British Council – Grants for UK-KSA Research Collaborations

Funding for UK institutions to conduct collaborative research projects with partners based in Saudi Arabia for up to two years in areas relevant to the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology’s International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF).

The British Council is providing funding through the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology’s (DSIT) International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF) in partnership with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to support joint research programmes conducted between the UK and KSA.

The programme will provide seed funding for collaborations between the UK and KSA to:

• Initiate new research and innovation collaborations between academic groups, departments, and institutions in KSA and the UK.
• Develop existing collaborations at group, departmental, and institutional level.
• Encourage these collaborations to work with non-academic organisations and individuals to support the exchange of research and innovation expertise and the translation of research knowledge into tangible benefits.
• Establish local hubs for joint UK-Saudi Arabia activity in a particular area, enabling engagement from the wider research and innovation community.
  

Projects should be conducted in either of the following bilateral priority themes:

• Resilient Planet – leading the green industrial revolution to protect the planet:
  • Water efficiency, treatment, and engineering.
  • Environmental monitoring, modelling, and protection.
• Healthy People – researching and innovating for secure and healthy populations:
  • Antimicrobial resistance and tackling future epidemics.
  • Early diagnosis and precision medicine.
  • Genomics and genetic diseases.

Wherever possible, collaborations should demonstrate how they will benefit the wider research and innovation community in the UK and Saudi Arabia, building and strengthening partnerships between the two countries. Collaborations may also be established as UK-Saudi centres of excellence, in a particular research area, acting as a resource hub for the wider research community and a focal point for other activities, (eg seminars, technical training workshops).

Projects should involve relevant private and third sector partners, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs), nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), technology transfer offices, and other not-for-profit organisations.