• Each cluster is led by a PI or two co-PIs and supported by 2-4 additional affiliate researchers. At least one of the PIs must have completed their PhDs and has an academic institutional affiliation, though the second can be a senior practitioner with a professional terminal degree in their field. Other members of the research cluster are normally also PhDs. Exceptions can be made for practitioners with terminal degrees working alongside PhDs. Exceptions can also be made for doctoral students who are ABD or at the dissertation stage, who may be included as al-Mujadilah Junior Research Fellows.
• Meetings of each research cluster will take place every two months for the duration of the grant and will include the Research Manager or Analyst from the Center and at least 70% of the research team. During the duration of the grant, all members of the Research Cluster must convene an in-person research workshop or commensurate activity in Doha. Al-Mujadilah Research will cover the expenses of this workshop/event after a proposal is submitted.
• In addition to the outlined academic outputs of al-Mujadilah Research Projects, all projects must also include some public engagement surrounding the themes, findings or outcomes of the project at the Center and/or on the Center’s public platforms. This is typically scheduled in person alongside the annual meeting in Doha. Public engagement initiatives can include a hosting research lecture series for an engaged public, roundtable discussions, podcast series, authoring white papers, condensed versions of your research as online essays, exhibits, or another proposed public engagement output proposed by the grant recipients and approved as part of the funding application.
• Provide bi-annual reports during the award period. The reports ask grant recipients to describe the work accomplished and reflect on both the successful outcomes and challenges of the project in the preceding six months and update proposed milestones to be achieved in the upcoming six months. Reports should also demonstrate research engagement and impact, which can be in the form of written documentation, photos, videos of cluster engagement, etc. that can be used for al-Mujadilah promotional purposes and inclusion in the al-Mujadilah archive.
• Existing Research Clusters may apply for one renewal, but renewal applications are not guaranteed funding.
• Grants will be disbursed according to an agreed-upon schedule tied to the project’s milestones and deliverables (e.g.: divided into 3 equal payments disbursed at the outset, at 4 months, and at 8 months). Grants will be disbursed directly to the PI or co-PIs who will be onboarded as consultants reporting directly to al-Mujadilah. They will be responsible for the expenditure, accounting and reporting of their funds and for all arrangements related to those expenditures. They must provide to al-Mujadilah an accounting of funds expended in their bi-annual reports, along with all invoices documenting the expenditure of the funds. All funds must be spent by the last day of the 12-month period of the year for which they were granted and any unused funds returned to al-Mujadilah within 60 days following the end of the grant period.
• Research outputs published as academic publications remain the sole Intellectual Property of the researchers. Al-Mujadilah fellows must prominently identify al-Mujadilah as a funder for all research and academic proceedings and public events supported by the grant. Public engagement outputs submitted directly to al-Mujadilah or abridged by al-Mujadilah researchers on the basis of academic publications remain the Intellectual Property of al-Mujadilah.
• Each cluster is encouraged to include one researcher based in Qatar in their team. Al-Mujadilah staff can suggest potential researchers working on research related to the cluster’s project. In the event that a research cluster is unable to have a researcher based at the center, a member of the al-Mujadilah Research team will join the Research Cluster to form a link between the cluster and the center.

General Information

Al-Mujadilah Researchers are allocated funding for a maximum of two years to develop a research project solicited or approved by the Research Evaluation Committee. Clusters are typically awarded a research support grant of 50,000-70,000 Qatari Riyals ($10-15,000 USD) that can be used as research support funds or stipends. Large clusters or teams undertaking longer projects or projects requiring exceptional resources can apply for a maximum of 90,000 Qatari Riyals ($25,000 USD). In addition to the research support grant, al-Mujadilah will cover the expenses for an in-person research workshop in Doha for all cluster participants towards the end of the grant period.

Funds may be used for a variety of programmatic elements and project costs, including but not limited to:

• Stipends for researchers.
• Graduate or undergraduate research assistants connected to the research cluster, including those providing logistical and administrative support for the group (e.g.: project management, copy editing and referencing support, research support, event organization).
• Acquisition of research materials, including electronic databases, books, manuscripts, microfilm, etc.
• Travel expenses for conference presentations (if primary institution does not cover this) and research data collection trips.
• Research computing or computer software (but not hardware) for research purposes.

Funds may not be used for:

• Funding graduate degrees.
• Course buyouts.
• Conference funding (if provided by researcher’s primary institution).