The Collective for Social Science Research was established in 2001 with a small core staff of innovative researchers in the social sciences who have extensive experience conducting multidisciplinary research both in Pakistan and internationally. Their areas of research interest include economics, education, development policy, gender studies, health, labour, migration, poverty and urban governance. The Collective collaborates with a number of local and international academic organizations, the government of Pakistan and international development organizations to conduct this research. It is recognized for three main areas of innovation in the practice of applied social sciences in Pakistan: the introduction of a political economy perspective in macro- and micro-issues; the attention to informal collective action and social networks; and the combination of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. The Collective's objective is to produce high quality academic research in the social sciences and to foster informed debate on social, political and economic issues and policies.

Research projects of various sizes constitute the main activity of the Collective. While most of the research projects are consulting assignments for development organizations or collaborative partnerships with local and international academic organizations, some are self-generated by the Collective in pursuit of its own research agenda.

The development organizations that have used our services include the Asian Development Bank, Department for International Development (UK), Halcrow Pakistan Ltd, International Labour Organization, The Asia Foundation, The World Bank, UNICEF, and USAID.