Since 2006 , RAPID and the Civil Society Partnership Programme have embarked on a research-action process to understand the challenges the CSOs in developing countries face to influence pro-poor policy processes using research based evidence. The objective of this broader initiative is to develop, in consensus with our partners in developing countries, a strategy to support and promote a more systematic use of evidence in policymaking. This particular project has aimed to collect case studies of CSOs attempting to influence policy processes as a means of learning about the challenges that they face and the strategies they follow to overcome them. The lessons learned from these cases can provide excellent examples of the existing practical knowledge of policy influencing strategies held by development researchers and practitioners in developing countries. Hopefully, this study will help systematise these lessons offering CSOs practical recommendations for action.