Trust, participation and street-level bureaucracy: interpreting service and governance experiences in coastal Indonesia

Introduction This article examines how citizen participation, institutional trust, and street-level implementation shape participant-perceived service and governance experiences in coastal Indonesia. Methods The study uses a multi-site qualitative design in three coastal districts of South Sulawesi. Data were collected through interviews and researcher-facilitated micro-FGDs with nine stakeholder groups and analyzed through NVivo-assisted abductive thematic analysis. Results The findings show that simple, accessible, and time-efficient participatory forums can strengthen communication between citizens and local government when they are supported by clear records, frontline mediation, and visible follow-up. These conditions make service and licensing processes appear more responsive to participants. However, fuel costs, seafood price volatility, digital divides, and uneven administrative capacity continue to limit equitable access. Discussion The study does not advance a causal model or claim measured improvements in service performance. Instead, it develops an interpretive framework showing how trust, participation, and frontline mediation are linked through feedback processes and shaped by access inequalities and operational constraints. The article contributes a practical framework for strengthening more accountable, inclusive, and responsive frontline governance in coastal local states.