International Development Research Centre

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The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is a Canadian crown corporation that supports researchers from the developing world in their search for the means to build healthier, more equitable, and more prosperous societies.

IDRC helps build local capacity in developing countries to undertake research and create innovations. IDRC also supports networking and knowledge sharing between scientific, academic, and development communities in Canada and developing countries. The Centre supports research under the broad themes of: Environment and Natural Resource Management (ENRM); Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D); Social and Economic Policy (SEP); and Innovation, Policy and Science (IPS).

The Centre declares its mission to support Canada’s foreign and innovation policy, including the commitment to bring the benefits of Canadian research and development ability to assist in facing the challenges of the developing world, and also the long-term objective to assign no less than 5% of Canada’s research and development (R&D) investment to development assistance.^[1]

IDRC was created by an Act of the Canadian Parliament in 1970, with a governance structure that includes an arm’s length relationship to Government and an international Board of Governors. In accordance with the IDRC Act, the 21-member Board of Governors oversees the Centre’s strategic direction. The Board comprises 11 members from Canada and 10 from other countries, including developing countries. Dr Gordon Smith is the Chairman of the Board. As President and a member of the Board, the President, Maureen O’Neil, manages the Centre’s operations with the support of the Senior Management Committee. Dr. Keith Bezanson, an educator and former diplomat, became IDRC’s third president in 1991. He followed Ivan Head, a diplomat, lawyer, and scholar.

As a member of Canada’s international policy community, IDRC works collaboratively with a number of federal government departments. Guided by the Board of Governors, IDRC reports to Parliament through the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Many leading development agencies, including the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the UK Department for International Development, the Ford Foundation, and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, as well as private sector partners — including Microsoft Corporation — have chosen to partner with IDRC because of its widely recognized experience and good corporate governance.

IDRC has its head office in Ottawa and regional offices in Cairo, Dakar, Delhi, Montevideo, Nairobi, and Singapore.

IDRC Books is the publishing arm of International Development Research Centre. Published both online and in print, the results of IDRC-supported research on global and regional issues related to sustainable and equitable development. As a specialist in development literature, IDRC Books contributes to the body of knowledge on these issues to further the causes of global understanding, equity, and well-being.