The institutionalization of social development in the country's development plans is realized when development policymaking moves beyond sectoral, economy-driven, and top-down approaches toward a balanced, participatory, and rights-based model. In this framework, social development signifies the organization and release of social energies through specialized division of labor, the reinforcement of social capitals, and the empowerment of agents (individuals, groups, and organizations), such that society becomes capable of organizing human capacities along the path of producing welfare, justice, and sustainability. An analysis of the status of development plans in Iran indicates that one of the fundamental issues is the lack of a clear definition and codified theoretical foundations of development, particularly social development, among policymaking layers—an issue that has led to the drafting of unrealistic, multi-objective, resource-deficient plans lacking institutional enforcement guarantees, thereby intensifying the gap between formulation and execution. On the other hand, in the proposed bill of the Sixth Development Plan, social development is viewed as largely fragmented, sectoral, and devoid of theoretical coherence, and due to structural neglect of the social domain, its impact is limited. Proposed strategies emphasize formulating indigenous theoretical foundations, avoiding the dominance of economics over other dimensions of development, systematically utilizing social science specialists, defining quantitative and qualitative indicators of social development, and institutionalizing participation and rights-based approaches within the planning and execution process.