Funding Announcements

Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) has announced the results for the 14th cycle of its funding program, the National Priorities Research Program – Standard Track (NPRP14-S), and for the 1st cycle of the new program, the NPRP-Blue Skies Research Award (NPRP-BSRA).

A total of 196 proposals for the cycle of NPRP14-S were vetted by submitting institutions in Qatar, and 184 of them passed the screening stage by QNRF. After further thorough peer-review processes, 31 proposals were selected for funding from eight submitting institutions. The duration of the awarded projects is up to four years. They focus on the five priorities of the QRDI 2030 strategy: energy, resource sustainability, health, society and digital technology.

For NPRP-BSRA, a total of 68 proposals were vetted of which 64 passed the screening stage by QNRF. After further thorough peer-review process, five proposals were selected for funding. The duration of the awarded projects is up to three years.

QNRF has also recently announced the outcome of two of its Joint Calls under the Thematic and Grand Challenges Program.

The first one was the 5^th cycle of the Path Towards Precision Medicine (PPM) call, a unique joint funding call with the Qatar Genome Programme aimed at supporting and advancing research to guide healthcare decisions towards the most effective prevention, diagnosis and/or treatment based on a patient’s unique genetic profile. Twenty-three proposals from different research institutions across Qatar were received. These proposals were subjected to a thorough screening and competitive scientific and strategic review process. To catalyze the support of genomic research in Qatar, four proposals have been selected to receive funding from different submitting institutions: Sidra Medicine, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, and The Ministry of Public Health.

The second outcome announced was the Equine Research Call, jointly launched with The National Center for Scientific and Technical Research (CNRST) – Morocco. This call aimed to advance the field of equine research and strengthen the equine industry in Qatar and Morocco by integrating their research activities, resources, and expertise. In addition, this call aims to capitalize on the existing knowledge and skills in genomic research to develop breeding programs for horses and their overall health. The proposal Building a resource for Equine Genome Research in Qatar and Morocco submitted by the Equine Veterinary Medical Center and Institut Agronomique et Vétérinaire Hassan II was awarded.

In addition, QNRF and The Scientific and Technological Research Institution of Turkey – TÜBİTAK have announced the results for the Academia-Industry Cooperation on Autonomous Systems call, the fourth cycle of their joint research funding program. For this cycle, a total of three proposals have been awarded after a comprehensive review process. The awarded projects bring together experts from academia and industry to develop innovative technologies for Autonomous Systems to boost RDI activities in this area while promoting knowledge exchange and building a lasting RDI partnership between both countries.

More information about the awarded projects is available on QNRF’s website.