QNRF 5th Annual Forum

Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) will hold its fifth Annual Forum today at the Qatar National Convention Centre, where the national funding agency will share its five year strategy and announce the results of its sixth National Priorities Research Program cycle.

Under the patronage of Mr Faisal Alsuwaidi, President of Research and Development at Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, the fifth QNRF Annual Forum has embraced the theme ‘Researchforward’. Within this theme, senior representatives from QNRF will share details on the agency's plans and future initiatives to lead a new phase of research development for Qatar over the next five years.

Mr Alsuwaidi, who will be delivering the opening speech at the Forum this morning, congratulated QNRF on its success in building research culture, human capital and infrastructure for Qatar since its establishment in 2006.

“QNRF is making a vital contribution to Qatar's research community. They have paved a sustainable path for Qatar's research advancement and made wise investments in human capacity and research infrastructure. As QNRF embarks upon a new phase in its growth cycle, it will expand its role as the prime enabler of research by directing its funding towards the national priority needs of Qatar as specified in the Qatar National Research Strategy,” said Alsuwaidi.

As a testament to QNRF's impact on research development in Qatar, Dr Abdul Sattar Al-Taie, Executive Director at QNRF, noted, We are very pleased to now have more than 75 approved research offices in Qatar. Under the NPRP, we have funded more than 29 of these organisations for research worth more than $500 million over the past five years, and with collaboration from more than 385 international research institutions.

According to Dr Al-Taie, QNRF is embarking on a new phase of development, aimed at further expanding the countrys flourishing research culture and driving research forward to find solutions to the grand challenges facing Qatar and the region.

Dr Al-Taie and other members of QNRF's senior management will shed light on various aspects of the funding agency's five-year plan at the Forum today. Topics will include details on new funding opportunities, financial re-structuring of existing Programs, plans to address the country's grand challenges, increased stakeholder engagement and partnerships, enhancing QNRF's research management capabilities and infrastructure and evaluating and leveraging research outcomes.

The highlight of the Forum will be the announcement of results of the sixth cycle of its flagship program, the National Priorities Research Program (NPRP).

Dr Al-Taie commented on the Program's latest cycle, “Over the past seven years, we have witnessed not only a rise in participation, but a rise in the quality of research proposed for Qatar. The results of the sixth National Priorities Research Program that we will be sharing today are a testimony to this.

The annual event, which is eagerly anticipated by hundreds of local and international researchers who have submitted proposals for QNRF funding, will be streamed live. Viewers can log-on to www.trustmediaonline.com/qnrf5thannualforum2013 to view the proceedings of the fifth QNRF Annual Forum.