Procedures to integrate the IRD into the CNRS are reportedly already underway. The quiet announcement of a possible merger-absorption of the Institute for Research and Development (IRD) by the CNRS by 2027 is causing deep concern within Madagascar's academic and scientific community. Present in the island since 1947, the French institution embodies a model of equitable "North-South" partnership, now gravely threatened with extinction. It is a genuine thunderbolt shaking the Malagasy scientific community. While the decision has not yet been officially enacted by the French government, procedures to integrate the Institute for Research and Development (IRD) into the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) are reportedly already underway at full speed. The deadline set for January 1, 2027 is causing a real shock wave among teachers-researchers, academics and leaders of local public institutions, historical partners of the organization.
Co-construction
Founded over 80 years ago and established in Madagascar since 1947, the IRD has become a fundamental pillar of international scientific cooperation in the island. Unlike traditional top-down research models, the institute has built its reputation on a strict philosophy of co-construction, reciprocity and equal partnership. Whether in combating climate change, preserving the island's unique biodiversity, food security or crucial public health issues, the IRD supports national universities, trains new generations of researchers and co-finances major projects.
Strategic Partnerships
"The outright disappearance of the IRD would call into question all strategic partnerships and programs established over decades," local stakeholders worry deeply. Major initiatives, such as the international summer university "Tany Vao," which has become a structuring meeting point for training in human and environmental sciences research, risk being swept away. Malagasy scientists fear seeing an interdisciplinary and citizen-focused approach decline in favor of a vision centered on fundamental research, traditionally privileged by the CNRS.
Petition
Faced with this threat of institutional absorption, a vast movement of indignation and mobilization is organizing at regional and global levels. An urgent petition addressed directly to the President of the French Republic is currently circulating among university presidents, research center directors, former ministers, academics and personalities from the business world. All firmly demand the complete preservation of the IRD's international network, with thirty-five representations deployed across the entire Global South.
Scientific Diplomacy
"This is not about opposing the IRD to the CNRS, whose academic excellence is globally recognized, but about protecting an exceptional heritage of equity and mutual trust, patiently built in the field," the signatories insist. For Madagascar's scientific community, the stakes far exceed Parisian administrative reorganizations: it is the future of scientific diplomacy, knowledge sharing and scientific sovereignty of Southern countries that is now at stake through this noble collective struggle, essential for the future of all our regional universities. The time for mobilization has come.