The Foundation was inspired by Carlo and Nello Rosselli's values and their attempt to shape public policies based on individual freedom and social justice. The Foundation's main activity is applied research in economics and social sciences at the national and European levels. The Foundation is composed by several research institutes. The Media Economics Institute (IEM) analyses the media and telecommunications industry. The Science and Technology Policy Center (CeS&T) conducts research in the fields of science, technology, innovation with a focus on social and economic issues. The Institute for Studies on Public Administration (ISPA) deals with administrative policies and public institutions, local development and regional marketing, and the evaluation of public programs. The Cognitive, Methodological, Socio-Economic Science Laboratory (LaSCoMES) focuses on research in cognitive science, with an emphasis on cognitive psychology and artificial intelligence applied to human science, economy and social science. The Law, Economy and Technology (DET) research unit studies the interaction between law and innovation. The Institute for Assessment and Research of Cultural Heritage (ARCH Institute) analyses the social and economic dimensions of cultural heritage, and the Foresight Lab focuses on the application of foresight methodologies in the socio-economic system.

IAI was founded on the initiative of Altiero Spinelli, its first director. IAI comprises individual and corporate members, public and private organizations, and major international foundations who also contribute to its funding. IAI's main objective is to promote an understanding of the problems of international politics through studies, research, meetings, and publications, with the aim of increasing the opportunities for all countries to move in the direction of a supranational organization, democratic freedom, and social justice.

The EUI is an international postgraduate teaching and research institute established by the EC member states to contribute to cultural and scientific development in the spheres of human and social sciences from a European perspective. The EUI is structured into four departments: law, political and social sciences, economics, and history and civilization. In addition, the EUI hosts an interdisciplinary center, the Robert Schuman Centre, which conducts research into the great political themes of contemporary European societies, bringing together specialists in given themes that favor the international and comparative aspects of research. The aim of the EUI is to contribute, through its activities in higher education and research, to the development of the cultural and scientific heritage of Europe both as a whole and in its constituent parts. The EUI's work is also concerned with the great movements and institutions that characterize the history and development of Europe but also takes into account relations with cultures outside Europe, creating a forum for the exchange and discussion of ideas and experiences.

CENSIS provides research, consulting, evaluation and proposals on the basic sectors of society, including training, labor, welfare, territorial networks, environment, economy, local and urban development, public administration, media, and culture. There are two elements of the center's mission: to unveil and investigate the basic themes of civil society, such as the evolution of the social and economic structure, the push to innovate, individual and collective behavior, organized actors and intermediate bodies, the role played by local systems, and the mechanisms of entrepreneurial initiative; and to draw attention to process management, policy making, the involvement of actors, the action of institutional powers and the culture of government

The nonprofit Adam Smith Society is a group of economists, lawyers, academics and other professionals dedicated to the diffusion of free market ideas. Its main area of interest is the regulation of economic activity in all its aspects, from antitrust policies to financial markets. The society's aim is to become a point of reference for people interested in the society's ideas in Italy, and to this end it maintains close links with the major free market organizations around the world. The means used to pursue these goals include conferences, seminars, lectures and the publication of research. In addition to the related topics of privatization and deregulation of publicly owned economic activities, the society is interested in the analysis and debate of mainstream classical liberal thinking.