The IRAM group is an independent structure composed of two entities, IRAM Association and its affiliated commercial company IRAM Development. The group operates on several levels: i) through concrete involvement in development operations in the North and South, working on long-term projects and short consultancies as a direct operator or an advisory structure; ii) using these concrete experiences to develop procedures, methods and tools; iii) establishing long-term partnerships with organisations in developing countries; iv) contributing to lobbying actions at different levels; v) teaching and contributing to research initiatives. IRAM strives to reduce inequalities at every level from the local to the international, and to promote more equal societies that are capable of defining their own development paths. Working with all the social groups concerned, our aim is to research, develop and promote options for sustainable human development and greater social cohesion. These options typically include (i) viable economic foundations that serve the shared interests of actors in a given area; (ii) sustainable ways of exploiting resources with fairly distributed access rights (and practices); (iii) favourable policy frameworks based on transparent and shared governance, solid public and private institutions, and an informed and organised plural civil society. Our activities prioritise support for the most vulnerable social groups in developing countries, such as smallholders, women, youth and nomadic pastoralists.