Beijing Institute for the Learning Society (BILS) was inaugurated in October 2011 through the joint efforts of Beijing Leading Group Office for Construction of Learning City and Beijing Normal University. The main focus of BILS lies within the education discipline.

The Institute is building a platform that integrates intellectual resources of universities in Beijing to serve the learning city's construction, to explore the constructing mode for Beijing learning city, to enrich and develop the theory of building a learning society with Chinese characteristics, to assist the government in public policies, and to guide the practice of learning city's construction. At present, two years since it was established, together with Beijing City and related research institutions, the Institute has participated in numerous research studies, including "An International Comparative Study on Modes of Learning City Construction in the World", "Research and study on Beijing Lifelong Learning Competence", and "Study on Legislation of Beijing Lifelong Learning".

Oriented towards the practice of the construction of Beijing learning city, the Institute integrates universities in Beijing and related research organizations in China and abroad to keep pace with international developments, research practical problems, explore innovative approaches, promote exchanges and cooperation, train professionals, and lead the development of the practice. It is striving to build a high-end open research platform with international influence that integrates academic researches, policy advisories, talent training, and training services. This book summarizes the goals set by BILS, and what has been achieved thus far.