Foremost among the IFMR Foundation's thought partners is the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) and its various Research Centres. In addition, the ICICI Knowledge Park (IKP), run out of Hyderabad (a not-for-profit wet lab research park in Hyderabad, India that promotes business driven R& D by creating a knowledge hub in the country) houses two specialized research centres. Through the support of the IFMR Foundation, the IFMR Trust will work closely with the two centres in its mission to make markets more responsive to low income households. They include the ICICI Centre for Technologies in Public Health (ICTPH) and the ICICI Centre for Advancement in Agricultural Practice (ICAAP).

The Centre for Development Finance (CDF) is committed to reducing barriers to private sector participation in financing development in India. Through diverse relationships with multiple players CDF identifies priority areas for development and implements projects to improve the efficiency of public and private finance.

The Centre for Insurance and Risk Management (CIRM) focuses on devising product development capabilities for insurance and other risk mitigating instruments. CIRM is currently working on various health insurance products, multi drought products, cattle insurance, weather insurance for Landless labourers and Flood Insurance.

The Centre for Microfinance (CMF) was set up with a mandate to conduct research and apply findings into practice to fill knowledge gaps in the microfinance sector. The mission of the Centre is to improve the lives of the poor by maximizing both the access to financial services and its impact through rigorous research, training and strategy building for Microfinance Institutions (MFI's)

Small Enterprise Finance Centre (SEFC) was founded to advance the research and practice of small enterprise finance and development in India. SEFC conducts and facilitates research projects in partnership with banks, financial organizations and NGOs and offers regular advanced financial training courses for the Indian banking sector in partnership with the Financial Services Volunteer Corps (FSVC).

The Centre for Advanced Financial Studies (CAFS) was established to conduct and facilitate cutting edge research in financial markets, financial instruments and financial institutions with an emphasis on Indian and emerging markets. CAFS offers advanced courses covering different areas of finance with a view to disseminate the best practices worldwide.

Centre for Financial Design (CFD) seeks to create usable conceptual advances in financial design for emerging markets and to actively diffuse them to both financial designers and policy makers. The Centre's work revolves around the innovation, testing, and diffusion of financial design principles to improve and create more effective access to financing for the poor and urban middle-class within emerging markets.

The J-PAL (Abdul Lateef Jameel Poverty Action Lab) South Asia at IFMR seeks to improve the effectiveness of poverty programs in South Asia by providing policy makers with clear scientific results that help shape successful policies to combat poverty. Based at IFMR in Chennai, J-PAL South Asia was established in 2007 due to the growth of J-PAL partnerships throughout South Asia. J-PAL South Asia is a field office of J-PAL, a focal point for development and poverty research based on randomized trials.

The ICICI Centre for Technologies in Public Health (ICTPH) is a research centre that aims to improve the health of poor populations by focusing on designing, developing and delivering innovative solutions in healthcare concerning India and the developing world. It follows an inclusive process that integrates knowledge of factors influencing health and diseases in India, regular evaluation and impact assessment of existing health systems and integration of appropriate technology for optimal health care delivery. ICTPH plans to focus on malaria, tuberculosis, reproductive health including HIV and AIDS as well as child health with a focus on diarrhoeal diseases and diabetes.

The ICICI Centre for Advancement of Agricultural Practice (ICAAP) is a research centre that aims at improving agricultural practices that impact agricultural productivity levels and opens new markets for the farmer by leveraging the knowledge available at various research laboratories around the world. It seeks to facilitate knowledge and experience sharing between the various agri-stakeholders. The success of ICAAP will be determined by the impact these interventions will have on sustainable farmer income and well being.