Research Grants

This section provides important introductory information on research programs and application process of external funding agencies.

Qatar National Research Fund

Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) was established in 2006 to administer funding for original, competitively selected research in engineering and technology, physical and life sciences, medicine, humanities, social sciences and the arts.

QNRF play a vital role in the development of Qatar's knowledge-based economy: by providing financial support to researchers at all levels, from students to professionals, in the private, public and academic sectors, they seek to advance knowledge and education on a national, regional and international scale. Further, as part of their overall strategy QNRF aim to foster collaborations within academia and through public private partnership inside and outside of Qatar.

Qatar Foundation envisions research as a catalyst for expanding and diversifying a country's economy; enhancing the education and well-being of its citizens and the training and development of its workforce. QNRF actively seeks internationally recognized researchers to study topics of regional and global importance; however it is primarily dedicated to funding research in the national interest and fostering improvements in the health, environment and security for the people of Qatar and the region.

Qatar National Research Fund has two major funding programs dedicated to funding researches that seeks to advance knowledge and education on national, regional and international scale.

Undergraduate Research Experience Program (UREP).

Recognizing the importance of introducing research in undergraduate education in Qatar, the QNRF is initiating the Undergraduate Research Experience Program (UREP). This program aims to engage undergraduates under the mentorship of faculty members in all universities in Qatar on research projects related to Qatar’s national needs.

The UREP will promote “Learning by Doing” and “Hands-On” research activities as effective methods for undergraduate education. Students will gain experience in research with faculty members, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students and other undergraduates or research staff in Qatar.

It is intended to have two UREP cycles per academic year, one in the spring semester and the second in the fall semester. For more information on this program click here.

National Priorities Research Program (NPRP)

The National Priorities Research Program is the flagship funding program and the largest grant funding activity of QNRF and the primary means by which QNRF will seek to address key national, regional, and global needs through research and to pursue research opportunities for which Qatar may have a comparative advantage.

QNRF seeks to support a broad variety of projects. These include basic and applied research projects in the Natural sciences, Engineering and Technology, Medical and Health sciences, Agricultural sciences, Social sciences and Humanities. Proposals are invited in all of these disciplines. Proposals should address Qatar's national interest and QNRF's mission by proposing research that will lead to:

Accumulation of valuable human capital or a sustainable research capability in Qatar
Answers to research questions of vital interest to Qatar and
Recognition of Qatar due to the regional or global significance of the proposed research.

Benefits of the NPRP

Service to Qatar: The NPRP will serve the people of Qatar, as well as its business, academic, and government sectors. It will strive to build bridges between businesses, government, academia, and others in Qatar, and between Qatar and the international research community.
Collaboration and Sustainability: The NPRP will fund programs that encourage collaboration amongst researchers in Qatar, as well as between researchers in Qatar and their international colleagues by putting special emphasis on multi-investigator, multi-year research projects.
Identifiable National Benefits: As noted above, all work supported by the NPRP will have the potential to yield identifiable benefits to Qatar. Benefits to Qatar may include development of human capital in Qatar, answers to research questions of direct interest to Qatar, or international recognition of Qatar due to the regional or global significance of the proposed research.
Active Publication, Promotion, and Outreach: QNRF will publish, summarize and archive research results to promote Qatar's research activities, both locally, regionally, and internationally. QNRF will facilitate interactions within Qatar's research community and reach out to the wider community of Qatar.
Commercialization and Diversification of the Economy: The NPRP will support both basic and applied research. Some of this can lead to expertise in new sectors and a diverse, thriving economy.

For more information on this program and how to apply click the following link.

European Commission

TEMPUS PROGRAM - Modernization in Higher Education

The Tempus is a program funded by the European Commission that supports the modernization of higher education in the partner countries of the Western Balkans, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, North Africa and the Middle East. It contributes to creating an area of cooperation in the field of higher education between the European Union and partner countries (one of which is Lebanon) surrounding the European Union.

Tempus has recently launched its 4th program (Tempus IV 2008-2013) with a focus on institutional cooperation using three types of actions:

Joint Projects (implemented at the institutional level) with 4 areas of activity: Curricular reform, Governance reform, higher education and society, and thematic networks
Structural Measures (implemented at the system level) with 2 areas of activity: Governance reform, and higher education and society
Accompanying Measures funded through calls for proposals, tender calls for thematic conferences and workshops.

FIRST CALL: Tempus IV is inviting the submission of cooperative projects under two actions types: Joint Projects and Structural Measures, from partnerships comprised of higher education institutions, enterprises, ministries, NGOs, associations etc., from the EU and the partner countries. For more information regarding the priorities, the application procedures and forms please visit the following website: http://ec.europa.eu/education/programmes/tempus/index_en.html.

Framework Programme 7 (FP7)

FP7 is the European Union's main instrument for funding research and development activities covering almost all scientific disciplines. It will run for 7 years (2007 – 2013) for an overall budget of 50.5 Billion Euros and is open for international cooperation in particular with Mediterranean Countries. Almost all programs must be undertaken by a consortium and must include partners from the European Union's member state. FP7 is made up 4 specific programs (SP):

Cooperation - Collaborative Research
- Health
- Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Biotechnology
- Information & communication technologies (ICT)
- Nanosciences, nanotechnologies, materials & new production technologies
- Energy
- Environment (including climate change)
- Transport (including aeronautics)
- Socio-economic sciences and the humanities
- Space
- Security
People - Human Potential, Marie Curie
- Initial Training of Researchers - Marie Curie Networks
- Life-Long training and career development - individual fellowships
- Industry-academia pathways and partnerships
- International dimension - outgoing and incoming fellowships, international cooperation scheme, reintegration grants
- Excellent Awards
Capacities - Research Capacities
- Research infrastructure
- Research for the benefit of SMEs
- Regions of Knowledge
- Research Potential
- Science in Society
- Support to the coherent development of research policies
- Specific activities of international cooperation
Ideas - Implemented through the European Research Council which supports "excellence at the frontier of knowledge in all scientific and technological fields"
For Further Information:
- For more information on FP7:: http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/home_en.html.
- From where to start ? To get more information on how to participate in FP7 please see First Steps to Participate in FP7.
- To Access the OPEN CALLS page: http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/.
- To Find Project Partners see the following page:http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/partners_en.h
  The "Search for Partners" is a free service to help in identifying potential partners for participation in the FP7 programs. At any one time you can access between 7,000 and 10,000 organizations actively looking for partners. The service is dynamic and the numbers increase or decrease depending on the collaboration needs of the organizations entering their partner profiles.

Erasmus-Gulf Countries Cooperation & Mobility Initiative

Please consider taking advantage of this opportunity and encourage eligible faculty and academic staff in your college to participate in Erasmus Mundus Partnership between EU and Gulf countries. Erasmus Mundus Partnerships aim at promoting institutional cooperation and mobility activities between Europe and Gulf Countries Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).

Qatar's share of the mobility distribution of Erasmus-Gulf Countries for 2011 program cycle is 9 places, divided as follows: 2 places for Master Programs, 4 places for Doctorate programs, and 3 places for staff exchange

Who can participate in this program?
- Master Students and Doctorate Candidates
  In order to be eligible, a Gulf-country master student or doctoral candidate:
  - Must be a national of one of the Gulf countries covered by the partnership
  - Must not have resided nor have carried out his/her main activity (studies, work) for more than a total of 12 months over the last five years in one of the EU countries
  - Must be registered or related to one of the Gulf Countries' universities of the partnership.
  - Must have sufficient knowledge of the language of the courses or of one of the languages currently spoken in the hosting countries.
- Academic Staff
  In order to be eligible, academic and higher education staff, hereafter referred as "staff"
  - Must work in or be associated to one of the universities within the partnership
  - Must be a national of one of Gulf Countries covered by the partnership
  - Must have Mobility assignments that are based on partnership agreements between the members of the partnership
  - Must have agreement between the home and host universities and the individual staff on the program of lectures to be delivered by the visiting teachers, on the research activities or on the type of training to be followed by staff.

What documents are required?

Master	Doctorate	Academic Staff
Copy of international passport Proof of registration at partner university Scanned copy of Bachelor diploma certificate Scanned copy transcript of records English language level test Additional documents may be requested	Copy of international passport Proof of registration at partner university Scanned copy of diploma certificates leading to PhD Scanned copy transcript of records English/ language level test Research plan Additional documents may be requested	Copy of international passport Proof of registration at partner university CV in English Working plan

Master

Doctorate

Academic Staff

Copy of international passport
Proof of registration at partner university
Scanned copy of Bachelor diploma certificate
Scanned copy transcript of records
English language level test
Additional documents may be requested

Copy of international passport
Proof of registration at partner university
Scanned copy of diploma certificates leading to PhD
Scanned copy transcript of records
English/ language level test
Research plan
Additional documents may be requested

Copy of international passport
Proof of registration at partner university
CV in English
Working plan

When is the dead line?
The program deadline is February 15, 2011 and it will cover payments for students, staff, and/or Postdocs from Qatar (Qatar nationals) or EU countries for training or exchange.
What are the grants and benefits?
1. Student (MS): €1000/month + tuitions+ travel+ insurance for 6 months to 2 years
2. Student (PhD): €1500/month + tuitions+ travel+ insurance for 6 months to 4 years
3. Staff: €2500/month + travel + insurance for 1 month
For application instruction and online application as well as more details in both Arabic and English are available at: http://www.emgulfcountries.eu/

QUICK LINKS:

Available fields of study for lot EMGulf: click here
Instructions for online application: click here
Apply on line: click here

EU Partners

CONSORTIUM COORDINATOR
Universidad de Deusto (UD)
http://www.deusto.es
Coordinator: Julia González Ferreras
Contact person: Olga Benitez
Email: obenitez@deusto.es

SWEDEN
Lund Universitet (LU)
http://www.lu.seContact person: Petter Pilesjö
Email: petter.pilesjo@gis.lu.se

AUSTRIA
Universität Wien (Univie)
http://www.univie.ac.atContact person: Monika Kindl
Email: monika.kindl@univie.ac.at

IRELAND
University College Dublin (UCD)
http://www.ucd.ie
Contact person: Caroline Vasicek
Email: caroline.vasicek@ucd.ie

THE NEDERLANDS
University of Twente (UT)
http://www.utwente.nl

Contact person: John Horn

Email: horn@itc.nl

The National Science Foundation (NSF)

NSF is an independent agency of the U.S. Government. NSF funds research and education in most fields of science and engineering (biology, computer and information sciences, education, engineering, environmental research and education, geosciences, math and physical sciences, and social behavior and economic sciences). It does this through grants to and cooperative agreements with more than 2,000 colleges, universities, K-12 school systems, businesses, informal science organizations, and other research institutions throughout the United States. NSF accounts for about one-fourth of all Federal support to academic institutions for basic research.

For instructions on proposal preparation and guidelines refer to NSF's Grant Proposal Guide.

Most NSF funding opportunities are divided into broad program areas:

For more information on NSF funding opportunities see the following:

Active funding opportunities - Recently Announced.
Upcoming due Dates.
A-Z Index of funding opportunities.

Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS)

TWAS is an autonomous international organization which aims at promoting scientific capacity and excellence for sustainable development in the South and encouraging scientific research on major Third World problems. Research grants of up to US$10,000 each are offered to scientists from developing countries of proven ability for research projects in biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics. The Grants are intended to cover the costs of specialized equipment, essential consumable material, and scientific literature. For more detailed information on this grant as well as other grants offered by TWAS visit www.twas.org.

The Ford Foundation

The goals of the Ford foundation are to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, and promote international cooperation. The Foundation provides grants in asset building and community development (economic development), peace and social justice (human rights, governance and civil society), and education, sexuality, religion, media, arts and culture. Applications are considered throughout the year. For information about the application procedures and the current research interests of the foundation please refer to: Guidelines for Grant Seekers.

Benefits and features:

• Accept and register service request.
• Manage users requests for products and services.
• Notification emails when the request created, resolved and closed.

International Development Research Center (IDRC)

IDRC aims to help developing countries find long-term solutions to the social, economic, and environmental problems they face through research. It funds the work of scientists working in universities, private enterprise, government, and nonprofit organizations in developing countries and provides some support to regional research networks and institutions in the Third World. IDRC's four program areas are:

Environment and Natural Resource Management
Information and Communication Technologies for Development
Innovation, Policy and Science (IPS)
Social and Economic Policy
For application procedures please refer to Funding Opportunities IDRC's webpage.

National Institute of Health (NIH)

The National Institute of Health (NIH) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting medical research. It is composed of 27 Institutes and Centers, and provides financial support to researchers in every state and throughout the world.

Types of NIH Programs: NIH uses activity codes (e.g. R01, R21, etc.) to differentiate the wide variety of research-related programs in supports. NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) may vary in the way they use activity codes; not all ICs accept applications for all types of grant programs or they apply specialized eligibility criteria.

NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices; The NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts is the official publication for NIH medical and behavioral research grant policies, guidelines and funding opportunities. It is published on a weekly basis and users may subscribe to it by going to the following web site: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/description.htm#foa.

To search for funding opportunities, investigators can look at "Research for Applications" (RFAs), or "Program Announcements" (PAs), or "Recent Notices" by accessing this web site: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/index.html.