Middle East Regional Cooperation Program

The Middle East Regional Cooperation (MERC) Program is a long-standing U.S. federal grants program promoting scientific and technical cooperation between the U.S., Israel, and the broader Middle East that advances U.S. national priorities, including

The Middle East Regional Cooperation (MERC) Program is a long-standing U.S. federal grants program promoting scientific and technical cooperation between the U.S., Israel, and the broader Middle East that advances U.S. national priorities, including a comprehensive and lasting Middle East peace. MERC supports applied research grants that often span multiple years. A consortium must include at least one recipient from Israel and one from the broader Middle East and North Africa region and confer benefit to the United States, generally through cooperation with an American private sector company.

Subject to change based on U.S. federal law and country-specific restrictions on funding, in addition to Israel the following countries/territories are eligible to apply as MENA partners: Algeria, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and the West Bank and Gaza. Partners may come from academic, private sector, non-governmental, or governmental institutions eligible to receive U.S. foreign assistance.

Subject to change based on U.S. federal law and country-specific restrictions on funding, applicants from the following countries/territories are eligible: Algeria, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and the West Bank and Gaza

This varies based on the NOFO, please see the NOFO posted on Grants.gov for more information.

This varies based on the NOFO, please see the NOFO posted on Grants.gov for more information.

This varies based on the NOFO, please see the NOFO posted on Grants.gov for more information.

Please see NOFO posting on Grants.gov for required application materials.

The following are subject to change. See the NOFO for the most accurate guidance. Strength and durability of regional cooperation: The project must be a collaborative effort between Israeli and eligible MENA recipient organizations. All recipients should have significant intellectual roles. The project should include joint activities-such as frequent meetings, exchanges, workshops, and training of students-supporting knowledge exchange and promoting peaceful regional cooperation. Relevance to priorities of the United States: The project must address an issue of economic importance to the United States or advance U.S. national priorities in the Middle East and North Africa region, including economic competitiveness, trade, technological leadership, purchase and use of U.S. technology, and countering adversarial influence. American recipient(s) may be included to meet this requirement. Relevance to priorities of the recipient countries: The project must address an issue of economic importance or national interest to the recipient countries. Likely impact and commercial potential: Investigators must demonstrate that there is a demand for the potential benefits realized from the project. There should be a timeline and specific mechanisms for putting the research results into practice. Priority will be given to research with anticipated outcomes that are scalable and/or have a potential pathway for commercialization. Technical merit and compliance with special research concerns: The project must be peer-reviewable and have a sound, credible step-by-step technical work plan, supported by technical background and documentation of relevant previous work. The work must be based on clearly stated hypotheses and objectives. The work must also explore original concepts and either advance the state of the science or provide an innovative regional application. Applicants must demonstrate compliance with special research concerns. Management structure: The project should be led by qualified investigators and have an effective institutional management structure likely to achieve its stated goals and capable of managing U.S. federal funds. Budget: The project budget should comply with the Budget Guidelines, consist of reasonable costs, and be justified in relation to the proposed activities and expected outcomes. All necessary and realistic expenses to achieve the proposed activities must be included. Applicants must consider and prioritize U.S.-made technology and equipment in all procurement decisions, to the maximum extent practicable and consistent with program objectives. Proposals including significant cost share or matching funds, especially from institutions in high-income countries, will receive priority consideration.

Proposals will be reviewed by a review panel composed of U.S. Department of State representatives from technical and regional offices. Proposals for scientific research will also be evaluated by an external peer-review panel. Final award decisions will be influenced by whether the proposal meets MERC's programmatic goals and objectives.

It takes approximately one year from the time of initial application submission (pre-proposal) to awarding funds.

If project goals cannot be completed within the original period of performance, the recipients may request a no-cost extension (NCE). Recipients must submit a written justification. Depending on the award, recipients may apply for continuation funding to increase the ceiling of a current award.

Applied Research Grants: At the pre-proposal stage, declined applicants are not provided with detailed written feedback regarding the reason for decline; however, they may request a consultation by teleconference within 90 days of the notification of decline. At the full proposal stage, declined applicants are provided with a detailed explanation on their package and reason for decline. Proposals bearing sufficient merit may be invited to resubmit a revised full proposal for consideration. Unsuccessful applicants are eligible to apply for future funding. Continuation Grants; Travel and Workshop Grants: Applicants with declined proposals may request a consultation by teleconference within 90 days of the notification of decline. Unsuccessful applicants are eligible to apply for future funding.