U.S.-Egypt Science & Technology Joint Fund Quarterly Report

The program aims to promote scientific and technological cooperation between the two countries through research grants and other forms of support. Cycle 18 of the program was launched in July 2016, with a Request for Applications (RFA) that included calls for collaborative research grants of up to $400,000 and junior scientists grants for Egyptian scientists of up to $30,000. The RFA featured four broad thematic areas (agriculture, energy, health, and water) and 13 sub-areas that received priority for funding. Nexus proposals, which make direct and substantive scientific advances in each of the selected priority areas, were also given priority for funding. During the fourth quarter of FY 2016, most programmatic activity focused on the open RFA for Cycle 18, the full-execution of Cycle 17's sub-awards, and preparations for the U.S.-Egypt S&T Joint Fund Symposium. Two-thirds of Cycle 17's sub-awards were fully-executed in Q4, with NAS disbursing Year 1 funds, providing PIs with reminders on program rules, and beginning the process of disbursing travel funds for the symposium. The program administration continued to work on various tasks, including submitting a Year 3 workplan to USAID, which was approved in FY 2017 Q1. Planning also continued for the October U.S.-Egypt S&T Joint Fund Symposium in Cairo, with NAS consulting with the Science and Technology Development Fund (STDF) for updates on the venue, providing letters of invitation to U.S. PIs, and coordinating the collection of U.S. and Egyptian attendees' biographies and abstracts. Looking ahead to the next quarter, NAS and STDF will finalize the eligibility check process of Cycle 18's collaborative proposals, confirming the total number of proposals that will be sent to review. U.S.-based reviewers will be contacted to participate in Cycle 18's panels, and ad-hoc reviewers will be found for specialized proposals that cannot easily be placed within a panel. NAS will also submit to USAID the program's annual report and continue to stay in contact with Cycle 17's U.S. PIs as more of their sub-awards are fully-executed and programmatic questions arise.