Leading House MENA: Communication, Dissemination and Engagement Grant 2026

International research collaborations require dedicated efforts beyond research activities alone.
Communication, dissemination and engagement activities are essential to make collaborations
visible, intelligible and sustainable, and to foster engagement with academic and non-academic
audiences.

The Communication, Dissemination and Engagement Grants (CDE) are a flexible funding
instrument of the Leading House MENA, designed to support communication-, dissemination-
and engagement-oriented activities that strengthen collaboration between Switzerland and the
MENA region. They do not fund research activities as such, but complement
existing funding schemes by supporting targeted, time-bound activities that pursue one or more of
the following objectives:

• Visibility and intelligibility: to make Switzerland-MENA collaborations visible and intelligible to relevant academic and non-academic audiences;
• Engagement and exchange: to foster engagement and exchange with relevant external actors;
• Sustainability and follow-up: to contribute to the sustainability, positioning and follow-up of Switzerland-MENA collaborations, including, where applicable, their societal relevance.

This funding instrument is open both to researchers taking part in a LHMENA-funded project or who have completed one, as well as to researchers involved in a collaboration with an eligible country from the MENA region. Eligible activities include, without being limited to, scientific publications, the creation of communication materials intended for non-academic audiences, as well as the organising of events (conferences, workshops, exhibitions, …)

Funding

• APC for open access academic publications: up to CHF 2,500
• all other eligible activities: up to CHF 5,000

Evaluation

Applications are evaluated in comparative batches during three evaluation rounds per year, with the
following cut-off dates:

1. Evaluation Round: Applications submitted between 15 February and 15 May 2026
2. Evaluation Round: Applications submitted between 16 May and 15 August 2026
3. Evaluation Round: Applications submitted between 16 August and 15 November 2026

A limited number of grants (approximately three per evaluation round) will be awarded, depending
on the available budget and the quality of the applications received. Applicants will be informed of
the funding decision within approximately one month after the relevant cut-off date.