IRA’s work is most effective where there are existing formal partnerships with various local and international organizations, while expanding horizons to build new ones. IRA has maintained links with all UDSM Colleges, Faculties and Institutions through collaborative research and community service work.

IRA works closely with various government and private sector institutions in areas of research and community services .These include the Vice President’s Office - Division of Environment, Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism; Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and, Ministry of Water and Livestock Development. Others are the Ministry of Regional Administration and Local Government, Ministry of Lands, Urban Development and Human Settlement, Ministry of Energy and Minerals, Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology. Within these ministries, there are specific departments and agencies that work very closely with IRA. They include Wildlife Division, Tourism Division, Forestry & Beekeeping Division, the Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH), Tanzania National Parks, Survey and Mapping Division, National Bureau of Statistics, National Land Use Planning Commission, National Environment Management Council and the Research on Poverty Alleviation (REPOA).

IRA is collaborating with outside institutions and organizations. More recent international links have been established with the University of York-Institute for Tropical Ecosystem Dynamics (UK), Pennsylvania State University (USA), The Geological Survey of Greenland and Denmark (GEUS) and the University of Copenhagen through CLIVET Project, Michigan State University through EACLIPSE project, Pennsylvania State University through ALCCAR project, The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) through the African Climate Change Fellowship Program (ACCFP). IRA has also worked closely and has a long partnership with the International START Secretariat, Stockholm Environment Institute Africa Centre (SEI-Africa), WATERNER and the Institute of Water and Sanitation Development (IWSD); the Water Research Fund for Southern Africa (WARFSA); International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), Southern Africa Institute for Environmental Assessment (SAIEA); International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) and; Eastern Africa Association for Impact Assessment (EAAIA). Important links in terms of research, training and capacity building is with the School of Geography, University of Stockholm. The Man-Land Interrelations in Semi-Arid Areas of Tanzania (MALISATA) research programme that funded 10 IRA staff at a PhD level.The link with the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) had its focus in capacity building in Environmental Impact Assessment and Management.

The link with the Center for Environment and Development of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) continues through the Pangani Basin research programme. Collaborative activities also continue with the Institute of Geography University of Copenhagen in terms of research (Sustainable Agriculture in Semi-Arid Areas (SASA) and Ph.D. training trough CLIVET PROJECT; and the Change de Recherches (CNRS) of France in a joint research on Climate-Environment and Human Dynamics in Africa (CLEHA). Other collaborations are with the Technica University of Delft in the Netherlands; the Norwegian Agricultural University (NORAGRIC), Norway; World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF), USAID, GTZ, DANIDA, University of Nairobi; University of Malawi; University of Zimbabwe; University of Makerere.