Journal of Economics and Sustainable Development www.iiste.org ISSN 2222-1700 (Paper) ISSN 2222-2855 (Online) Vol.8, No.20, 2017 42 Community Participation and Stakeholders in Village Fund Management Budi Siswanto 1 Kridawati Sadhana 1 Yusaq Tomo 2 1.Lecture, Faculty of Social and Political Science, Merdeka University, Malang, Indonesia 2.Lecture, Faculty of Economic and Business, Merdeka University, Malang, Indonesia Abstract The Village Fund (DD) is a form of state recognition of the authority of the Village to manage autonomously. DD management is conducted in a participatory manner by actively involving all stakeholders and especially the village community in planning, implementation and evaluation. Community participation and stakeholders who become strategic points in the management of DD interesting to investigate further. This study uses descriptive qualitative method to give meaning to the reality that formed socially. The results of the study show that: (1) Village Consultative Board (BPD) and Village Community Empowerment Institution (LPMD) have not been able to act as bridges of community aspiration, (2) Village Deliberations are still routine so that community participation does not have the authority and power to manage the overall program . Increased capacity of village government needed to reach the community empowerment side. Implementation of community empowerment can be seen from the opening of space of participation, authority and control over the decisions for the community, especially the poor, on the implementation of development. Keywords: Participation, stakeholders, Village Fund management 1. Introduction In the context of Indonesia, rural areas are an area that is synonymous with underdevelopment in various fields. One of the important provisions of Law No. 6 of 2014 concerning Villages is the presence of Village Funds to address the classical rural issues by improving the welfare of the village community, improving the quality of life of the villagers, tackling poverty through the provision of basic needs, the development of facilities and infrastructure, local economic potential, and sustainable use of natural resources and environment, so that the village community has competitiveness. The allocation of Village Funds received by the Villages is in the form of transfers, not in the form of projects so as to fully become the authority of the Village. Consequently, the priority of the proposal is from the village community, discussed and decided by the villagers themselves in the village consultative forum (Musdes) and the village development plan (Musrenbangdes) meeting, taking into consideration the capabilities, potentials and assets owned by the village itself and each village's financial resources year. The decision is not made by the Village Head or Village Device, because the Village government is the implementer of the village community mandate. This is in agreement with the Village Fund management context which mandates the application of the principles of transparency and participation, in order to create mutual trust between the community and the Village Fund manager. Village Fund Management in this case is represented by the village apparatus that is able to accommodate the aspirations of the community by way of village deliberation. The application of this principle is seen as the best way to foster a sense of community ownership over citizen-based projects, develop and nurture democratic institutions, reduce conflicts of interest, and achieve sustainable development goals. One of the earliest and most vital stages of any development process is the planning stage. At the village level in Indonesia, the planning stage is known as "musrenbangdes", which is a village community consultation forum. Thus musrenbangdes is a planning that will determine the success of the development to be implemented. Community participation in each stage of village development planning is intended as an effort to foster a sense of belonging, a sense of belonging part of the element of social capital, to the facilities or infrastructure to be built. In the past, development planning and the entire development agenda was determined by the government. This situation makes the community tend to be passive and tend to give birth to society's exceptions to the problem of development so that regional development planning is only seen as the responsibility of government only while the aspirations of the community is only considered as non-binding advice. As a result, the development is not in accordance with the needs of the community, the result is less lifting the quality of community life and become threatened sustainability. Entering the era of implementation of the Village Law, Village Funds are prioritized for community development and empowerment in accordance with village community agreements contained in RPJMDes, RKPDes and APBDes. It is hoped that such allocation of Village Fund (DD) will have the potential to accelerate the growth and development of the village to overcome the problems that make the village an ever-marginal area. Development planning and implementation should involve the wider community through the granting of