The British Colonial Research Committee (or the Colonial Research Council after 1947) was an advisory organisation of the

British state The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

which existed between 1942 and 1959. 16 volumes consisting of the archives of this body are kept at The National Archive. It was established under

Lord Hailey William Malcolm Hailey, 1st Baron Hailey, (15 February 1872 – 1 June 1969) known as Sir Malcolm Hailey between 1921 and 1936, was a British peer and administrator in British India. Education Hailey was educated at Merchant Taylors' School and ...

. The Committee was established in June 1942 to offer advice on how the

Secretary of State for the Colonies The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, British Cabinet government minister, minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various British Empire, colonial dependencies. Histor ...

should spend funds allocated by the Colonial Development and Welfare Act 1940. Its role was to co-ordinate research of various sub-committees and cover any areas which came to light beyond the purview of these sub-committees. It was also inspired by the

Institut Francais de l'Afrique Noire An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes can ...

to establish regional research institutes located in colonial countries. After February 1948 This work was taken over by the Colonial Research Council. This in turn was dissolved in 1959 and replaced by the

Overseas Research Council Overseas may refer to: * ''Overseas'' (album), a 1957 album by pianist Tommy Flanagan and his trio *Overseas (band), an American indie rock band * "Overseas" (song), a 2018 song by American rappers Desiigner and Lil Pump * "Overseas" (Tee Grizzley ...

, who advised the

Committee of the Privy Council on Overseas Research A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

. The Committee established a series of more focused committees: * Colonial Social Science Research Council (1944)

References

{{reflist Research councils