Under Law No. 231 of 1960 the Institute of National Planning was established, as an independent public institution   to reinforce the approach and thought of scientific planning in Egypt, through research, training and educational activities, supporting the role and functions of the Ministry of Planning, disseminating thought and action planning in all national Institute s, as well as promoting the culture of planning in the Egyptian community.

Confirming its role in supporting the comprehensive development in Egypt since its establishment, the institute has been provided with the necessary human and material capabilities, and has offered scholarships to all over the world to obtain academic degrees in different fields. Moreover, the institute recruited worldwide senior experts in the field of development and planning to share their experience and knowledge with the institute, as areas of cooperation varied from international organizations of the United Nations and many scientific institutes in Europe, to Africa and the Middle East. Furthermore, the institute was provided with modern technological capabilities, and had the honor of owning the first computer in Egypt in 1960.

Through its outstanding course for more than five decades, the Institute has provided important additions and contributions in its areas of work and core functions. Certainly, the Institute  has taken part with the Ministry of Planning in preparing plans and strategies for different development, as well as in evaluating, selecting and studying major projects. Moreover, it supported the plan's efforts in dealing with important aspects of development such as: regional development, the study of slums, environmental and sustainability issues, gender planning, trade cooperation and navigation between the Nile Basin countries, regional and international economic cooperation, the development of national accounts, etc. Furthermore, the Institute  is cooperating with Ministry of planning in implementing important research projects.

In the research area, the Institute  has numerous and various publications, including: Issues of Planning and Development series, The External Notes, Pamphlets on Policy, and recently Papers on Policy. All these publications addressed the important economic, social, cultural and cognitive development issues for more than five decades. in joint research teams, the Institute  cooperated with the beneficiaries of its research activities and stakeholders across the country, many of them were distinguished by their field and practical dimension. The Institute  has the honor of publishing the first country report on human development in the Arab world in 1993, and the following reports annually. Later, it issued human development reports at the governorate level. Moreover, the Institute  publishes a specialized scientific journal: The Egyptian Journal of Development and Planning.

The activity of research publications and the scientific journal has been supported with parallel scientific, research and cultural activities that are no less important, such as: Seminar Tuesday, meeting experts, scientific follow-up, seminar of young researchers, scientific Symposiums , the annual intellectual forum, and other activities that contributed to form the research characteristics of this long-established Institute .

In training and consultancy area, the Institute 's achievements were no less distinguished, as the Institute ’s training contributions varied, reaching strategic and untraditional aspects to support development. Moreover, it included multiple and diverse categories and sectors, with local, Arab and international participation.

Among the most prominent activities of the Institute  in this area, is the implementation of dozens of training programs annually in the Egyptian governorates, ministries and government agencies, in addition to various training in the field of computing. The Institute 's diploma has also contributed, over many decades, to building the capabilities of thousands of youth and leaders of Egypt, Arab and African countries in the field of planning and development, and in the field of graduate studies. The Institute  has witnessed a qualitative leap in recent years by starting the Institute  master's program for planning and development, which was approved by the Supreme Council of Universities in 2008/2009, and preparing to start implementing a master's program in cooperation with the African Institute for Economic Development and Planning.

We can see that the Institute  has accumulated, throughout its outstanding record, a distinguished stock of experiences and knowledge that represented competitive advantages for it throughout its long course, such as: expertise in operations research, modeling, statistics and national accounts, experiences in creating databases, information and knowledge in various planning and development fields, and experiences in developing documentation and scientific computation capabilities and comprehensive libraries. The Institute 's openness, interaction and partnerships with many relevant local, regional and international organizations contributed to the accumulation of these experiences; most recently the Korean Development Institute KDI, the African Institute for Economic Development and Planning IDEP, the African Development Bank, the Arab Planning Institute, the Tunisian Institute for Competitiveness and Quantitative Studies and others. in addition to this, the Institute  received many international experts in various fields of development, and organized many conferences, seminars, and scientific and intellectual forums.

With the aim of developing the roles of the Institute, Law No. 31 of 2015 was recently issued concerning the Institute  of National Planning to reinforce and confirm its role as an independent legal public institution   that engages in scientific activity, and a leading center for thinking on planning and development issues. Moreover, it has confirmed its role in advancing research and studies related to the preparation of development plans for the state and the means of their implementation, as well as, studying the scientific bases and methods for planning and development. This is aimed at providing those in charge of the planning process at all levels, decision-makers, and policy makers with visions and strategic alternatives, as well as, spreading awareness and knowledge of planning issues and comprehensive and sustainable development in society. Furthermore, the new Institute  law states the right of the Institute, alone or in cooperation with others, to award academic degrees: diploma, master's and doctorate in the areas of planning and development.