Skip to main content
Independent · Non-partisan · Evidence-led · Global
Delegates in conversation before a wall of windows at an international policy forum.
Independent global research institute

Evidence-based research on the decisions that cross borders, sectors and systems.

For governments, business, investors, international organisations and researchers — peer-reviewed analysis, market intelligence and policy research across nine areas.

Explore researchRead the latest publications

Every publication states its methods, data and funding. Non-partisan.

publications since 2025
30publications since 2025
research programmes
9research programmes
countries covered
140+countries covered
reports published with data and methods
Allreports published with data and methods
Where we work

Cross-border research spanning five regions, weighing evidence from many countries rather than a single vantage point.

Current studies draw on fieldwork and partner institutions across these regions, selected for comparative coverage rather than convenience.

Regions where the Institute runs comparative studies, colour-matched to the markers on the map:
  • Africa
  • Americas
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Middle East
Independent research

The International Research Institute is an independent, not-for-profit institute producing peer-reviewed research on the questions that cross borders, sectors and systems. We combine academic analysis, market intelligence and policy research — and publish the data, methods and funding behind every study, so our findings can be checked, replicated and used with confidence.

Latest

Latest publications and insights

View all publications
A gloved technician in a cleanroom bunny-suit inspecting a silicon wafer that catches the light in rainbow diffraction — the concentrated, capital-intensive fabrication step at the heart of the chip supply chain.Market Study

Semiconductors and Critical Supply Chains: Geoeconomics and Market Structure

Abstract view of an empty public square with rows of stone benches.Commentary

The shrinking-civic-space narrative has a measurement problem

Long-exposure photograph down a data-centre aisle, ranks of networking equipment lit in cool blue — the compute and infrastructure layer that underpins enterprise artificial intelligence.Flagship Report

Artificial Intelligence in the Enterprise: Adoption, Governance and Market Trajectory

Insights

Analysis and commentary from our researchers

Abstract view of a government office workstation with dual monitors, unoccupied.Analysis

AI procurement in the public sector: three findings from our survey

Rows of solar panels stretching to the horizon beside high-voltage transmission pylons at dusk — generation and the grid that must carry it, the two halves of the energy-transition investment story.Flagship Report

The Energy Transition: Investment, Policy and Climate-Technology Markets

Abstract view of a national archive reading room with rows of filing shelves.Analysis

State capacity metrics: what the standard indices miss

Research

Nine research areas

All research areas
Featured researchBrowse the archive

Featured research

Military transport aircraft and armoured vehicles under assembly on a production floor, welding sparks in the background — a defence industrial base built for efficiency now under pressure to deliver mass at rate.
Sector Report · Security & Strategic Affairs

Defence Technology and the Strategic Industrial Base

PDF · 13 pp · 1.9 MB

Recently published

Standards

How we work

  1. 01

    Methods in every report

    Each publication states its data sources, sample and analytical approach so findings can be checked and reproduced.

    Read more
  2. 02

    Peer review & external advisers

    Studies are reviewed internally and, where appropriate, by external advisers before publication.

    Read more
  3. 03

    Funding & independence disclosed

    We disclose who funded each study and how our editorial independence is protected.

    Read more
Independent research is only as good as the evidence behind it. We publish the data, the methods and the funding for every study, so a reader can weigh our conclusions rather than take them on trust.
Karolina Nowak-Dubois, Director of Research
Commercial capability

Market research for evidence-based strategy.

We help organisations understand markets, customers and competitors through independent research — with the data and methods documented in every study.

Commission a project
For…

Find what's relevant to you

We work with decision-makers across sectors. Choose your vantage point.

Support our work

Independent research, sustained by our partners

The International Research Institute is an independent, not-for-profit institute. Our work is funded through grants, research partnerships and commissioned studies, and we disclose the funding behind every publication. We welcome funders, foundations and partner organisations who share our commitment to evidence-based, non-partisan analysis.

Partner with us
Newsletter

Research to your inbox

New publications, market intelligence and commentary — measured, and no noise.