Reducing Digital Exclusion at the Border through Village Bureaucratic Reform: A Critical Study of Administrative Burden in Village Website Implementation

<ns5:p>Digital transformation has become a central strategy for improving public service delivery, administrative efficiency, and governance transparency in rural areas. In Indonesia, the Digital Village Program has encouraged villages to adopt information and communication technologies to modernize public administration and strengthen citizen participation. This study examines how the implementation of a village website in Tapenpah Village, a border community located between Indonesia and Timor-Leste, reshapes administrative practices and generates administrative burdens for citizens. Employing a qualitative phenomenological approach with a case study design, data were collected through in-depth interviews with key informants, including the village head, village operators, and community members, complemented by field observations and document analysis. The analysis was guided by Administrative Burden Theory, focusing on learning costs, compliance costs, and psychological costs experienced by citizens when accessing digital public services. The findings indicate that the village website has improved administrative efficiency, transparency, information dissemination, and institutional responsiveness by reducing dependence on conventional face-to-face bureaucratic interactions. Nevertheless, significant barriers remain. Limited internet connectivity, unequal access to digital infrastructure, and insufficient digital literacy restrict the effective utilization of online services, particularly among elderly residents and citizens living in remote hamlets. Consequently, digital governance generates multiple forms of administrative burden, requiring citizens to learn new digital procedures, comply with additional technological requirements, and cope with uncertainty and frustration when navigating online systems. To mitigate these challenges, the village government adopted a hybrid administrative service model that combines digital platforms with assisted face-to-face services provided by village operators. The study concludes that digital governance initiatives in rural border regions require adaptive, inclusive, and citizen-centered implementation strategies. Without adequate investments in digital infrastructure, institutional capacity, and digital literacy, digitalization may inadvertently reproduce administrative exclusion rather than promote equitable access to public services.</ns5:p>