## Key Messages 1. Better understanding of low- and middle-income country domestic policy actors' experiences of donor influence during priority setting, policy formulation, policy implementation and monitoring and evaluation of policies, and what mechanisms drive this, can be critical for strengthening national ownership of health policies. 2. This study involving high-level policy actors in Pakistan and Cambodia indicated that control of financial resources was the most commonly identified route by which donors influenced priority setting and policy implementation. 3. However, unequal power relations may be perpetuated in subtle ways beyond control of financial resources, including exclusionary practices in knowledge production, dissemination, and utilization for policy and planning. ==Thus, a truly 'new aid approach' should reconsider not only financing and lending modalities, but also important issues in the daily practice of donor-recipient relations, including the extent to which local expertise is supported, valued and involved at all stages in the policy process.==