The functions of the institute would be to organize the annual conference of the IAICS, publish two issues of the journal Intercultural Communication Studies each year, organize seminars and workshops, produce a series of peer reviewed digital journals, publish a monograph series, and provide this community of scholars with announcements of related conferences, publishing outlets, academic web sites, and other activities related to intercultural communication studies.

The Institute is also involved in developing grants that foster the understanding of intercultural communication. The Institute for Intercultural Communication is housed under the Department of Communication at the University of Louisville.