CROP's activities are based on the foundation that knowledge about poverty is fundamental to understanding the mechanisms of poverty reduction, and that it is important that information on research results is made available to all levels in society. In this process CROP sees its role as four-fold: to collect research results, to produce research results, to secure quality control of the acquired information and to disseminate the information as widely as possible.

Several CROP publications have already appeared and provide, together with the CROP Newsletter and the CROP website, information about poverty research to a large international audience. A book series, CROP International Studies in Poverty Research, is published in collaboration with Zed Books, London, UK.