Dr. Mufrej bin Saad Al-Haqbani, Minister of Labor and Social Development and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Center for Social Studies and Research, affirmed that the Center would focus in the coming phase on providing social studies and research to examine and explore social phenomena, while enabling the Center to activate its role nationally and become a leader in its field. Speaking while chairing a Board meeting at the Ministry's headquarters in Riyadh, attended by representatives of government entities and the academic and private sectors, Dr. Al-Haqbani said the Center would serve as the scientific arm for understanding and studying social phenomena and would strengthen its role within the labor and social development system and the wider government system.

His Excellency added that society expects the Center to provide in-depth social studies that serve social conditions across the Kingdom and to build a robust social database on which opinions and solutions concerning various phenomena can be based. He stressed the importance of achieving excellence in the social and development field and improving the efficiency of other research centers in the Kingdom. He also emphasized the importance of benefiting from data held by the National Labor and Social Development Observatory of the Human Resources Development Fund (Hadaf) and integrating efforts to produce results that serve social affairs. Prof. Dr. Saleh bin Abdulaziz Al-Nassar, Director General of the Center, explained that the Board reviewed the proposed plan for developing the Center from 2017 to 2020, with the objective of becoming the leading social expertise house in Saudi Arabia. The Board also discussed updating the Center's organizational framework to align with the new directions of Saudi Vision 2030 and the labor and social development system, developing the organizational structure, approving administrative and technical regulations, regulations for supporting scientific research and publication, the annual report, and other items on the agenda.