Executive Director’s Message

Enabling research to mitigate the impact of COVID-19

Executive Director’s Message
Enabling research to mitigate the impact of COVID-19

Dear Readers,
I hope you and your families are staying safe and abiding by the protective measures the authorities have devised for us. This year, we had one of the most unusual months of Ramadan in our lives. While this Holy Month is cherished for communal gatherings, spending time with our loved ones, and congregating in mosques, this time we were all confined to our homes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As we prepare for Eid, we must remember not to compromise on our safety and that of the whole community.
This pandemic has affected every aspect of our lives, and caught us unprepared for such an unforeseen crisis. Times like these call for impact-based solutions and nuanced policies which can be developed by  evidence-based research. To enable that, we launched the Rapid Response Call (RRC) in a record time to provide funding to exceptional proposals which aim to strengthen the resilience and robustness of Qatari institutions dealing with COVID-19 and ensure the health and safety of the public.
I am  excited to share with you the good news that we have announced the results for the first cycle of the RRC, under which 21 proposals were awarded out of the 230 submitted proposals. The awarded projects cover a wide array of topics, ranging from education to healthcare, and supply-chain to information communication technology. All these research projects demonstrate great promise, and we look forward to their outcomes. We hope these projects will help strengthen efforts against COVID-19 not only in Qatar but serve as lessons for institutions around the world.
In closing, I would like to wish all our readers a very happy Eid and encourage them to find creative ways to make this celebration more interesting with fun-filled activities that can be done within their homes. Moreover, on behalf of all at QNRF, I pay tribute to all the frontline healthcare providers and staff who are bravely dealing with this pandemic and will likely be spending this Eid too working tirelessly for our protection.