INSTITUT NATIONAL D'ETUDES DEMOGRAPHIQUES

Their core work

INED is France's leading public research institute dedicated to the study of population dynamics — fertility, mortality, migration, family structures, and their social determinants. Their H2020 work focuses on demographic data collection and analysis across sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, reproductive health and family formation (including LGBTQ parenthood and assisted reproduction), and the demographic impacts of humanitarian crises. They bring rigorous quantitative population science to European research consortia, connecting demographic modeling with health, education, and social policy questions.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their earlier H2020 period (2015–2019), INED focused on demographic data infrastructure — coordinating sub-Saharan African demographic data efforts (DEMOSTAF), contributing to pan-European survey programmes (GGP-EPI), and participating in ageing research alignment (J-Age II). From 2020 onward, their focus shifted markedly toward socially sensitive demographic questions: LGBTQ parenthood, assisted reproduction ethics, education-driven demographic inequality, and the demographic toll of humanitarian crises in Latin America. This evolution shows a move from data infrastructure building toward applied demographic research on contemporary social challenges.

INED is moving toward politically and socially relevant demographic research — reproductive rights, gender diversity in family formation, and crisis-driven population change — making them a strong partner for projects at the intersection of demography and social policy.

How they like to work

INED balances leadership and partnership almost equally, coordinating 4 of their 9 projects while participating in 4 others. Their 83 unique partners across 31 countries indicate a broad, non-repetitive network — they build new consortia rather than recycling the same partners. This makes them an accessible and experienced collaborator, comfortable both leading MSCA-funded research actions and contributing demographic expertise to larger infrastructure or health consortia.

With 83 unique consortium partners spanning 31 countries, INED maintains one of the broader collaboration networks for a demographic research institute. Their partnerships extend well beyond Europe into sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, reflecting their global population research mandate.

What sets them apart

INED occupies a rare niche as a national-level institute entirely dedicated to population science — not a university department, but an autonomous research body with the scale and mandate to lead international demographic studies. Their willingness to tackle sensitive topics (LGBTQ family formation, crisis-driven mortality, reproductive ethics) sets them apart from more conservative demographic centers. For consortium builders, they offer both methodological rigor in survival analysis and demographic forecasting, and established fieldwork networks in Africa and Latin America.

Highlights from their portfolio

• DEMOcrises
  Coordinated by INED, this project applies demographic methods to humanitarian crises in Venezuela and Latin America — an unusual and timely combination of demography with conflict and health-system collapse analysis.
• LGBTQ Parenthood
  One of very few H2020 projects explicitly studying parenthood among sexual and gender minorities from a cross-national demographic perspective, reflecting INED's willingness to pioneer socially progressive research.
• DEMOSTAF
  INED's largest funded project (EUR 396,000), coordinating demographic data quality improvement across sub-Saharan Africa through MSCA-RISE researcher exchanges.