About the Fellowship

To view this call in French, press here.

Introduction

The Arab Council for the Social Sciences (ACSS) is pleased to launch the second cycle of its Scholars Collaborative Grants Program under the title “Academic Freedom and Knowledge Production in the Arab Region”. 

This fellowship, with a duration of 10 months, supports individual researchers holding a PhD degree in the field of social sciences, humanities and/or allied and interdisciplinary fields with an established research record, to conduct research projects on and in the Arab region. A grant of up to USD10,000 is available for individual researchers to undertake research on the topic and explore potential areas of collaboration and joint outputs with other researchers.

This program is funded through a grant provided to the Arab Council for the Social Sciences by the Institute of International Education (IIE), USA. 

The Theme

Globally, knowledge production is increasingly at risk due to censure, cybersecurity threats, commercial exploitation, crypto-surveillance, hate speech, and restrictions on academic freedom. Political turmoil, economic upheaval, pandemics, and military conflicts further endanger researchers’ safety and human rights, posing a significant threat to the production of knowledge and evidence.

The 21st century has brought new challenges through digital spaces. Online meetings, digital resources, informational and training opportunities have all expanded boundaries of learning, research and dialogue. However, knowledge production also faces new threats and controls through cyber-surveillance and ongoing constraints on public space and public speech in addition to ‘traditional’ forms of silencing voices that contest existing power structures. 

The SCG grants encourage proposals to develop research and writing that will provide compelling frameworks for debates and discussions on academic freedom, both in the region and globally. 

Specifically, the SCG will support research proposals on the Arab region based on new or ongoing projects, that seek to:

•  Explore the history of academic freedom as a concept and the relationship between it and other freedoms and rights. 
• Develop insights into the current practices, conditions and constraints on academic freedom and knowledge production prevailing in the region that stifle or preclude creative and innovative research and teaching.  SCG is particularly interested in the impact of digitization and new technologies – such as AI – on academic freedom, as well as related forms of surveillance and silencing.
  • Explore how conditions and constraints on academic freedom, including freedom of research, publication, dissemination, convening, scholarly mobility and dialogue are experienced by different institutions and actors involved in knowledge production.
  • Examine university autonomy and the impact of neo-liberal policies and the commodification of education on academic freedom.
  • Understand the impact of structural inequalities such as gender and class on academic freedom.
  • Explore how issues concerning academic freedom have been experienced through the lives and career trajectories of particular individuals from the region, either through an examination of their biographies or through extended interviews and life-stories.

 
Collaboration is a vital component of SCG. Researchers selected for funding will convene periodically in closed workshops to share their work and benefit from each other’s feedback. They will also participate in ACSS Research Forums and Conferences, with the costs to be covered separately by ACSS. Grantees with similar interests will be strongly encouraged/invited to explore potential collaborations and pursue joint publications and other outputs.

Eligibility Criteria

Required Documents

Applicants are required to create an account and a Profile Page on the ACSS Applications Platform, then apply to the grant using the online application form for the Scholars Collaborative Grants Program, and provide the following supporting documents:

• Detailed CV including academic qualifications, publications, and research record (with links if publications are available online).
• One-page cover letter explaining the aims of the proposed project, and background of the researcher
• Proof of nationality (copy of a valid passport or identification card). Applicants who are originally from an Arab state, but carry a non-Arab passport, should provide evidence of their Arab origin.
• Project proposal (six to eight double spaced pages) detailing the activities that the applicant intends to undertake during the grant period. Please note that all submitted proposals will be checked on a plagiarism detection software. 
• Completed Project Timeline and Outputs Form . Outputs must be realistically aligned with the grant timeline.
• Completed Project Budget Request Form . The budget may include fieldwork expenses (field accommodation, travel and transportation related to the research, and living expenses), consultations to develop the project, purchase of research equipment and other supplies as well as stipend for principal investigator and/or research assistance (maximum of 25% of the proposed budget). 
• Copy of the PhD degree

The Grants and Fellowships Unit at the Arab Council for the Social Sciences will review each budget on a case-by-case basis. Please note that the total and detailed approved budget may not necessarily correspond to the one requested.

Disciplinary Focus

The Scholar Collaborative Grants Program is open to any discipline in the social sciences and humanities and allied and interdisciplinary fields. Core disciplines include anthropology, demography, economics, history, political science, psychology, sociology, philosophy, literary studies and art history. Allied and interdisciplinary fields include architecture, geography, education, law, public health, gender studies, cultural studies, media studies, development studies and urban studies.

Proposal Writing Guidelines

Suggested proposals can be based on fieldwork, library and archival research, media research or other forms of data collection and analysis.

Proposals should include the following components:

• Background and significance of the research
• Research problem and research questions
• Theoretical framework
• Literature review
• Methodology and ethical considerations.

For more information on proposal writing guidelines, click here.

Project Aims and Outputs

This program supports research projects at any stage of their development. Research proposals can either be submitted for new or ongoing projects and may include:

• Preliminary or “pilot” phases of a project.
• Longer-term projects combining fieldwork and analysis.
• Extensions of previous projects that seek to bring in new cases and examples.
• Comparative projects extended to include further locations.

The proposed outputs of the project must be commensurate with the research plan and objectives. 

Outputs may include, but are not limited to, research papers and/or articles for publication, archival studies, book manuscript, blog or e-zine essay, proposal for funding a new project, pedagogical resources and digital archives or databases. In addition, the ACSS requires grantees to produce a working paper within the ACSS Working Papers Series or an article to be published by the ACSS in Arabic (translation costs to be covered by ACSS).

Selection Process

A multidisciplinary Selection Committee composed of distinguished Arab scholars with established research and publication records and experience in regional research and teaching will review and select proposals for funding. The selection procedures abide by the highest standards of academic and ethical judgment.

The committee evaluates proposals based on the following evaluation criteria:

• Research proposal’s contribution to knowledge (significance, quality, and originality)
• Feasibility and clarity of the proposed research plan (realistic timeframe and appropriate research methods)
• Applicant’s competence (academic credentials, existing and potential publications)
• Expected outputs and planned publications.
• Ethical Considerations

By submitting the electronic application, applicants affirm that they agree, without any objections, to the evaluation and selection results as decided and announced by the Selection Committee and the Arab Council for the Social Sciences. Applicants who are unsuccessful will not be informed of the specific reasons for rejection.

Results will be communicated to applicants during December 2025.

Terms of the Grant

Successful applicants are expected to comply with the following project requirements:

• Respond to requests for clarification or elaboration put forward by the Selection Committee in its preliminary acceptance decision; submit a revised proposal, timeline and budget.
• Sign a contract specifying the budget, timeline, outputs, and researcher’s obligations.
• Attend a workshop in January 2026 to meet the Selection Committee members, present projects for feedback and receive orientation about ACSS reporting, and financial procedures.
• Attend a progress workshop in July 2026 after the submission of the interim reports.
• Attend and present at the Sixth ACSS Research Forum that will be held in Spring 2026. *Costs of attending these events should not be budgeted for in the proposals. They will be covered directly by the ACSS.
• Submit interim and final narrative and financial reports, including original receipts for all project expenses.
• Produce the outputs specified in the contract and submit an article or a working paper within the ACSS Working Paper Series, which is a peer-reviewed publication. (Please see the guidelines for the Working Paper Series here.)

Budget

The budget should not exceed USD10,000 and cannot include: travel expenses for conference or workshop participation or registration fees.

The budget should clearly indicate whether other sources of funding are already available or have been applied for and which items would be fully or partially covered by other sources. The Selection Committee and the ACSS staff will review each budget on a case-by-case basis. Please note that the total and detailed budget may not necessarily correspond to the one requested. 

Timeline

July 25, 2025: Application forms are available online. 

October 26, 2025: Deadline for submissions. 

December 2025: Decisions are communicated to applicants. 

 December 2025: Accepted applicants sign their contracts. 

January 2026: Attend and present at the first workshop. 

January 2026 to October 2026: Grant duration of 10 months.

July 2026: Attend a progress workshop after the submission of interim reports. 

November 2026: Submission of final reports and grant outputs.

Spring 2026: Attend and present at the Sixth ACSS Research Forum.

Applicants are advised to consult the Frequently Asked Questions and the checklist  prior to submitting their application.

For inquiries about the grant, please direct your questions to the Senior Grants and Fellowships Coordinator, Rebecca Daher, on the following email address: grants@theacss.org

For questions related to technical issues with the online application process, please contact the  IT Officer, Wassim Alam, on the following email address: alam@theacss.org