The IPS Core Group was established in the 1980s to provide IPS with both guidance and orientation from the donor community with regard to its global mission in the field of communication and development , and to ensure continued financial sustainability.

A chair of the IPS Core Group is elected on a rotating basis. In 2007 the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs took the chair.

Current invited members and observers include:

Belgium – Directorate General for Development Cooperation, Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs, Flemish Agency for International Cooperation (VAIS)
Brazil – Canadian International Development Agency
Canada – General Secretariat of the Presidency
Finland – Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Department for International Cooperation
Germany – Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Foundation (FES)
India – Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
Ireland – Irish Aid
Italy – Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Direzione Generale Cooperazione Sviluppo (DGCS)
Japan – JICA
The Netherlands – Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Research and Communication Division; Oxfam-Novib
Norway – Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD)
South Africa – Government Communication and Information System (GCIS)
Spain – AECI, Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y de Cooperación
Qatar – Foreign Information Agency
United Kingdom – Department for International Development
Uruguay – the Government of Uruguay
United Nations – United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), International Organization for Migration (IOM)
International Organisations – The World Bank, The Group of 77