Recent years have seen an increased interest about civil society involvement in macro-level policy processes in developing countries. In this context, budget research and budget advocacy have gained prominence, as different stakeholders realise that the processes through which public financial resources are collected and distributed are a key factor in the potential impact of government activities on poverty reduction. The purpose of this short paper is to explore the links that CSOs working on budgets make between research-based evidence and the policy process, by looking at three organizations in South Africa, Brazil and Ghana.