The Knowledge Sector Initiative (KSI) is a 15-year programme to help develop systems that will enhance the production and use of knowledge, especially research knowledge, during development planning processes and on priority policy issues in Indonesia.

This working paper explores the factors that shape policy processes in Indonesia, focussing on the types of knowledge that tends to be influential in shaping policy and why. The authors reflect on the implications of knowledge use for KSI and how it works with its partners.

The paper answers three questions through the study of three specific cases in Indonesia:

1. struggles to expand the autonomy of higher education instiutions,

2. efforts to reform bureaucracy, and

3. the identification of strategic priorities to allocate resources efficiently in over 500 Indonesian districts.