NSI was set up to strengthen networks of researchers and institutions based in north India, in order to facilitate long-term research and biodiversity conservation programs. NSI grew out of a discussion group on ecology and conservation biology based in Dehradun, which primarily involved people working in the Western Himalayas as well as researchers working in other regions of India who were based in north India. With support and encouragement from people and institutions across India, we worked towards setting up a non-profit institution to support ecological research and strengthen institutional networks for ecological research and conservation programs in the north Indian region. NSI has successfully brought together a team of ecologists and conservationists, many with over a decade of field experience in India.