From the Chairman

Preparing For Tomorrow

CMS was founded in 1990-91, based on 20 years of operations and evaluative research, not just with certain insights from that experience but with a definitive philosophy, concern and feeling of commitment.

The concern is that research should help achieve national goals of equity and empower civil society, enable citizens and facilitate good governance. The philosophy is that its priorities should be driven from within and it should be independent without having to depend on doles of any origin. And, operate as a national institute from out of itsown professional services.

That is how CMS has been operating over these 20 years. Starting with half a dozen professionals, today, it has more than four dozen full time and several times more project staff. Nearly, two dozen who had gone from CMS with their initial grounding in applied social research are also making a difference in the country. Today CMS has spacious, state-of-art infrastructure campuses in South Delhi, Noida and Hyderabad and field researchers around the country for reliable and time bound services. What started more in anguish about practices in sponsored research and pitfalls in field surveys, today is an independent and credible body of national standing with acknowledgements for its pioneering initiatives. In 1990–91 hardly anyone expected CMS to survive with such priorities and rigid goals. Over these 20 years, CMS has demonstrated how research need not be an end in itself, but how it could help facilitate action, mobilization and change. And this, not just in terms of mindset, behaviour, but even policies at various levels.

On completion of the first 10 years, we organized 14 national orations under Challenges and Opportunities of New Millennium: Communication Colloquium Series at the National Museum, Janpath, New Delhi - each by an eminent personality of the country, like Dr. M. S. Swaminathan, Dr. V. Kurien and Dr. Ela Bhatt. On completion of 20 years, now, we propose to hold series of national lectures on “Analysing and Envisioning India” starting with the inauguration of Noida campus of the Academy in 2010.

All this has been possible because of shared concerns and dedicated efforts of CMS Teams and of P. N. Vasanti, its Director and prime mover. Any organization with similar concerns, commitment and accomplishments in the country, operating on not-for-profit basis deserves to be celebrated!