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 2011, 49 researchers were working at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, including 24 research fellows and postdoctoral fellows and 25 doctoral students. The institute also hosted 28 visiting researchers from Brazil, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Philippines, South Korea, Switzerland, the UK and the USA.