IPS/Inter Press Service - North America, Inc. was established in July 1997 as a not-for-profit corporation in the State of New York . The Organisation is exempt from income taxes under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The purpose of the Organisation is to enhance the free flow and dissemination of newsworthy information to and from developing nations to the North American media, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), policy-makers at the United Nations and specialised UN agencies, learning institutions and other organisations that are involved in social, economic and educational issues affecting primarily developing countries.

Our news service aims to strengthen South-South and South-North flows of information by making news about the developing world available to these entities.

Specially edited for the region's readership, the news service distributed by IPS North America is a selection of independent, international news and features or services which focus on reporting global processes and issues of development in the countries of the South.

As part of what is known as "development journalism", our news service aims to help correct the imbalance of news provided by the mainstream media by providing contextualised news that focuses less on specific news events and more on the processes, institutions and trends which make those events understandable to readers , from U.S. environmental policy to the work of the World Bank and the United Nations system.

IPS reporters, from Washington to Ottowa, analyse local and foreign policy developments with an eye to what is happening behind the scenes, on the streets, and under the radar of most North American media. What does a Conservative Party win really mean for Canada 's social welfare system? Why is the neoconservative agenda so long embraced by the Bush administration starting to falter? How are U.S. states working together with Canadian provinces to slow global warming?

The real value of IPS North America is in providing coverage of issues of pressing public concern which do not receive much attention in the mainstream press. Media and non-media institutions, including NGOs and research institutions, can receive selected reports electronically, such as e-mail newsletters or RSS feeds.

For the United Nations agencies and North American development agencies, we provide a selection of our news through TerraViva, the IPS Daily Journal, (www.ipsdailyjournal.org) which is also delivered by overnight fax or e-mail .