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. This Story of Change 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.
