On December 18th 2013, the Indonesian House of Representatives passed the new Village Law, a vote that was the culmination of a journey that started in 2007. This story of change takes the passing of the Village Law as its starting point and describes the relative influence that research-based evidence produced by the Institute for Research and Empowerment has had at critical junctions of the legislative process. It concludes that good quality, research-based evidence is necessary but not sufficient to influence policy-making processes. Researchers and research organisations need to think and work politically to achieve their influencing goals and adapt to changes in local circumstances.
This study was produced through cooperation between the Australian Community Development and Civil Society Strengthening Scheme (ACCESS) and Knowledge Sector Initiative (KSI) with the support of the Australian Department of Foreign Affair and Trade.
