Optimizing Public Service to Enhance Community Satisfaction: A CIPP Model Policy Evaluation at the Regional Secretariat of Merauke Regency, Indonesia

This study evaluates public service policy under Regional Regulation of Merauke Regency Number 10 of 2018 on Public Services at the Regional Secretariat of Merauke Regency, examined through the context, input, process, and product (CIPP) dimensions, and formulates improvement strategies to optimize public service in enhancing community satisfaction. The study employed an evaluative approach with a mixed-methods design. Qualitative data were collected through in-depth interviews, observation, and document analysis, while quantitative data were obtained through a Community Satisfaction Survey (Survei Kepuasan Masyarakat, SKM). Research informants comprised managerial, technical-operational, and service-user groups, while survey respondents comprised 16 active service users. Data were analyzed using the CIPP model. The findings show that, on the context dimension, public service policy is normatively relevant and generally aligned with community needs, yet not fully adaptive to the technical demands of field-level service delivery. On the input dimension, the Regional Secretariat has established a sufficient administrative foundation, including standard operating procedures and service charters, but operational support remains weak in human-resource capacity, personnel adequacy, supporting facilities, and digital-system stability. On the process dimension, service delivery has generally been orderly, yet continues to face challenges in service-time certainty, inter-unit coordination, complaint management, and the utilization of evaluation results. On the product dimension, service outcomes are generally categorized as good, with an average Community Satisfaction Index (Indeks Kepuasan Masyarakat, IKM) score of 3.419 out of 4.00, or 85.50 on a 100-point scale, though weaknesses persist in timeliness, accessibility, cost transparency, and uneven service quality across units, particularly the Social Welfare Section and the Public Information and Documentation Management Unit (PPID). Based on these findings, the proposed improvement strategies include aligning policy more closely with the community's dominant service needs, strengthening apparatus capacity and supporting facilities, improving service processes and complaint-handling systems, and enhancing service outcomes through greater time certainty, cost transparency, strengthened accessibility, and periodic satisfaction-based evaluation. The study concludes that optimizing public service at the Regional Secretariat of Merauke Regency requires integrated strengthening across the context, input, process, and product dimensions simultaneously.