The Society for Sociocultural Research started its activity in 1987 and its first Conference was held in Madrid in 1992 (see history of SSCS). The first ISCRAT Congress was held in 1986 (see history of ISCRAT). A significant, first step toward unification occurred at the II Conference for Sociocultural Research in 1996. The organizers of the 1998 ISCRAT Congress came with announcements for this Congress, and questions were raised about the relationship between the two meetings. An informal discussion was held between the ISCRAT organizers and key members of the Society for Sociocultural Studies, and a decision was taken to allow the two congresses to continue in parallel, and wait for a grassroots suggestion to unify them.
During an ISCRAT Executive Committee meeting in Amsterdam (12 June, 1999, see minutes), two founders of the Society of Sociocultural Studies proposed that the two congresses should be unified. It was decided that ISCRAT would suspend its plans to incorporate itself as a registered scientific organization, and wait to hear the result of the General Meeting to be held at the III Conference for Sociocultural Research held in Campinas, Brasil in July, 2000.
The question of unification was discussed during the general meeting and it was decided to organize a Transition Committee that would be responsible for taking the necessary measures for registering the organization, identifying the site and organizers of the next congresses, and provide for an orderly transfer of adminstration to the permanent organization.
The transition committee held one meeting in Campinas, Brasil on 20 July 2000 during which a workplan was formulated (see minutes).
A second transition committee meeting was held in Aarhus, Denmark on 16 June 2001 to discuss the name of the new society and to formulate the articles for that society. At this meeting the committee discussed how to formulate the new name and considered several versions, with Amelia Alvarez formulating the version that was finally accepted: International Society for Cultural and Activity Research (ISCAR).
The new society was started officially on 19 June 2002 when an Executive Committee was formed at the general membership meeting of the ISCRAT Congress in Amsterdam.