The history of the Institute’s functioning starts from 1964, when Lviv Department of the Institute of Economics of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine was established. After becoming the independent state, Ukraine, the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine has established the Institute of Regional Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine on the basis of Lviv Department of the Institute of Economics of the AS according to the Regulation № 233 of October 19, 1994. The Institute was encharged with the tasks of complex research of the problems of management of social and economic development of Ukrainian regions. On October 29, 2014 the Presidium of NAS of Ukraine adopted a decision on awarding the Institute of Regional Research of NAS of Ukraine name of academician M.I. Dolishniy.
State Institution M.I. Dolishniy Institute of Regional Research of NAS of Ukraine is the leading scientific establishment in the system of the NAS of Ukraine that deals with the problems of regional policy and cross-border cooperation. The Institute acts as the methodological, scientific, organizational and coordinating centre.