The Mexico-North Research Network was founded in 1998 to promote a more profound understanding of Mexico and its relationship with the United States through increased collaboration among U.S. and Mexican scholars and institutions. Its principal function is to serve as a catalyst in the design and implementation of projects that explore topics based on an exchange of perspectives across national, cultural, institutional, and disciplinary boundaries.

Mexico-North is organized as a consortium of diverse Mexican and U.S. institutions —universities, museums, research institutes, and cultural centers — and extensively promotes connections between these institutions and local communities. It is incorporated in the United States as a non-profit organization and in Mexico as an asociación civil, the Mexican equivalent of a non-profit organization, where it is known as México-Norte, Red de Investigación y Educación. The missions and the boards of directors of these two organizations are identical, allowing them to function as a single entity to pursue shared objectives.

To date, Mexico-North has established programs in four areas: History & Culture, Humans & the Environment, Knowledge & Practice, and U.S.-Mexico Transnationalism. Program activities include organizing international, multi-disciplinary research projects, symposia, and conferences; sponsoring public lectures, concerts, and exhibits; serving as a clearinghouse for information on themes relevant to Mexico-North’s priority programming areas; providing logistical support for the research projects of graduate students and professional scholars; and facilitating the participation of researchers, students, and members of local communities in these activities through fellowships, internships, and travel grants. It coordinates its activities through offices located in Chihuahua, Mexico, San Antonio, Texas, and Washington, D.C.