Inri Inggrit Indrayani, Engkus Kuswarno, Soleh Soemirat, Suwandi Sumartias
This study explored the emergence of local communities in post-reformation era in Indonesia as the impact of the decentralization system which had increased in the participatory and collaborative culture in public information as the major attention of Government Public Relations (GPR). The emergence of the Community Information Group (KIM) revealed that information dissemination as GPR activity transformed to be decentralized and based on local citizen empowerment. This research was conducted in Surabaya which has KIM role model. This research is a case study through in-depth interviews with seven local community activists and two elite GPR practitioners. This study indicates that the activists perceived that beyond as a local information disseminator, KIM extended other functions that identified more comprehensive in GPR practices through dialogic communication. These GPR practices ultimately have implications for strengthening local image building and identity to empower potential resources of the society. Afterward, these local resources would be expected to enhance the local citizens’ capability in the spirit of economic competition culture.