HKS seeks grant proposals on Kuwait

The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) is now accepting applications for the spring 2010 funding cycle for the Kuwait Program Research Fund. With the support of the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences, an HKS faculty committee will consider applications for one-year grants (up to $30,000) and larger grants for more extensive proposals to support advanced research by Harvard faculty members on issues of critical importance to Kuwait and the Gulf. Grants can be applied toward research assistance, travel, summer salary, and course buyout.

Priority will be given to the following subjects, although applications will be considered in other areas as well:

• Technology transfer
• Water resources and management
• Oil and petrochemicals
• Small country security
• Governance and transparency issues
• Government subsidies policy
• Vocational training models
• Human resources development
• Applied research, education, and training related to the environment and pollution
• Public health policy including disease treatment (diabetes) and prevention
• Financial growth and foreign investment

In addition, the Kennedy School is seeking more-extensive and ambitious proposals on renewable energy, climate change and its impact on the Gulf, education reform, and financial risk assessment and risk management, and is prepared to provide greater funding over a longer period of time for research in these areas.

Proposals will be evaluated based on the direct involvement of Harvard faculty, the relevance and transferability of the research to Kuwait and the region, and the quality of the work plan, which should include an outreach component. Collaborative research with Kuwaiti academics and educational institutions is strongly encouraged.

For inquiries, call 617.495.5963. To apply, submit a research proposal (no more than five pages), budget, other sources of funding, and the curriculum vitae for senior researchers to Director, Middle East Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School, 79 JFK St., Cambridge, MA 02138. The deadline for the receipt of grant applications is April 16, and decisions will be announced by May 14.