Deadline: 15-Dec-22
The Middle East Regional Cooperation (MERC) Program is now open for applications to enhance research and development cooperation between Israel and its Arab neighbors – in support of achieving a comprehensive and lasting Middle East peace.
The MERC Program is funded as assistance to promote Arab-Israeli scientific cooperation, technology-led development, and capacity building. Emphasis is given to research and technology subjects of regional importance and relevance to the development of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Benefits should target developing countries in the region and populations of limited income.
The implications of climate change are especially severe in the MENA region, with impacts including rising temperatures, floods, droughts, and desertification. These in turn are increasing water and food insecurity, threats of emerging infectious diseases, agricultural pests, and social inequality. Promoting environmental stewardship and science and technology-based innovation is essential for tackling climate change, building resilient healthy communities, preserving natural resources, supporting equitable and sustainable economic growth, and promoting peace in the MENA.
Objectives
- Support applied actionable research that generates results relevant to regional development.
- Foster the implementation of research results and innovations to improve quality of life and achieve development impact in the MENA region.
- Build science and technology capacity in developing countries in the MENA region.
- Increase direct Arab-Israeli cooperation by establishing strong working relationships that last beyond the life of the project.
Categories
- The MERC Program funds peer-reviewed, collaborative, scientific research projects on development topics between Israel and its Arab neighbors across the MENA region. As part of this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), MERC is seeking to fund proposals in the following categories:
- Applied research grants: The MERC Program seeks pre-proposals pertaining to applied research and technology development within the broad areas of the natural, physical, and social sciences and engineering. Pre-proposals under this category should present collaborative applied research projects on topics of regional development relevance between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Pre-proposals should relate to regional problems that benefit from cross-border cooperation.
- Continuation grants: Applicants with current or recently ended MERC awards may submit proposals to be evaluated as “continuation grants” (formerly known as “fast track”), skipping the scientific peer review process. Continuation grants provide support for the implementation, commercialization, broader dissemination, or uptake of project results from MERC-supported research.
- Travel and workshop grants: Proposals to support joint Arab-Israeli workshops, meetings, or exchange of researchers may be considered under this category. MERC acknowledges the relatively limited opportunities for scientific exchange between Arab and Israeli scientists and seeks to support forums that advance dialogue on regional scientific issues, develop new partnerships, or deliver training on a topic relevant to regional development.
Funding Information
- Applied Research Grants
- Estimated Award Ceiling: $1,000,000
- Duration: Estimated Length of Project: 2 to 5 years
- Continuation Grants
- Estimated Award Ceiling: $500,000.
- Duration: Estimated Length of Project: 1 to 3 years
- Travel and Workshop Grants
- Estimated Award Ceiling: $100,000
- Duration: Estimated Length of Project: One activity, event, or exchange to be completed within one year of the award.
Eligibility Criteria
- Only proposals developed jointly by Arab and Israeli investigators are accepted. All proposals must include at least one institutional partner in Israel and one in an Arab country/territory eligible to receive U.S. foreign assistance. Proposals involving three or more regional partners are also allowed and encouraged.
- The proposal may be submitted by any party in the collaboration. Partners may come from academic, private sector, non-governmental, or governmental institutions.
- Subject to change based on U.S. federal law and country-specific restrictions on funding, the following countries/territories are eligible to apply as Arab partners: Algeria, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, West Bank & Gaza.
- MMERC projects involving Israel and another relatively affluent Arab country (e.g., Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) must include a developing country from the region as a partner and/or a beneficiary of the products and processes developed by the research in order to achieve development impact. These affluent countries must adhere to budgetary restrictions, such as cost-sharing in support of salaries and cost of living, maintain the spirit of Arab-Israeli cooperation opposed to primarily engaging foreign expatriates, and target benefits and outcomes of the project to countries and populations of limited income. Satellite or portal campuses of foreign (e.g., U.S., India) institutions are not considered eligible Arab partners.
- MERC does not encourage the involvement of U.S. partners nor participation of individuals or institutions from outside the Middle East and North Africa region (e.g., Europe). U.S. partners may be considered for modest roles in exceptional cases to meet an essential technical need that is not available in the region. Applicants must be prepared to provide a very well justified case for the participation of partners or individuals from outside the MENA region, and accept that MERC may not support the participation of any non-regional partners. The use of any non-regional partner to lead or administer the overall project is discouraged.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=343293