Analysis of the internal and external factors supporting and inhibiting community empowerment in disaster management based on disaster-resilient villages

Community empowerment has a universal and multidimensional application in addressing various challenges, including disaster management. Achieving the goals and targets of disaster management without empowerment presents considerable difficulties. Empowerment is linked to various internal and external factors that either support or inhibit it. In Indonesia, the government, through the National Board for Disaster Management (NBDM), has established a model disaster-resilient village (DRV) as a basis to apply empowerment in disaster management. This study aims to analyze the internal and external factors that support and hinder empowerment, using a descriptive, analytical, exploratory, and comparative design. This research was conducted in one of the DRVs called Bili-Bili Village, in Bontomarannu District, Gowa Regency, South Sulawesi Province. Proportional sampling was employed to select a sample of 125 families, representing 20% of the total population. Data were collected by observation, interviews, and documentation methods. Based on our findings, the internal factors influencing empowerment include anxiety, experience, perception, and the level of support and assistance available. Inhibiting internal factors are limited competencies, lack of capacity to act, low commitment, and insufficient participation and involvement. Externally, the inhibiting factors consist of policy and program limitations, the roles and coordination among leading and supporting sectoral institutions, the influence of community leaders and government leadership, and weaknesses in coordination and cooperation mechanisms. To strengthen community empowerment in disaster management, particularly in the context of disaster-resilient villages, there is a need to enhance awareness, build capacity, and cultivate a supportive community culture.