Research Grants and Fellowships

For full details about this fellowship, please visit our  Middle East Initiative Fellowship page.

For: Junior and mid-career policy-oriented scholars and faculty, with a particular focus on scholars who are from and intend to return to the UAE, the Gulf, and the Arab world.

Duration: Academic Year (September 1st - June 30th)

Application and Deadline: The application period to apply for a 2025-2026 fellowship will open in February 2025.

Fellowship Description: The Emirates Leadership Initiative Fellowship at the Middle East Initiative provides junior and mid-career policy-oriented scholars a ten-month stipend, as well as access to Harvard’s libraries and other resources, to pursue an independent research project on a critical public policy area relevant to the UAE, the Gulf region, and the broader Arab world. Areas of particular interest include optimizing governance, increasing economic dynamism, strengthening human capital, and improving public policy design and delivery.  

The ELI Fellowship is designed to attract the most promising junior and mid-career policy-oriented scholars and faculty, with a particular focus on scholars who are from and intend to return to the UAE, the Gulf, and the Arab world. We welcome applications from policy analysts, public servants, and social scientists whose proposed research demonstrates a strong potential for constructive, real-world impact.

Priority will be given to applicants whose research proposals center the four MEI research priorities, which reflect the most salient public policy challenges facing the Gulf and broader Middle East region:
 

Optimizing Governance: 

- Enhancing the effectiveness of local governments. 

- Developing models for governing new technologies and managing their social and economic impacts. 

- Improving service delivery and efficiency through, among other measures, digital transformation projects. 

Increasing Economic Dynamism: 

- Diversifying hydrocarbon-based economies. 

- Fostering private sector development. 

- Managing tradeoffs between economic openness and policy autonomy. 

Strengthening Human Capital: 

- Reforming K-12 and higher education systems to maximize innovation and knowledge-production and pursue other socially valuable goals.

- Developing upskilling, reskilling, and leadership programs. 

- Managing the balance between attracting global talent and developing local capacities. 

Improving Public Policy Design and Delivery: 

- Promoting the rigorous use of evidence in the design, execution, and evaluation of public policies. 

This program is made possible through funding from the Emirates Leadership Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School. 

For full details, including stipend information, fellowship expectations, and application instructions, please visit our  Middle East Initiative Fellowship page.

For: Scholars from Kuwait, ranging from recent recipients of a PhD (or equivalent) to the senior level.

Duration: One semester (about four months)

Application and Deadline: The deadline to apply for the Spring 2023 Kuwait Visiting Research Fellowship has passed. Applications for this position are no longer being accepted at this time. 

Fellowship Description: The Middle East Initiative hosts a scholar each spring to conduct a research project on a topic relevant to policy and development in the Middle East and North Africa. Eligible candidates include scholars from Kuwait, ranging from the postdoctoral to the senior level. We are interested in research that focuses on the Arabian Gulf (preferably with specific attention to the State of Kuwait) and one of the following five policy areas:

Science and Technology: Deployment and impacts of new information technologies, automation processes, and artificial intelligence: new frontiers in urban design and sustainability; anticipating and managing global health challenges.

Energy and the Environment: Externality impacts of energy development; renewable options; impacts of and measures to deal with the impact of climate change in the region.

Education Reform: Higher education management; curricular reform; workforce development and training; equipping the region's youth to be globally competitive.

Economic Development: Economic development and structural diversification; building a stronger private sector; attracting foreign investment.

Governance: Regulatory and legal reform; strategic planning and crisis management; public policy analysis, design and delivery; institutional reform. 

The Kuwait Visiting Research Fellow is expected to be in residence at Harvard for the duration of their appointment and to participate actively in MEI and Belfer Center activities as appropriate. The fellowship includes a $7,500 monthly stipend.

Application Requirements:

The deadline to apply for the Spring 2023 Kuwait Visiting Research Fellowship has passed. Applications for this position are no longer being accepted at this time. 

CV

Three recommenders (name, contact details, in what capacity they worked with you) who will submit letters of recommendation on your behalf.*

Research proposal (3-5 pages)

Writing sample with an abstract of 300 words or less. The writing sample should not exceed 50 pages. It can be a journal article, book or dissertation chapter, a white paper, policy brief, etc.

*It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure these letters are received by the recommender deadline. Emails with a link to upload the letters of recommendation will be sent to all listed recommenders once the applicant submits their application.

Please submit inquires to Marina Lorenzini at: mlorenzini@hks.harvard.edu

The Kuwait Program at Harvard Kennedy School is made possible through funding from the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences.

For: Senior Practitioners and Academics

Duration: One Semester (about four months)

Application Deadline: The deadline to apply for the fall 2022 position has passed. Applications for this position are no longer being accepted at this time. 

The Middle East Initiative hosts senior policymakers and academics to engage with students and faculty as a visiting scholar for one semester as part of the Kuwait Program at Harvard Kennedy School. The Kuwait Program at Harvard Kennedy School is made possible through the generous support of the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS).

Applications from scholars working on contemporary issues of policy relevance to the Middle East, and the Arabian Gulf in particular, in the disciplines of political science, economics, history, and sociology are especially welcome. All visiting scholars are expected to either:

Conduct a research project preferably with a Harvard Kennedy School faculty member; or

Lead a not-for credit eight week study group on a topic relevant to policy and development in the Middle East and North Africa.

The visiting scholar is required to be in residence for the semester and is expected to participate in Middle East Initiative activities and must be available to students throughout their time on campus. In some cases, visiting scholars may be asked to teach a course on campus. The program will provide the visiting scholar $5,000 a month and a housing allowance.

Contact: For more information, contact Marina Lorenzini by email at: mlorenzini@hks.harvard.edu. 

For: Harvard faculty with Principal Investigator (PI) status and their collaborators. 

Application and Deadline: The deadline to apply for the AY2023 cycle has passed. Applications for this funding opportunity are no longer being accepted at this time.

Description: The Middle East Initiative accepts research proposals for projects that target major policy issues affecting the Middle East and North Africa. Funding is made possible by the Emirates Leadership Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School and the Kuwait Program at Harvard University. Details regarding priority topic areas for each program can be found below. 

Duration: There are two categories of research proposals:

Major Research Projects - Proposals may be for one- or two-year grants to support research by Harvard faculty members and can be applied toward research assistance, travel, summer salary, workshops, and course buy-out. 

Exploratory Research Projects – Exploratory grants are intended to support travel to Kuwait or to the UAE to participate in academic seminars and conferences, develop research projects with local scholars and institutions, and share the results of Harvard faculty research with local audiences.

Priority Research Areas:

The Emirates Leadership Initiative will consider proposals on issues of critical importance to the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Arab World with priority given to those focused on the following topics:

- Improving Governance: Promoting the inclusivity, accountability, responsiveness, and efficiency of governing institutions and empowering the region's citizens.

- Building Peace: Addressing the sources of domestic and interstate conflict and generating durable political settlements.

- Revitalizing the State: Reforming the Middle East's social service delivery systems with a special emphasis on health, education, and social protection.

- Broadening Financial and Labor Markets: Working to ensure that the financial and labor markets in the Middle East are open, competitive, and beneficial to the entire population.

- Governing Technology: Assessing how governments in the Middle East adapt to and integrate technological changes such as the growth of cyberspace, automation, and artificial intelligence, as well as how these advances in technology have shaped governance.

- Adapting to the Environment: Exploring how the governments of the region can cope and are coping with the challenges of water scarcity and climate change.

The Kuwait Program will consider proposals focused on the Arabian Gulf (preferably with specific attention to the State of Kuwait) and one of the following five policy areas:

- Science and Technology: Deployment and impacts of new information technologies, automation processes, and artificial intelligence: new frontiers in urban design and sustainability; anticipating and managing global health challenges.

- Energy and the Environment: Externality impacts of energy development; renewable options; impacts of and measures to deal with the impact of climate change in the region.

- Education Reform: Higher education management; curricular reform; workforce development and training; equipping the region's youth to be globally competitive.

- Economic Development: Economic development and structural diversification; building a stronger private sector; attracting foreign investment.

- Governance: Regulatory and legal reform; strategic planning and crisis management; public policy analysis, design and delivery; institutional reform.