Reforming the Enabling Environment for Evidence-Informed Policymaking

Abstract

Knowledge sector actors do not exist in a vacuum. They are immersed in a web of rules and regulations that define how they link and interact with each other, what funding can be accessed for procuring and generating evidence and where space is available to allow evidence to influence plans and policies. This chapter examines the policies, procedures and practices that govern/shape the production of knowledge and its use in policymaking in Indonesia. The chapter begins by examining some of the challenges that inhibit the production and use of research to inform policymaking. It then discusses two examples of reforms that improved the country’s enabling environment for evidence-informed policymaking: funding for scientific and policy research and regulations governing government procurement of research. These reforms have expanded the space for producing quality, policy-relevant research and enabled policymakers to commission research from universities and policy research organisations. The authors describe the process and policy changes that led to the establishment of the Indonesia Science Fund and revised procurement regulations. The chapter concludes with suggestions about regulatory changes that may be still be required to continue reform in Indonesia’s knowledge sector enabling environment.