This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (qualitative). The objectives are as follows:

To explore the use of evidence from civil society in national and subnational health policy processes.

The specific research questions will include the following.

• How is evidence from civil society incorporated into health policy processes and what types of evidence are (or are not) incorporated?

• How do civil society actors perceive and experience the use of their evidence in health policy processes?

• How do decision-makers, healthcare providers and other stakeholders in health policy processes experience and use civil society evidence, and what factors affect this process?

• What are civil society actors', healthcare providers', decision-makers' and other stakeholders' views and experiences of how evidence from civil society actors influences inclusiveness, responsiveness and accountability within health policy processes?