The Intergovernmental Committee for the Intergovernmental Informatics Programme (IIP) was established in 1985 by Resolutions 6.2 and 6.3 adopted by the Twenty-third Session of the General Conference, held in 1985 in Sofia, Bulgaria. The first IIP Committee meeting was held in 1986.

The Intergovernmental Informatics Programme was established in order to "strengthen international co-operation and national efforts devoted to the training of specialists, the development of infrastructure, the definition of national policies and the better recognition of the role of informatics".

In Resolution 23 C/6.3 on "Regional and inter-regional co-operation in the field of informatics", the General Conference, inter alia :

1. Proposes that the Member States of UNESCO should regard the Intergovernmental Informatics Programme (IIP) as the basis for the development of international and regional co-operation;

2. Recommends that the Member States of UNESCO should create national informatics committees to co-ordinate the development of co-operation by countries with each other and with UNESCO in the field of informatics;

3. Proposes that the Member States of UNESCO should view with favor the question of exchanging information, both with each other and with UNESCO, on the development of informatics in their countries.

On the recommendation of the PGI Council and IIP Committee, the General Conference authorized the Executive Board to create the Information for All Programme (30 C/Res. 36, 1999) merging the General Information Programme (PGI) and the Intergovernmental Informatics Programme. The activities carried out by these two programmes did no longer respond neither to the needs of the information society nor to the new requirements of UNESCO in this area (160 EX/Dec.3.6.1).