Accountability and Transparency in the Management of Grant Funds for the Young Beginner Entrepreneur Program (WMP): A Phenomenological Study of WMP Awardees in the Culinary Subsector at the Youth and Sports Agency (Dispora) of DKI Jakarta Province

Abstract

This study aims to understand the experiences of culinary subsector awardees of the Youth Beginner Entrepreneur Program (Wirausaha Muda Pemula/WMP) in managing and reporting grant funds, interpreting accountability and transparency, and understanding the awardees’ interpretation of the roles of the Youth Entrepreneurship Forum (FKP) DKI Jakarta and the Youth and Sports Agency (Dispora) of DKI Jakarta Province in the process. This study employs a qualitative method with a transcendental phenomenological approach. Data were obtained through in-depth interviews with six culinary subsector WMP awardees as the main informants, supported by two informants from FKP and two informants from Dispora. The findings show that the awardees’ experiences in managing grant funds were not only administrative, involving the preparation of budget plans, fund realization, transaction recording, collection of supporting evidence, and preparation of accountability reports, but also moral and practical. Grant funds were interpreted as a mandate for business development. Accountability was interpreted as the responsibility to use funds in accordance with program objectives, while transparency was interpreted as openness and traceability in the use of funds. The essence of the awardees’ experience lies in balancing the mandate of public funds with the dynamics of culinary micro-enterprises.