DIM ASTREA's main challenge is to study the interactions between agricultural and urban environments, especially in growing urban regions such as Paris : with almost 12 million habitants, more than 75% of the area covered by agricultural land and forest, and an agro-alimentary sector which employes over 300 000 people.

Since 2008, the budget given by the regional authorities has reached 10,7 million euros. DIM ASTREA has contributed to the challenges with significant help in research. It has provided more than 75 PhD thesis and post-doctorates. It has also helped to purchase important research equipments. DIM ASTREA is also an important financial partner for scientific conferences.

All the projects are selected annually through a call for proposals. Each project is evaluated by independent experts, and marked according to their scientific quality, feasibility, and relevance to DIM ASTREA challenges. Collaboration with socio-economic partners, scientific interdisciplinarity, and integration of social sciences and humanities, are particularly encouraged.

DIM ASTREA is a Scientific Interest Group (SIG) composed of a Governing Board, a Scientific Board and an Operational Committee (Governance). The Governing Board is the main decision maker. It is composed of 10 members that represent the main research organizations and establishements of higher education in the region. Additionally, 3 non-scientific stakeholders joined the Governing Board in order to address specific regional challenges and help to guide research objectives.