The Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies (MPIfG) is part of a worldwide network of research institutions and researchers working in the social sciences. The institute considers international cooperation to be the most promising organizational form of comparative research. It cooperates closely with several research institutes abroad. Many visiting researchers make valuable contributions to its research program.
 
In 2009, 47 researchers were working at the MPIfG, including 26 research fellows and postdoctoral fellows and 21 doctoral fellows. The institute also hosted 28 visiting researchers from Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.