IPD has five areas of work, namely:

1. Political Reform

The Political Reform Work Team is involved in research and advocacy work pertaining to political and institutional reforms necessary for democratic deepening.   The Team supports the political project of reforming the political system so as to encourage the rise of party-based politics and strengthen the role of political parties representing movements.  It is involved in the efforts to reform the Philippine electoral system to level the playing field in the contests for representation

2. Local Governance

The Local Governance Work Team focuses on developing tools that community organizers, participatory governance advocates and local governments can use to encourage collective action within communities. Our work in local governance could be construed as the technical component of a broader political project that aspires to weaken the institutional vestiges of clientelism and thus strengthen the chances of reformers and platform-based political parties to take power in the Philippines. Our work lends to the creation of the conditions in which transformative politics is likely to take root: where subordinate classes are exposed to deliberative encounters that contest entrenched power relations. These engagements are designed to underscore the value of organization and collective action as community actors identify and colonize crevices in the local state apparatus to enhance popular control of public decision-making.

3.  Social Movements

The Social Movements Work Team consolidates and amplifies the Institute's continuing work with sectoral groups, people's movements and community organizations. Its initiatives were initially hinged on research and documentation of particular social movements including peasants, labor, the urban poor, women, and indigenous peoples. These studies were perceived as ventures to encourage and facilitate reflexivity within and among social movements. The process of collectively weaving narratives, which went into the documentation of sectoral initiatives, provided these movements with the reflexive space to probe the dynamics and nuances of collective action as well as harness insights and lessons from shared struggles in a deliberative effort to enhance existing repertoires of resistance.

4.  Sustainability

The Sustainability Work Team is a launch pad for innovative solutions and knowledge applications, assemblingand leveraging the Institute's products for a broader market and audience.  It was formed in 2004 to inculcate the concept of sustainability in the work of IPD. It aims to develop ideas and innovate ways to generate and effectively manage resources of the Institute. At the same time, the team hopes to share these innovations and ideas to civil society organizations that seek to  reduce their dependence on grants and attempt to become more self-reliant.

5. International Exchange

International exchange is a renewed area of work of the Institute. IPD's work here involves the  amplification of Philippine civil society groups' rich experience in the struggle for democratic deepening and in crafting new left politics. This involves efforts to facilitate learning encounters that aim to enhance the capacity of civil society actors, social movements and political formations in the Southeast Asian region to become effective players in their respective political arenas.