"[7] The organisation's mission is: "To enable sustainable and resilient mountain development for improved and equitable livelihoods through knowledge and regional cooperation.

In 1979 concrete commitments were made to establish the centre during a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Regional Meeting in Kathmandu, under the framework of the Man and Biosphere Programme.

His Majesty's Government of Nepal and UNESCO signed the agreement that provided the legal basis for establishing the Centre in September 1981 in Paris.

Programme donors include the ADA (Austria), BMZ and BMU (Germany), the UK govt, the EU, SIDA (Sweden), IDRC (Canada), IFAD, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and USAID.

[24] ICIMOD draws its core staff from a variety of backgrounds, including researchers, academics, development practitioners, professional in relevant fields, and bureaucrats on deputation.

[26] With its large array of partner organisations, ICIMOD organizes its work in six 'Regional Programmes', each of which, in its own way, generates and brings together scientific knowledge, orients research into use, and thereby delivers impacts across areas essential to sustainable mountain development in the HKH region.

They are formulated to promote transboundary cooperation between the RMCs, meet the capacity-building needs in the region, and support long-term testing, piloting, and monitoring of innovative approaches in sustainable development and managing human-ecology interfaces.

[27] ICIMOD actively uses earth observation science and applications for environmental management, disaster risk reduction, and enhanced resilience in the HKH region.

ICIMOD scientists also worked with traffic controllers at the Tribhuvan International airport, Kathmandu, by providing assistance to assess weather and terrain conditions.

ICIMOD's story demonstrates useful methods of achieving this objective: proactive engagement with political constituencies; efforts at reputation building through research to earn a place in likeminded global and regional networks; and hiring recognized subject experts to carry the institutional flag.