Following years of proposals for a national peace academy, USIP was established in 1984 by congressional legislation signed into law by President Ronald Reagan.

"[2] The institute carries out this mission by operating programs in conflict zones, conducting research and analysis, operating a training academy[3] and public education center,[4] providing grants for research and fieldwork, convening conferences and workshops,[5] and building the academic and policy fields of international conflict management and peacebuilding.

[8] The 1984 act creating USIP followed from a 1981 recommendation of a commission formed to examine the peace academy issue appointed by President Jimmy Carter and chaired by Matsunaga.

In a 2011 letter of support for USIP, the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs stated that this analytical work has "helped to build the conflict management and resolution field, both as an area of study and as an applied science".

[6] Under Solomon's leadership, the institute expanded its operations in conflict zones and its training programs, initially in the Balkans and, after September 11, 2001, in Afghanistan and Iraq.

[5] In 1996, Congress authorized the Navy to transfer jurisdiction of the federal land—a portion of its Potomac Annex facility on what has been known as Navy Hill—to become the site of the permanent USIP headquarters, across the street from the National Mall at 23rd Street and Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, D.C.[11] Prior to its construction, the institute leased office space in downtown Washington.

The institute's entire budget would not pay for the Afghan war for three hours, is less than the cost of a fighter plane, and wouldn't sustain even forty American troops in Afghanistan for a year.

Within the budget, peace-building is financed as part of national security programs and is recognized as an important adjunct to conventional defense spending and diplomacy.

[15][16] Funding for the institute was eventually restored by both the House and Senate on April 14, 2011, through the Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act of 2011.

The institute is active in some 17 countries,[19] and in 2012 maintained field offices in Kabul, Afghanistan, and Baghdad, Iraq, as well as a presence in Islamabad, Pakistan.

These have appropriate practical or academic experience in peace and conflict resolution efforts of the United States, and may not be officers and employees of the U.S. government.

It created the lab as a separate entity to further advance its core mission to prevent, mitigate, and reduce violent conflict around the world.

In real terms, the lab brings together engineers, technologists, and data scientists from industry and academia, along with experts in peacebuilding from USIP, other government agencies, NGOs, and the conflict zones.

[24] PeaceTech Lab CEO and founder Sheldon Himelfarb has proposed that an Intergovernmental Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE) be established along the lines of the IPCC to report on, among other things, how best to address the fake news crisis.

USIP experts were asked to assist the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division in the reconciliation effort in Mahmoudiya, located in what was known as "the Triangle of Death" in Iraq's western Al Anbar Governorate.

Finalists in the contest have included Marie-Marcelle Deschamps from Haiti, Jayne W. Waithitu,disability rights activist Hamisa Zaja from Kenya[37] and Irene Santiago from the Philippines.

Designed by Moshe Safdie Architects and Buro Happold, the LEED-certified building aims to serve as a symbol of America's commitment to peacebuilding.

[39] Officials broke ground for the new headquarters in June 2008 at a ceremony that included President George W. Bush, Senate majority leader Harry Reid, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

The USIP headquarters is home to a public library that houses a collection of items related to peacebuilding, conflict management, and diplomacy.