QRDI Council national research and innovation calls
مجلس البحوث والتطوير والابتكار
Usually opens in February and March
Projected from the months this call usually opens — not a date the funder has confirmed.
Projected from the pattern of past calls — confirm on the funder's page before planning around it.
Themed calls run with partner ministries and corporates. Recent cycles awarded QAR 150,000 to QAR 300,000 for short six-to-twelve-month programmes and QAR 500,000 to QAR 800,000 per year for multi-year programmes (for example AI for Qatar, SEHATech, Path Towards Precision Medicine).
Qatar Research, Development and Innovation (QRDI) Council
public · national
Deadline: annual_call — The most recent published cycle had submission deadlines of 18 February 2026 and 11 March 2026 across roughly a dozen themed programmes.
This funder does not publish a success rate. We rank it using the rate observed across similar programmes and label it as an estimate rather than implying we know.
Major bid — written case, budget, possibly partners.
Who can apply
- Sectors: ai, health, agri, creative, deeptech
- Stage: seed, series_a
- R&D activity required
- Locally registered entity required
Most calls require a Qatar-based host institution or corporate partner; startups typically participate as part of a consortium.
How to apply
- Register on the QRDI InnoLight portal.
- Select the open themed programme matching your research area.
- Submit the proposal by the cycle deadline.
- Peer review and award.
What you will need
- Research or innovation proposal
- Budget
- Qatari host institution or partner details
- Team CVs
Source. https://qrdi.org.qa/en-US/ — checked 2026-08-14
"Each award is up to QAR 500,000 per year for a duration of up to two years - Submission Deadline: 11 March 2026"