Launching the Qatar National Research Fund

An overview of the launch of the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF)–the first research-funding organization of its kind in the Middle East–including the design and implementation of its first programs, from August 2006 through January 2008. It describes the thinking behind the programs, policies, planning methods, and decisions and discuses ways of learning from the first grant cycles and improving upon them, as well as early program results.