Call for projects Action-Lebanon

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, combined with the economic distress caused by the financial crisis and the catastrophic explosion in the port of Beirut on August 4, 2020, will have long-term consequences not only on the Lebanese economy but also on the Lebanese scientific research ecosystem.

Under the impetus of the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation (MESRI), the National Research Agency (ANR), the French Development Agency (AFD)  and the National Council for Scientific Research of Lebanon (CNRS-L) are launching "Action-Lebanon" call for project proposals. This call will aim at supporting urgent, rapid and structuring research projects, of a maximum duration of 18 months, whose scientific relevance is related to the Covid-19 pandemic and to the recent multidimensional crises that occurred at a very critical period in Lebanon's history.

The project proposals expected in this call should notably contribute to assess and analyze the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the different human, social, economic, environmental and health aspects, and propose mechanisms to reduce vulnerability and strengthen Lebanese resilience in all categories (scientific, health, social, economic, psychological, etc.). Issues related to risk assessment and management, direct and indirect impact analysis, and remediation are therefore key.

Research proposals should anticipate sustainable responses and cover at least one of the following themes:

• Studies and analysis of the economic and organizational impacts on the different sectors of activity, including the integration of the different vulnerabilities and the recent Lebanese conjuncture.
• Prevention, evaluation, and management of risks and crises
• Physiopathogenesis and epidemiology
• Epidemics and social dynamics
• Solutions and mechanisms for vulnerability reduction, remediation, recovery, and strengthening Lebanese resilience in all its forms.

Project proposals must be submitted on behalf of a binational French-Lebanese consortium.

• The scientific leader of the French coordinating partner receiving the grant must be a full-time researcher from a French research organization or institution or a contractual researcher, with a contract covering the period of the project funding, from a French research organization or institution.
• The scientific leader of the Lebanese coordinating partner benefiting from the CNRS-L grant must be a full member of his/her home institution. Temporary staff are not eligible to assume the scientific responsibility of the Lebanese partner in the project. The approval of the highest authority of the institution is required.

The proposal must be finalized on the submission site by the closing date and time, June 2st, 2021 at 1:00 PM (Paris time). No documents will be accepted after this date and time. No modification of data will be possible after this date and time.

You will find all the information concerning the submission modalities and the eligibility criteria in the text of the call “Action-Lebanon”.