WFD works closely with the Indonesian parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (Badan Akuntabilitas Keuangan Negara or BAKN) to continually improve parliament’s oversight of government budget and expenditure.

Through the Inclusive and Accountable Politics (IAP) programme, WFD has provided extensive learning opportunities for the BAKN by facilitating study visits to the Public Accounts Committee of the UK House of Commons as well as the UK National Audit Office, holding thematic workshops, and training the committee’s staff and leadership.

WFD continues to be a partner to the committee in upholding its mandate and carrying out its role in scrutinising public finances. Capacity building initiatives facilitated by WFD have successfully led to the BAKN’s first assessment of government spending in 2020 which focused on energy subsidies. 

WFD has played a central role in introducing methods to review the application, effectiveness and consequences of laws to the Indonesian Parliament at both national and subnational levels. This practice is known as post-legislative scrutiny.

An amendment to the 2011 Law on Formation of Legislation in 2019 established the procedure for legislative scrutiny in the legislation cycle. With support from the British and Canadian Embassies in Jakarta, WFD ran a string of post-legislative scrutiny pilot projects in subnational parliaments focusing on local regulations that discriminate against women, religious minorities, LGBT+ people, and people with disabilities.

In 2020, WFD organised a series of focus group discussions on environmental issues with cross-committee MPs in partnership with the Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Committee (BKSAP) of DPR RI. In 2021, as part of the Partnership for Accelerated Climate Transitions (UK PACT) programme managed by BEIS and later FCDO, WFD began implementing a project aimed at strengthening the role of DPR RI in raising the ambition level of Indonesia’s climate action through more evidence-based and inclusive legislation, robust oversight of the government’s nationally determined contribution (NDC) commitments delivery, and the incorporation of green budgeting framework into the parliament’s budget oversight model. 

In 2022, as part of a cross-country ASEAN regional programme funded by Global Affairs Canada through its Pro-Dem Fund, WFD began implementing a project aimed at addressing the barriers to women’s political leadership in Indonesia. In 2022, in partnership with UN Women Indonesia, WFD facilitated the signing of a declaration to fight violence against women in politics by all 9 political parties with seats in DPR RI as well as a representative of the Regional Representatives Council (DPD RI). In 2023, WFD trained over 170 women legislative candidates ahead of the 2024 election and launched a comprehensive module dissecting the structural, financial, and sociocultural challenges faced by women in politics.