The initiation to form a committee of national and regional social science bodies was first taken in the framework of the International Social Science Council, ISSC, with the establishment of the Standing Committee for Cooperation with National Social Science Councils and Analogous Bodies. In 1975, this Committee became a membership-based organisation and changed its name to ‘Conference of National Social Science Councils and Analogous Bodies’. It kept its status as a Standing committee under the ISSC until 1979, when it became an independent international nongovernmental organisation under the name of ‘International Federation of Social Science Organisations.’ Today, IFSSO is a member of the ISSC and enjoys a special status in the Council compared to its co-members, the international disciplinary associations.