The Institute for Research and Experiment in Development Methods is an international, private, non-profit-making association under Swiss law. Its headquarters are in Geneva and its management in Paris (Rue Réaumur). The constitution requires that all its activities shall be carried out without political, religious, or racial distinction.

I.R.A.M. was born along with the newly independent countries, to answer the historical need for research and action to ensure the participation of the people in development programmes. It is based on the notion of‘animation’, which arose resulting from a meeting between African and South American leaders and a small group of Europeans who had been actively involved in the struggle for independence in many countries under colonial rule before 1956.