STIAS came into existence with strong support of the former President Nelson Mandela, the Office of the President, the Minister of Science and Technology, the Mandela Rhodes Foundation, several Nobel Laureates and a network of leading global research institutions.

While STIAS is global in its reach, it has a special focus on Africa. Fellowships and workshop activities directly support and extend the scope of several research programmes at a number of South African universities. STIAS maintains a close partnership with leading academic institutions in South Africa and Africa.

STIAS and the African Academy of Sciences (AAS) based in Nairobi, Kenya have jointly hosted several summer schools for younger African scholars. STIAS has developed linkages with several other African research networks including the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) and others.

As a member of the Network Point Sud (based in Bamako and Frankfurt) it  hosts workshops and meetings of scholars from Africa and the global north.

In addition, STIAS established a formal partnership the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies (PWIAS) at the University of British Columbia. The agreement provides a framework for senior PWIAS Faculty Associates to be nominated and supported as STIAS fellows and for STIAS Iso Lomso fellows to take up residencies in Vancouver. In addition, the PWIAS biennially hosts a Wall Colloquium Abroad at STIAS.