DOHA: Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) has streamlined the application process for the seventh cycle of its flagship funding programme, the National Priorities Research Programme (NPRP). The application period will begin this month.
The NPRP provides grants for competitively selected projects in basic, applied, and translational research that relate to Qatar’s national priorities. Through this and other funding activities, QNRF aligns its funding with the Qatar National Research Strategy and its four pillars of energy and environment, computer science and ICT, health and social sciences and the arts and humanities.
Dr Abdul Sattar Al Taie, Executive Director of QNRF, said: “The NPRP plays a pivotal role in bringing together investigators from academia, government, businesses, and other stakeholders in Qatar. It has also been extremely successful at bridging the gap between the Qatari and the international research community.”
For 2013, QNRF has made it even easier for grant applications to be submitted by developing an online, step-by-step Grant Application Guide.
“This new, streamlined application process will ensure that the calibre of proposals remains high and competitive and, in turn, will raise Qatar’s profile within the international research community,” added Dr Al Taie.
Over the course of the NPRP’s previous six cycles, QNRF, a centre within the Research & Development establishment at Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, has received more than 3,300 proposals and awarded grants to over 700 projects. Some 400 institutions from Qatar and across the globe have collaborated on NPRP research projects.
Elaborating on the revised format of the seventh cycle, Noor Al Merekhi, Acting Director of Programmes at QNRF, said, “The changes introduced in the NPRP are aimed at empowering the research teams. To foster a research culture at all levels of our society we need to encourage young researchers. With this consideration the tuition fees and stipend for graduate students, who are part of the research teams, has been increased to $40,000.”
A Letter of Intent, followed by a full proposal, can be submitted by applicants starting from noon, Doha time, on the 17th September 2013. Applicants must comply fully with the requirements listed in the NPRP seventh cycle ‘Request for Proposal (RFP),’ available for download from http://www.qnrf.org/funding_programs/nprp/download_center/, to ensure their submissions are complete.
The Peninsula
