Dubai Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Projects Funding

Second Funding Round

Following the success of the inaugural round, the Dubai Research, Development, and Innovation (RDI) Grant Initiative is pleased to announce the launch of its Second Funding Round. This initiative supports ambitious, high-impact research projects that align with Dubai’s strategic priorities in science, technology, and innovation. We invite universities and research institutes based in Dubai, in collaboration with local and international universities and institutes, to submit proposals for research projects that demonstrate clear scientific merit and potential for societal and economic impact, and alignment with national or emirate-level innovation agendas.

Key Information

Eligibility:

Principal Investigators (PIs) should be fully affiliated with a Dubai-based Higher Education Institution (HEI), research centre or institute.
PIs must have a PhD degree in a field relevant to RDI priority areas.
PIs must have a track record of research excellence.
At least 50% of the grant funding must be utilised within Dubai.
PIs who applied in the first round can submit.
PIs who were awarded in the first round are eligible to submit.

Project Duration:

Funding Range:

Application Process

Full application guidelines, thematic focus areas, and submission procedures will be available at a later stage.

Preliminary Timeline:

May 15: Soft funding call announcement
May 30: Official call announcement for Letter of Intent submissions (LoI)
June 13: Letters of intent submission deadline
July 15: Notifications of shortlisted applicants to submit full proposals
August 15: Deadline for full proposal submissions
September 10: Announcements of selected applications for funding

Evaluation Criteria

For Letters of Intent:

Relevance to Dubai RDI Priority Areas
Research partnerships and capacity building potential
Innovation in methodology and outcomes
Potential for impact in strategic sectors
Budget adequacy and alignment with guidelines

The following criteria will be used for evaluating the full applications:

Intellectual Merit: The extent to which the project is based on firm scientific principles and has the potential to advance fundamental knowledge in the field of interest.
Technical Approach/Methodology: The soundness of the methods, experiments, observations, data, and procedures to be used to accomplish the project objectives.
Relevance: The extent to which the project will contribute to progress in one or more of the Dubai RDI Priority Areas.
Partnerships/Capacity Building: The potential for the project is to establish strategic partnerships between Dubai institutions of higher education and other local and international institutions.
Deliverables: Does the proposal identify specific deliverables that are achievable and impactful, with timelines and milestones for completion?
Innovation: The uniqueness and creativity of the planned methodology and outcomes relative to the global state-of-the-art in the field of interest.
Potential for Impact: The likelihood that the project will lead to transformative progress in the relevant priority area.
Management Plan: The soundness of the plan to ensure close coordination and oversight of collaborators, adherence to scheduled milestones, closure on scientific research questions, and completion of deliverables.
Risk/Risk Mitigation: The extent to which the proposers have identified potential risks and described plans for mitigating those risks.
Budget: The adequacy and relevance of the requested budget for supporting the proposed research and technology development, and its adherence to the budget guidelines.

Institutional Support

Proposals must be endorsed by the applicant’s institution and demonstrate the following support measures:

Reduced teaching load for faculty leading the project
Fast-tracked procurement to facilitate RDI activities
Expedited hiring processes to support project staffing
Flexibility to recruit research staff including assistants and engineers
Submission of Letter of Institutional Commitment
Submission of Letter of Collaboration

We welcome bold, future-focused proposals that will help shape Dubai’s knowledge economy and reinforce its global leadership in research, development, and innovation.