Abstract Background Local government (LG) is ideally placed to influence the determinants of public health (PH) and reduce inequalities, but opportunities are routinely missed. Aims and objectives The aim of the Local Authority Champions of Research (LACoR) study was to explore ways to embed a culture of evidence use in LG. Methods Five linked work packages were undertaken using mixed methods. In this paper, we report data from semi-structured interviews with UK local authority (LA) staff (n=14).