Transparency and Accountability Effects on Public Satisfaction Through Religious Grant Management Effectiveness in Kaimana

Purpose: This study examines the direct and indirect effects of transparency and accountability on public satisfaction through the effectiveness of religious grant fund management in Kaimana Regency.
Methodology: A quantitative explanatory survey design was employed involving 90 religious leaders and administrators representing Islamic, Catholic, Protestant, and Hindu houses of worship. Data were collected using a structured Likert-scale questionnaire and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM).
Results: The findings show that transparency significantly improves both grant management effectiveness and public satisfaction. Accountability significantly improves management effectiveness, however, its direct effect on public satisfaction is not significant. Grant management effectiveness significantly increases public satisfaction and mediates the effects of both transparency and accountability.
Conclusion: The findings indicate that effective religious grant management serves as an important mechanism for translating transparency and accountability into improved public satisfaction. Governance principles create greater public value when implemented through accurate targeting, timely implementation, appropriate fund utilization, and visible community benefits.
Limitation: This study is limited to religious grant management in Kaimana Regency and uses cross-sectional survey data based on respondents’ perceptions, which may restrict the generalizability of the findings to other regions and public grant management contexts.
Contribution: This study contributes to public governance literature by demonstrating the mediating role of religious grant management effectiveness in linking transparency and accountability with public satisfaction. The findings provide practical implications for strengthening information disclosure, standardized reporting, monitoring mechanisms, complaint systems, and community participation in grant evaluation.