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.
Series Statement
Rand Corporation technical report series ; TR-722-QF
Introduction -- Laying the Foundation for Ongoing Operations: Building QNRF's Governance and Management Infrastructure -- Establishing Guiding Principles for the Design of QNRF's Research Programs -- Planning and Launching the Undergraduate Research Experience Program: The First Three Funding Cycles -- Laying the Groundwork for the National Priorities Research Program: Designing Policies for the Program and Developing an Initial Request for Proposals -- Launching the National Priorities Research Program -- 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.