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.

For many years, IPD explicitly chose not to get caught up in the international NGO conference circuit even as it endeavored to contribute to international anti-globalization and peace campaigns. Efforts were concentrated instead on building firm foundations for our national and local political work.

The impetus to “go international” springs from the emergent demand for sharing Philippine civil society capability in advocacy and local governance with neighbors in the Southeast Asian region. While facilitating learning exchanges, the team sought to enrich ongoing encounters by bringing in lessons from societies in transition, progressive governments, social movements and political parties from various parts of the world. Between 2002-2005, the Institute, in partnership with the the South East Asian Committee for Advocacy (SEACA), implemented the Advocacy Strategy and Techniques Development Internship Program, an advocacy internship program that brought together development practitioners and advocates from eight Southeast Asian countries. The Institute also played a key role as the “Southeast Asian node” of the international local governance learning network, LOGOLINK, a continuing initiative which served as the scaffolding for the Citizens Participation in Local Governance (CPLG) program currently being implemented in four Southeast Asian countries.

Between 2003-2005, Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (EED) seconded an international exchange expert to help IPD develop its international program. This led to the institutionalization of IPD's involvement in the Asia-Europe People's Forum (AEPF). It also led to the regularization of learning encounters among and dialogs between democratic left intellectuals and activists in the country and beyond.