The Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD) is a French research organisation based in Marseille that, together with its partners, addresses international development issues. Improving health conditions, understanding society, and preserving the environment and its resources are the pillars of its work, with a view to achieving sustainable development goals. As a science and technology establishment, the IRD is under the joint supervision of the French Ministries of Research and of Foreign Affairs. Its collaborative activities in research, education and innovation, are undertaken jointly with local partners in Africa, the Mediterranean, Asia, Latin America and overseas. Interdisciplinary projects conducted jointly handle crucial issues: tropical diseases and civilisation, relationships between health and environment, climate change, water resources, food security, tropical and Mediterranean ecosystems, natural hazards, poverty, vulnerability and social inequality, migration, changes in the labour market and more.