Leadership Training Policy Implementation at Inap Timor-Leste: Diagnosing Ineffectiveness and Strengthening Bureaucratic Capacity
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61194/ijss.v7i3.2333Keywords:
policy implementation, leadership training, inap, civil service apparatus, timor-lesteAbstract
Leadership training policy is a strategic instrument for developing the competency and professionalism of the civil service apparatus. In Timor-Leste, this mandate is institutionally assigned to the Instituto Nacional da Administração Pública (INAP) under Decree-Law No. 38/2012 and Decreto-Lei n.º 25/2016. Despite a legally sound normative foundation, implementation remains critically ineffective evidenced by only 150 participants trained out of 3,527 officials holding structural positions over three years (2022–2024). This study investigates why legal clarity has not translated into effective implementation, employing a qualitative case study design with data drawn from semi-structured interviews, document analysis, and field observation involving ten purposively selected informants. Analysis is framed through the Van Meter and Van Horn model, which reveals that the implementation gap stems from six interconnected failures: unoperationalized policy standards in the curriculum, insufficient human and material resources, unsystematic inter-organizational communication, weak characteristics of implementing agents, volatile socio-political conditions, and inconsistent implementor disposition. The study's specific contribution lies in empirically diagnosing these causal linkages within a nascent post-independence state context, where bureaucratic capacity-building remains structurally constrained. Findings suggest that normative adequacy alone is insufficient; effective implementation requires operationalized standards, strengthened resource capacity, coordinated inter-agency mechanisms, and institutionalized commitment among implementing actors.
References
Ali, G., & Magalhaes, R. (2008). Barriers to implementing e-learning: A Kuwaiti case study. International Journal of Training and Development. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2419.2007.00294.x
Amaliasari, I., & Priyadi, B. P. (2021). Implementasi kebijakan pelatihan kepemimpinan nasional tingkat II melalui e-learning di Lembaga Administrasi Negara. Journal of Management and Public Policy, 10(2), 16–35. https://doi.org/10.14710/jppmr.v10i2.30460
Bogdan, R. C., & Biklen, S. K. (2007). Qualitative Research for Education: An Introduction to Theory and Methods (5th ed.). Allyn & Bacon.
Brinkerhoff, D., & Crosby, B. L. (2002). Managing Policy Reform: Concepts and Tools for Decision-Makers in Developing and Transitioning Countries. Kumarian Press.
C. da F. Pública. (2024). Timor-Leste Civil Servant Data.
Decreto-Lei n.o 25/2012. (2012).
Decreto-Lei n.o 25/2016 on the Organization of Public Administration. (2016).
Decreto-Lei n.o 71/2022. (2022).
Government of the Republic of Indonesia. (2000). Government Regulation of the Republic of Indonesia No. 101 of 2000 on Education and Training for Civil Servant Positions.
Government of Timor-Leste. (2002). Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (RDTL).
Government of Timor-Leste. (2004). Law No. 8/2004 on the Civil Service of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. https://doi.org/10.5089/9781451837261.002
Government of Timor-Leste. (2012). Decree-Law No. 38/2012 on Civil Servant Training.
Grindle, M. S. (Ed.). (1980). Politics and Policy Implementation in the Third World. Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400886081
Haque, E., Akther, M., & Kim, I. (2020). Targeting the Microglial NLRP3 Inflammasome and Its Role in Parkinson’s Disease: NLRP3 Structure, Activation, and. Movement Disorders, 35(1), 20–33. https://doi.org/10.1002/mds.27874
Hersey, P., & Blanchard, K. H. (1969). Managing Research and Development Personnel: An Application of Leadership Theory. Research Management, 12(5), 331–338. https://doi.org/10.1080/00345334.1969.11755973
Hess, J., Klapper, L., & Beegle, K. (2021). Financial Inclusion, Women, and Building Back Better. https://doi.org/10.1596/35870
Ialves. (2009). Organic Law of the National Police of Timor-Leste (PNTL).
Knowles, M. S. (1980). The Modern Practice of Adult Education: From Pedagogy to Andragogy (Vol. 2). Cambridge Adult Education.
Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic Inquiry. Sage. https://doi.org/10.1016/0147-1767(85)90062-8
Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook. Sage.
Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldaña, J. (2014). Qualitative Data Analysis: A Methods Sourcebook. Sage.
Nasution, S. (2006). Metode Penelitian Naturalistik Kualitatif. Tarsito.
Nekwek, L. (2022). Implementasi Kebijakan Pengembangan di Kabupaten Yalimo Provinsi Papua. 1, 141–151. https://doi.org/10.53968/ja.v1i3.40
Pública, C. da F. (2024). Timor-Leste civil servant data.
Ramos, M., Martinho, G., & Pina, J. (2023). Strategies to Promote Construction and Demolition Waste Management in the Context of Local Dynamics. Waste Management, 162, 102–112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2023.02.028
Reis, D., Piedade, B., Correia, F. F., Dias, J. P., & Aguiar, A. (2021). Developing Docker and Docker-Compose Specifications: A Developers’ Survey. 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3137671
Rothwell, W. J. (2012). Competency-Based Human Resource Management. In W. J. Rothwell, J. Lindholm, K. K. Yarrish, & A. G. Zaballero (Eds.), The Encyclopedia of Human Resource Management. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118364741
Spradley, J. P. (1980). Administrative Science Quarterly. Administrative Science Quarterly, 25(3), 526–530. https://doi.org/10.2307/2392270
Suharsono, N. (2021). Analisis Dampak Perkembangan Pariwisata terhadap Kondisi Sosial Ekonomi Masyarakat. Business and Accounting Education Journal.
Van Maanen, J. (1980). Review of the Books Participant Observation and The Ethnographic Interview, by J. P. Spradley. Administrative Science Quarterly, 25(3), 526–530. https://doi.org/10.2307/2392270
Van Meter, D. S., & Van Horn, C. E. (1975). The Policy Implementation Process: A Conceptual Framework. Administration & Society, 6(4), 445–488. https://doi.org/10.1177/009539977500600404
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Belarmino da Costa, Edy Sutrisno
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
