Evaluating Merit-Based Promotion, Transfer, and Career Development in Local Government: Evidence from Indonesia

This study aims to evaluate the implementation of the merit system in promotions, transfers, and career development of State Civil Apparatus (ASN) in the Ngawi Regency Government and identify supporting and inhibiting factors in its implementation. The study used a descriptive qualitative approach with a case study design. Data were obtained through semi-structured interviews with seven informants, observation, and documentation, then analyzed through data reduction, data presentation, and drawing and verifying conclusions. The evaluation used Dunn's six criteria: effectiveness, efficiency, adequacy, equity, responsiveness, and appropriateness. The results show that the merit system has a formal foundation in the form of personnel procedures, competency assessments, performance appraisals, competency mapping, and information systems. However, its substantive implementation is not yet fully consistent because competency and performance data have not always been the primary basis for promotion and transfer decisions, while competency development has not been fully connected to career development. The main obstacles include bureaucratic culture, seniority, personal closeness, limited integration of personnel data, the capacity of human resource managers, and unequal opportunities for competency development. This study identifies the formal–substantive merit implementation gap as an analytical perspective to explain the gap between the existence of formal merit systems and the consistency of their use in practice. These findings underscore the importance of integrating competency and performance data, traceability of personnel decisions, and strengthening the link between competency development and career management to substantively strengthen the implementation of the merit system.