The Association of Asian Social Science Research Councils (AASSREC), in partnership with the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), successfully convened its 26th Biennial Conference on 3-5 December 2025 in New Delhi, India. This event brought together social science leaders, researchers, and practitioners from across the Asia-Pacific and beyond to examine the role of social sciences in shaping sustainable futures.

This conference was supported by AASSREC’s Boosting Social Sciences and their Contribution to Better Lives across the Indo-Pacific program, in partnership with UNESCO and the Global Development Network (GDN) and supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

The conference featured keynote addresses, panel discussions, and paper presentations, with both in-person and hybrid participation. Delegates engaged in vibrant exchanges, fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing across borders. Over 90 representatives from more than 20 countries attended.

Key Highlights

The conference provided a dynamic platform for dialogue on pressing regional and global challenges. Participants explored how social science research can inform policy and practice in areas such as:

• Responding to emerging global realities
• Integrating local knowledge with global discourse
• Addressing sustainability and social transformation in the age of AI
• Reimagining institutions and research agendas for inclusive development

Conference Theme and Subthemes

The overarching theme was “Social Science Research in the Indo-Pacific for Sustainable Futures.” Discussions were organized around six subthemes:

• Navigating Change: Social Science Responses to Emerging Global Realities
• Reimagining Indo-Pacific Social Sciences: Local Knowledge and Global Discourse
• Sustainable Policies for a Changing Indo-Pacific
• Social Sciences in the Age of AI: Ethics, Inclusion, and Transformation
• Sustainability and Society: Interdisciplinary Approaches
• Transforming Institutions, Research Agendas, and Public Engagement

Opening Ceremony and Keynote Address

Prof. Shamika Ravi, Member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister and Secretary to the Government of India

Prof. Shamika Ravi’s Keynote Address was a tribute to the work of social science researchers whose insights, data and careful analysis informs more effective and affordable government policies. She noted a key factor for doing research in a dynamic economy: there is more data than there has ever been, and so many things changing. When looking at past trends and data to make projections, the challenge for this approach to policymaking is that past trends give forecasts based on past averages, yet dynamic economies involve structural breaks to those trends. Prof. Ravi reflected that social scientists do not deal with certainties in the same way as do STEM fields, because for social scientists, the job is often to pre-empt and define problems. For economists providing advice to governments, she noted, this involves trade-offs: no solution can be provided without giving a trade-off of the commensurate costs associated with it. She offered that policies based on averages are more likely to be inherently flawed, and that looking at distributional impact is key.