Middle East Regional Cooperation (MERC)

The summary for the Middle East Regional Cooperation (MERC) grant is detailed below. This summary states who is eligible for the grant, how much grant money will be awarded, current and past deadlines, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers, and a sampling of similar government grants. Verify the accuracy of the data FederalGrants.com provides by visiting the webpage noted in the Link to Full Announcement section or by contacting the appropriate person listed as the Grant Announcement Contact. If any section is incomplete, please visit the website for the Assistance Coordination, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.

Middle East Regional Cooperation (MERC): The MERC Program is funded as assistance to promote scientific cooperation, technology-led development, and capacity building between partners in Israel and eligible countries/territories in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Subject to change based on U.S. federal law and country-specific restrictions on funding, those countries include: Algeria, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and the West Bank and Gaza. Emphasis is given to research and technology subjects of regional importance and relevance to the development in the MENA. Moreover, benefits should target developing, USAID-presence countries in the MENA and resource-limited populations. Strong, direct cooperation between Israel and the eligible MENA partners is required for proposals receiving funding under the MERC Program. Participation of partners from outside the MENA, including the United States, is not a key feature of the MERC Program, but they may be considered for modest roles in exceptional cases to meet an essential technical need that is not otherwise available among the partners. Applicants must be prepared to provide a well justified case for the involvement of partners from outside the MENA and accept that MERC may not support their participation.The MERC program funds peer-reviewed, collaborative, applied scientific research and technical exchanges between Israeli partners and the eligible MENA partners. As part of this Notice of Funding Opportunity, MERC is seeking to fund proposals in the following categories:Applied research grants: Multi-year, cooperative research projectsContinuation grants: Extension of existing or recently ended applied research grantsTravel and workshop grants: Support for workshops, meetings, and researcher exchange