The Institute for Work and Society Studies (IETS) was founded on the initiative of the economist André Urani, then Municipal Secretary of Labor of Rio de Janeiro, and a group of academics and policy makers in 1999. The idea came from the observation that The level of collaboration between researchers from different institutions, policymakers and other social actors, committed to combating poverty and reducing inequality, was small.

In the same year, therefore, the Institute of Work and Society Studies was founded and, in 2000, registered as a Civil Society of Public Interest Organization (OSCIP) in the Federal Ministry of Justice.

IETS is a private, non-profit institution dedicated to researching, proposing and promoting studies, solutions and discussions on challenges and strategies for equitable development for Rio de Janeiro and Brazil. Since its inception, the Institute has been dedicated to producing and disseminating knowledge on social and economic issues and to the diagnosis, evaluation and design of public policies, whether state or private, to address poverty and inequality, and to improve Quality of life of the population.

To achieve these goals, IETS works in collaboration with different sectors of society. In its activities, it develops research projects and technical cooperation with private companies, corporate associations, governmental entities, academic and research institutions and organizations of the third sector, with a privileged but not exclusive focus in the Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro and in Brazil .