Office of National Projects

The idea of establishing the Office of National Projects dates back to 1998, when the deputy director of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance held a conference entitled "Cultural Management Policies" aimed at examining the cultural issues of Iran. In this conference, adoption of solutions to answer questions about Iran's cultural situation, direction of developments, speed of changes, explanation of trends, and consequences of cultural changes in Iran were emphasized. The realization of this goal required acquisition of a set of quantitative, standard and comparable information. On this basis, implementation of national plans was included in the third development plan as a legal task; and for the first time, implementation of social research was emphasized in the context of one of the most important laws of Iran. Subsequently, the Office of National Projects was established in the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance as the institute responsible for conducting national social and cultural studies. Despite the fact that the office has encountered many complications due to changes in the policy of different administrations, Office of National Projects has conducted the most important national surveys managed by the most prominent scientific figures and in cooperation with various scientific and administrative institutions. National surveys of “Iranian Values and Attitudes” (three waves), “Social Capital” (two waves), “Consumption of Cultural Goods”, and “Cultural Evolutions of Iranians” are among the most well-known studies conducted by this office. Certified by the social science experts and national administrators, national surveys conducted by the Office of National Projects are the most authoritative national social studies in the area of science and policy-making that have let to creation of a scientific authority for this Office.