In the nearly 50 years of its history, the IMO has been studying international economic, cultural, environmental and political relations, and global, regional and national development processes of interest to Croatia. It conducts research with the support of the Ministry of Science, Education and Sport, and participates in international research projects funded by the European Commission and other international organisations.
Josipovic spoke of several areas where the IMO can contribute to the development of Croatia, including continued monitoring of the situation in the region relating to foreign policy, economic, security, and cultural affairs. He highlighted the importance of the research of media policies which the IMO has been conducting as part of the FP7 project, which is financed by the European Commission, and stressed the need for closer ties between social sciences and politics in planning the country's future..