<![CDATA[This study examines the institutionalization process of collaborative governance in rural clean water supply in Batuah Village, Kutai Kartanegara Regency, Indonesia. The study aims to analyze how collaborative governance develops and becomes institutionalized through leadership-driven dynamics involving multiple stakeholders. A qualitative approach was employed using in-depth interviews, Focus Group Discussions (FGD), observation, and document analysis. Data were analyzed using the interactive analysis model of Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña, while the analytical framework integrated the Collaborative Governance Model of Ansell and Gash, the Integrative Framework for Collaborative Governance of Emerson and Nabatchi, and an institutionalization perspective. The findings reveal that collaborative governance in Batuah Village emerged from severe clean water limitations and evolved progressively through facilitative leadership, collective learning, trust-building, and adaptive institutional arrangements. Village leadership played a central role as initiator, mobilizer, and boundary spanner in connecting stakeholders and sustaining collaboration. Early program outcomes, including improved water access, reduced household water costs, and increased community participation, strengthened collaborative legitimacy and stakeholder commitment. Over time, collaboration evolved from informal interaction into a more structured governance system characterized by formal agreements, role distribution, and community-based management mechanisms. The study contributes to collaborative governance literature by proposing leadership-driven institutionalization, emphasizing local leadership in transforming collaborative initiatives into sustainable institutional arrangements in rural governance contexts]]>
