A Crown corporation, IDRC supports leading thinkers who advance knowledge and solve practical development problems. IDRC provide the resources, advice, and training they need to implement and share their solutions with those who need them most. In short, IDRC increases opportunities — and makes a real difference in people’s lives.
Working with their development partners, they multiply the impact of their investment and bring innovations to more people in more countries around the world. IDRC offers fellowships and awards to nurture a new generation of development leaders.
The head IDRC office is located in Ottawa, Canada, while four regional offices keep them close to their work. Those offices are located in Cairo, Egypt; Montevideo, Uruguay; Nairobi, Kenya; and New Delhi, India.
IDRC is governed by a board of up to 14 governors, whose chairperson reports to Parliament through the Minister of International Development.
IDRC was established by an act of Canada’s parliament in 1970 with a mandate “to initiate, encourage, support, and conduct research into the problems of the developing regions of the world and into the means for applying and adapting scientific, technical, and other knowledge to the economic and social advancement of those regions.”