Determinants of Enhanced Trained Human Resources in Flood Disaster Risk Reduction (A Case Study in Sidomulyo Village, Lamongan)

In many developing regions, top-down infrastructural solutions fail to mitigate recurrent disasters, such as the annual Bengawan Jero flood in East Java, Indonesia, which causes estimated losses of IDR 29 billion (approximately USD 1.8 million). This failure underscores the critical need for community-level capacity, yet Sidomulyo Village remains a “cold spot” with a severe deficit in trained human resources. This research aims to identify the key determinants for enhancing these resources. Employing Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM), the roles of local institutions, social capital and human capital were assessed. The analysis shows that human capital has a strong, direct positive effect on trained human resources (β = 0.644, p value 0.000), while local institutions and social capital have no significant direct effect. However, the study uncovers a critical indirect path wherein social capital significantly impacts trained human resources by mediating the development of human capital (β = 0.343, p value 0.013). The clear conclusion is that effective strategies for enhancing trained human resources must focus on building human capital while using social capital as the fundamental supporting mechanism.