SARIPS is a semi-autonomous technical arm of the SAPES TRUST that was established in 1998 to undertake research, training and policy dialogue. The SAPES Trust, which started as a project of the African Association of Political Science (AAPS) was registered as a non-governmental, non-profit making body dedicated to nurture and promote indigenous capacity in the social sciences in 1987.
The principal objective of SARIPS was to advance a policy making process in which the SARIPS and other institutions of civil society can creatively contribute towards the emergence of peace and democracy in the Southern African region and society on an equitable and sustainable socio-economic development path.