Until 2010, the ISH was a Joint Service Unit of the CNRS, the University of Lyon 2 and the ENS de Lyon. In 2018, the ISH became MSH Lyon St-Etienne: a Service and Research Unit (USR) which aims to structure and helps Social Sciences Research on the Lyon site and in the MSH national Network.

In accordance with official institutions and local and regional actors, it actively contributes in promoting interdisciplinary and international Researches, in  modernizing methods, technics and Research tools. It helps the welcoming  of scientifical events, the multimedia tools and databases development.