Development co-operation in the legal and human rights sector is challenging. It is political, nuanced, and involves multiple, often competing, stakeholders. Adding to this, significant time is spent determining suitable fields for co-operation, designing comprehensive programmes, and establishing robust monitoring and evaluation frameworks. Donors often strive for “ownership” of programmes with tangible results that justify ongoing co-operation. Amid this added complexity, it is easy to forget that good programmes are often simple, well-founded ones that set realistic goals and timeframes. Sense and simplicity can be overlooked. This article draws on lessons learned from personal experiences in two legal and human rights co-operation programmes in Indonesia to discuss six points at the heart of this concept of sense and simplicity. The points are not exhaustive, and are not always easy to implement in the face of political realities. They are a starting point, and stress the need to get back to basics when planning, implementing, and monitoring such programmes.