Initially, the primary objective was to fill the information gap between Europe and Latin America after the political turbulence following the Cuban Revolution of 1959.

[4] IPS's stated aims are to present voices of marginalized and vulnerable people and groups, to report from the perspectives of developing countries, and to reflect the views of civil society.

"[5] It is also considered by some as the "first and only independent and professional news agency which provides on daily basis information with a Third World focus and point of view.

IPS receives funding from various sources: through its subscribers and clients, from multilateral and national development cooperation programmes, and project financing from foundations.

One study by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization in 1991 found that of the nearly 3,000 clippings with news agency bylines, 13% credited IPS, making it the third-most cited.