OBJECTIVE AND MISSION:The Research Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (RIHSS) was established in January 2012 by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST; formerly the National Science Council) of Taiwan, with the mission to integrate cross-disciplinary cooperation in research of the humanities and social sciences. The main goals of RIHSS are to support academic research, provide services to academic communities, cultivate junior scholars, and promote the development of the humanities and social sciences. These goals are served in part by recruiting post-doctoral scholars, sponsoring academic research projects and activities, integrating databases, ranking and evaluating academic journals, and publishing research results. To promote interaction between domestic and international research communities, funding for outstanding foreign scholars to visit the RIHSS is also provided.
HISTORY:The two predecessors to the RIHSS, the Center for Humanities Research of National Taiwan University (NTU) and the Social Sciences Research Center of Academic Sinica, traced its history back to 1999. During the period from 1999 to 2011, the two centers achieved initial success by providing consultation, financial support, accessible infrastructure, and services to the local academic community. The RIHSS assumes responsibilities to further integrate and coordinate the humanities and social sciences onwards.