NESRC started its activities in 2000 as a center of research, documentation and networking in North East India. Its mandate is to combine serious intellectual pursuits with involvement with civil society groups active among the marginalized in the region. NESRC has a library and a documentation center for the use of students, scholars and social activists. The organisation has carried out research on gender issues, tribal issues and livelihood issues in the region.

NESRC seeks to raise awareness and help individuals and communities of the North East to find solutions to the vexing problems that confront them. It focus is on those who are traditionally disenfranchised: the poor, tribes, small farmers, and women. It advocates for these often powerless people by means of research, networking with civil society groups, publications and conferences. Its publications strive to examine areas of social distress with serious intellectual rigor.