This paper shows how the ‘Driving Change’ project in Indonesia used advocacy and capacity-building to ensure that the voices of poor people, especially women, became part of government planning processes to alleviate poverty. It focuses on people’s participation at village level as a key entry point, leading to advocacy for policy change at district and national levels. It also shows the successes and challenges of this kind of work for pro-poor policy development, and the need for deeper participatory approaches on poverty reduction.