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APIDS is the successor to the Stichting International Foundation for Growth and Stability (SIFGS), a Dutch foundation — a Stichting under Netherlands law — established in 2010. SIFGS co-sponsored dozens of International Humanitarian Law conferences and led field operations across Africa, Europe, and Latin America over more than a decade. APIDS was established as its successor organization, carrying forward that institutional history and operational record. Under both names, the organization has been conducting research, delivering training, and supporting field operations for more than fifteen years.

APIDS — the Association for the Promotion of International Development and Stability — is constituted as an Austrian Verein (registered association) under Austrian law, headquartered in Vienna at Kärntner Ring 5–7, 1010 Vienna. It is the institutional successor to SIFGS, a Dutch Stichting founded in 2010, and inherits that organization’s operational history and international partnerships. APIDS operates worldwide, with primary field presence across Africa, Europe, and Latin America.

Joseph Busby, the founder of APIDS and SIFGS, has been affiliated with the International Institute of Humanitarian Law (IIHL) in Sanremo for more than twenty years and holds Full Member status — the Institute’s highest membership category. The IIHL is the world’s leading institution for the promotion of International Humanitarian Law and the Law of Armed Conflict. This affiliation directly underpins APIDS’s training work with Ministries of Defense and armed forces, and SIFGS and APIDS have participated in and co-sponsored dozens of trainings at the headquarters of the IIHL, in Villa Ormond, Sanremo, Italy — bringing together participants from across Europe, Africa, Latin America, and Central Asia.

APIDS operates on a principal-led, network-deployed model. Joseph Busby directs all engagements, and specialist teams — humanitarian-law advisors, security experts, logistics and relief coordinators, and local liaisons — are assembled specifically for each engagement based on the geography, context, and problem at hand. This model ensures that every engagement draws on practitioners with direct, relevant experience rather than generalist staff.

APIDS funds its work through a combination of institutional contracts, partnership agreements, private funding, and donor support. Training engagements and field operations are typically contracted through government, intergovernmental, or institutional partners. Philanthropic support enables APIDS to undertake research, publish findings, and sustain capacity in regions where institutional funding is not yet available. APIDS does not accept funding that would compromise the independence or integrity of its analysis.

Partnerships are built around a specific problem or program, not a general memorandum of understanding. A university partner might collaborate on field research or evidence synthesis. A government partner might contract APIDS for training delivery or stability assessment. An NGO might engage APIDS for coordination support or specialized expertise in a disaster or conflict setting. The first step is always a direct conversation about the specific challenge the partner wants to address. From there, APIDS proposes a scope and structure that makes practical sense.

Yes — some, but not all, of APIDS’s operations take place in or near conflict zones. Peace-operations support, disaster relief, and epidemic-intervention support (such as Ebola or Marburg) are at times conducted in or adjacent to conflict-affected environments across Africa, Europe, and Latin America. Engagements in these settings are scoped carefully, in coordination with partners on the ground, and are grounded in direct operational experience rather than remote analysis. APIDS does not undertake engagements where the conditions do not allow for responsible delivery.

Donor support is directed toward two areas: field operations in regions without institutional funding, and the development of training capacity in fragile or under-resourced contexts. APIDS maintains a lean operational structure — all donor support goes directly to the work, not to administration. Donors who wish to direct their contribution to a specific area of work are welcome to indicate that preference.

No. APIDS’s institutional mandate is humanitarian — grounded in International Humanitarian Law, the Geneva Conventions, and the protection of civilians in conflict. That mandate requires working with governments, armed forces, and institutions across the full political spectrum, and it is incompatible with political alignment. APIDS does not advocate for political positions, does not take sides in the conflicts where it operates, and does not accept funding that would create political obligations. Its positions on any given situation are determined by what IHL requires, not by who is asking.

APIDS and the Reality-Based Analysis Group (rbag.at) share a founder, Joseph Busby, but are legally and operationally distinct organizations. APIDS is an Austrian Verein focused on humanitarian-law training, peace operations, public-health response, disaster relief, and cultural-heritage preservation. RBAG is an independent geopolitical-analysis firm. The two organizations do not share governance, funding, or operational direction, and APIDS does not adopt RBAG’s analytical conclusions as institutional positions. Where the two intersect, it is through a shared commitment to evidence-based, reality-grounded work — not through any common political or advocacy agenda.

Use the contact form on this page, or write directly to info@apids.at. Tell us briefly who you are, what problem or opportunity you have in mind, and the best way to reach you. We respond to every serious enquiry.