations. The AHP weighting results prioritized the integration of digital services and enhancement of government databases, followed by strengthening locally generated revenue and performance-based budgeting, developing civil servant competence, enhancing public participation, and improving institutional coordination. The study concluded that advancing regional governance requires an integrated strategy encompassing fiscal reform, human resource development, digital transformation, and enhanced accountability, and recommends that the regional government implement a phased and measurable governance reform roadmap subject to periodic evaluation.