The design and implementation of the Qatar National Research Fund — the first research-funding organization of its kind in the Middle East — and descriptions of its first two programs, along with some early results and lessons learned.

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Launching the Qatar National Research Fund

by Shelly Culbertson, Michael G. Mattock, Bruce R. Nardulli, Abdulrazaq Al-Kuwari, Gary Cecchine, Margaret C. Harrell, John A. Friel, Richard E. Darilek

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إطلاق الصندوق القطري لرعاية البحث العلمي

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Research Questions

  1. What was the original analysis behind the programs, policies, planning methods, and decisions leading to the launch of the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF)?
  2. What was QNRF's experience with the first grant cycles?
  3. What were the early results from the programs, and what were the initial improvements upon them?

This report presents an overview of the launch of the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) — the first research-funding organization of its kind in the Middle East — from August 2006 through January 2008. It describes the design and implementation of QNRF's first programs, the Undergraduate Research Experience Program (UREP) and the National Priorities Research Program (NPRP), including the thinking behind the programs, policies, planning methods, and decisions, and it discuses ways of learning from the first grant cycles and improving upon them, as well as early results from the programs. By 2012, QNRF had awarded about $500 million in research grants and had achieved international recognition, with two fully operational multimillion-dollar programs and the groundwork of a domestic research infrastructure in place. Through its programs, QNRF has also laid the foundation for a domestic research infrastructure in Qatar to support the growing research communities in Qatar University and Doha's Education City, home to six branch campuses of U.S. universities.

Key Findings

In its first five years of operation, the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) grew from a small start-up to a research-funding institution that had awarded about $500 million in research grants.

  • With QNRF, the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF) has taken solid steps toward achieving its goal of making Qatar a center of innovative education and research.
  • QNRF has done much to expand and deepen its policies, build relationships with research institutions, and refine its programs.
  • Much remains to be done — QNRF will need to make changes in programs and policies to better meet the needs of Qatar's research community and goals.

Recommendations

  • In light of a new national research strategy that is being developed, QNRF will need to carefully examine its focus, governance and management infrastructure, policies, and programs, some already planned and some as yet unimagined.
  • QNRF could benefit from developing further measurements of research outcomes.

Table of Contents

  • Chapter One

    Introduction

  • Chapter Two

    Laying the Foundation for Ongoing Operations: Building QNRF's Governance and Management Infrastructure

  • Chapter Three

    Establishing Guiding Principles for the Design of QNRF's Research Programs

  • Chapter Four

    Planning and Launching the Undergraduate Research Experience Program: The First Three Funding Cycles

  • Chapter Five

    Laying the Groundwork for the National Priorities Research Program: Designing Policies for the Program and Developing an Initial Request for Proposals

  • Chapter Six

    Launching the National Priorities Research Program

  • Chapter Seven

    Looking Ahead: Next Steps and Future Challenges

  • Appendix A

    Undergraduate Research Experience Program Request for Proposals

  • Appendix B

    National Priorities Research Program Request for Proposals

  • Appendix C

    Overview of QNRF's Strategy Statements

This research was sponsored by the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science, and Community Development and was conducted under the auspices of the RAND-Qatar Policy Institute and the Transportation, Space, and Technology Program within RAND Infrastructure, Safety, and Environment.

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