Institute Of Race Relations(the)

What Institute Of Race Relations(the) does

The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) is a UK-registered nonprofit research and advocacy organisation founded in 1958 and headquartered in London. Its core function is producing and publishing independent, radical scholarship on racism, empire, and globalisation, with research focus spanning Britain, continental Europe (established through the European Research Programme in 1992), and international contexts including the United States. The IRR serves five primary customer personas: academic researchers and scholars (who access the journal via institutional distributors), policy makers and politicians, educators and teachers, community organisations and activists, and media and journalists.

The IRR's core products are content-based rather than technology-based. Its flagship product is the quarterly journal Race & Class, which has been published continuously since 1959 and whose archive comprises 102 issues. It also publishes 38 European briefing papers, 28 UK briefing papers and reports, books and pamphlets (priced £5-£17.50), and limited-edition merchandise. Educational resources include the Register of Racism and Resistance (RRR), a bi-weekly curated archive of racist incidents dating back to 2014, the Sivanandan Website archive of writings by former director A. Sivanandan, and the CARF Magazine Archive (1991-2003). Distribution is handled through the IRR's own e-commerce website for direct sales and free downloads, SAGE Publishing for academic institutional access, and Exact Editions for individual digital subscriptions to the journal back catalogue from 2008 onwards.

The IRR generates revenue through three streams: publication sales (one-time purchases), recurring journal subscriptions via SAGE and Exact Editions, and donations and fundraising (including dedicated campaigns such as IRR50). Pricing is low across the board — current Race & Class issues sell for £6.00 and older issues for £3.00, while most briefing papers and reports are available as free downloads. The IRR does not develop proprietary technology, operate an API, or maintain a mobile application. Its go-to-market motion is community-led and content-driven, relying on its website, newsletter (IRR News), and Twitter/X (@IRR_News) to reach target audiences, with no disclosed evidence of paid advertising or sales team. Key partnerships include SAGE Publishing and Exact Editions for distribution, and the Permanent People's Tribunal London Steering Group and Gisti (France) for transnational research collaboration.

Name

Institute Of Race Relations(the)

Legal name

Institute of Race Relations

Website

https://irr.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1958

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Institute of Race Relations is a UK-based nonprofit research and advocacy organisation founded in 1958 that publishes the quarterly journal Race & Class, briefing papers, and educational archives on racism, empire, and globalisation for academics, policymakers, educators, and community organisations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Racial Justice Research & Publishing

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Human Rights & Anti-Discrimination Organizations (BPAGAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Open Educational Resources (OER) & Open Access Academic Publishing (MPAJABAG)

Keywords

• Racial justice research
• Academic journal publishing
• Policy research advocacy
• Anti-racism publications
• Social justice education

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Publication Sales: Sale of the quarterly journal Race & Class (currently priced at £6.00 for recent issues, £3.00 for older issues), books, pamphlets, and merchandise including t-shirts and tote bags.
2. Journal Subscriptions: Digital access subscriptions through SAGE (for academic institutions) and Exact Editions (for individual digital access, back catalogue from 2008 onwards).
3. Donations and Fundraising: The IRR accepts donations and runs fundraising campaigns such as the IRR50 fundraiser, with merchandise profits going to specific fundraisers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The IRR produces and publishes independent research, analysis, and educational resources on racism, empire, and globalisation. Its flagship product is the quarterly journal Race & Class (established 1959), supplemented by free and paid briefing papers on racism in Europe and the UK, books and pamphlets, merchandise, and online archives such as the Register of Racism and Resistance. The European Research Programme conducts ongoing studies on Islamophobia, nativism, anti-Roma and anti-refugee racism across Europe.

Product overview

The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) operates as a research and publication organization offering a portfolio of products centered on racial justice research. Its core offerings include the quarterly journal Race & Class and multiple briefing paper series covering Europe and the UK. The organization provides educational resources including the Register of Racism and Resistance (RRR) archive, the Sivanandan Website archive, and the CARF Magazine Archive. The European Research Programme (ERP) conducts ongoing research on racism and fascism across Europe. The product portfolio functions as an integrated research and educational resource ecosystem rather than a unified software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Race & Class: The IRR's quarterly journal on racism, empire and globalisation, established in 1959
• European Research Programme (ERP)

Products and services

• Race & Class Journal Quarterly academic journal on racism, empire and globalisation, with a reputation for breadth of analysis, global outlook, and multidisciplinary approach. Distributed via SAGE Publishing (institutional access) and Exact Editions (individual digital subscriptions).
• Briefing Papers - Europe Comprehensive digest of Europe's changing climate of racism, with reports on asylum and immigration policy, the challenge to multiculturalism, and the erosion of civil liberties. 38 briefing papers produced in the series.
• Briefing Papers & Reports - UK

Quantifiable outcome

• Founded 1958 - over 65 years of continuous research and publication
• +3 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SAGE PublishingcoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership for academic journal distribution. SAGE publishes Race & Class journal, providing institutional access to academic libraries and researchers worldwide. All issues from 1959 are accessible through SAGE.
• Permanent People's Tribunal London Steering GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTransnational collaboration on 'Deadly Crossings and the militarisation of Britain's borders' - a joint publication documenting border-related deaths in the English Channel since 1999. Also collaborated on 'It's About Survival Now' submission to Permanent People's Tribunal Berlin hearing.
• Gisti (France)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench group collaborating on 'Deadly Crossings' transnational report detailing nearly 300 known border-related deaths in and around the English Channel.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Liberty: UK civil-liberties organisation producing research, litigation, and campaigns on rights issues including racism, policing, and anti-terror law — overlapping subject matter with IRR's criminal-justice and anti-terror research.
• Amnesty International (global): Global human-rights organisation producing research reports and policy analysis on racism, xenophobia, and discrimination worldwide — broader scope but comparable research-publishing function.
• Amnesty International UK: Larger UK arm of a global human-rights organisation that produces research, campaigns, and policy briefings on rights abuses including racism — broader portfolio but overlapping advocacy and research-publishing activities.

Emerging players

• Howard League for Penal Reform: UK charity focused on criminal-justice reform that engages on race and deaths in custody — partial thematic overlap with IRR's criminal-justice archive and deaths-in-custody research.
• Centre for Race and Education (CRE): UK-based centre producing research and resources on race and education — partial overlap with IRR's Black History Collection and educational resources for teachers.

Others

• Open Society Foundations: Major philanthropic foundation that funds racial-justice, migration, and civil-rights initiatives across Europe — relevant as a potential funder/peer organisation with overlapping thematic concerns.

Direct peers

• Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE): University of Manchester research centre producing empirical research on ethnicity, racism, and inequality in the UK — comparable academic-research output and policy-influence orientation to IRR's Race & Class journal.
• European Network Against Racism (ENAR): Pan-European anti-racism network producing shadow reports, briefings, and policy analysis on racism across EU member states — directly comparable European research-and-advocacy mission to IRR's European Research Programme.
• Runnymede Trust: UK-based independent race-equality think tank producing research, policy analysis, and briefings on racism and racial justice — closely comparable to IRR's research-and-advocacy model and academic/policy audience.
• Race Equality Foundation: UK charity focused on race equality and social justice, producing research, briefings, and educational resources for practitioners and policymakers — overlapping with IRR's briefing-paper and educational-resource offerings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/IRR_News
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/institute-of-race-relations-the-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Institute Of Race Relations(the)