Representatives of commercial language services and research organizations working under contract to the government and academicians are welcome participants in the plenary sessions thus permitting the ILR to build partnerships with the private and academic sectors in the national interest. From its initial meeting in 1955 to the present, the ILR has evolved into a loosely coordinated network of Federal and State language specialists and managers who share a common goal of improving the nation's capability to learn, teach and effectively use foreign languages in the national interests. Monthly meetings from September through June are hosted by Federal and State government organizations in the Washington DC metropolitan area. Each participant brings to the ILR a unique perspective on the human skills and technology needed to advance the common service within their own organization. It is most typically the case that ILR participants find numerous opportunities for sharing information, materials, and expertise across organizational lines in ways that benefit their own agency and the broader ILR constituency.
Sharing takes place in committee meetings that precede the monthly plenary session.
Self introduction in both committee meeting and plenary session permits the participant to raise issues of need, concern, or news of an acquisition or accomplishment that is open for sharing with other government organizations. The monthly plenary session leads off with self introduction by all participants, followed by brief reports from committee moderators, and a program of briefings or demonstrations developed by the host agency. In this manner, the ILR participant is exposed to the host agencies language activities, needs and opportunities. The ILR has no operating budget and relies solely on the cooperative and collaborative spirit of the participating agencies to afford their employees the opportunity to spend a half day in each of 10 months attending ILR meetings. Roundtable and committee moderators spend additional duty and personal hours as necessary to perform the liaison and coordination necessary to achieve informative and productive meetings and inform ILR participants of other meetings and conferences of interest in the language field.