Introduction and Background 

The First Five Year Plan (1973-78) formulated under the guidance of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman for the first time forwarded a concrete proposal to create the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) in Bangladesh on the basis of this realization that “.........social scientists deal with real issues and get involved in problem-solving work. Significant research contributions have to go beyond the boundaries established by individual disciplines. Inter-disciplinary research is difficult to organize by ad-hoc committees of institutions specialized in a particular area. Often research on relevant social, economic and political problems is not undertaken because there does not exist an infrastructure to encourage such research. It is felt that a social science research council will help to meet this need for such infrastructure......”. After the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman the power that look the country away from the course set by Bangabandhu functionally abandoned the framework of First Five Year Plan and the SSRC was established in the year 1976 with a low profile under the Planning Division, Ministry of Planning. With a very limited resource it acquired the status of a national government organization for promotion and development of social science research in the country. Despite, limited resources at its disposal with a very small secretariat the SSRC ever since its establishment has been advocating the cause for the advancement of social science research including the creation of a suitable research environment through the adoption of certain concrete measures. Specifically these can be explained with the objectives and functions as stated below.

1. Objectives and Functions

2. Composition

3. Committees