This article addresses the link between research on adaptation to climate change and the related policy environment in which it operates. Drawing on recent case studies under the Climate Change Adaptation in Africa (CCAA) programme, we show how unpacking of policy processes through analysis of narratives, actors and politics can help shed light on important policy challenges for adaptation. The case studies reveal competing views on adaptation problems and strategies as well as their associated actors and political interests. They also identify spaces that could provide opportunities for policy engagement and influence, and ways of bridging research‐policy gaps to support adaptation. We argue that such analyses are critical in order to provide greater coherence between evidence from adaptation research and emerging government policies and strategies on climate change in developing countries.