# Research Funding in the Middle East and North Africa: Analyses of Acknowledgments in Scientific Publications

**Authors:** Jamal El-Ouahi  
**arXiv:** [2310.04426](https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.04426)  
**Date:** 2023-09-18  
**Summary page:** https://www.summarizepaper.com/en/paper/2310.04426v1/

## Key points

- Study analyzes funding acknowledgments in 2.3 million scientific publications from 2008 to 2021 in MENA countries
- Objective is to identify major funders and understand funding mechanism in relation to collaboration and publication
- Saudi Arabia and Qatar lead region in number of publications acknowledging funding sources and level of international collaborations
- Differences between domestic and international publications in funding structures (e.g., Turkey and Iran dominated by one or two major funders, Saudi Arabia has multiple funders)
- Iran and Kuwait primarily rely on domestic agencies for research funding
- Scientific research in MENA countries mainly funded by government and academic sectors, little involvement from industry sector
- Qualitative analyses provide further context into complex funding mechanism
- Findings contribute to understanding of funding structure in MENA countries, offer insights for funders and research managers
- Importance of quantitative and qualitative methods in uncovering information not explicitly communicated in funding acknowledgments
- Limitations include difficulty achieving complete standardization of funding acknowledgments, reliance on qualitative analyses ongoing
- Expected to inform policymakers on funding structure of national science systems, guide future funding strategies

## Summary

This study utilizes a mixed-methods approach to analyze the funding acknowledgments in 2.3 million scientific publications published between 2008 and 2021 by authors affiliated with research institutions in Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries. The primary objective is to identify the major funders and their contributions to national scientific publications, as well as gain a better understanding of the funding mechanism in relation to collaboration and publication. The researchers examined publication data from the Web of Science (WoS) database to provide key insights into funding activities. They found that Saudi Arabia and Qatar lead the region in terms of both the number of publications acknowledging funding sources and the level of international collaborations. This is largely due to strong linkages with foreign agencies. However, there are differences between domestic and international publications when it comes to funding structures. For example, Turkey and Iran are dominated by one or two major funders, while Saudi Arabia has multiple funders. Additionally, Iran and Kuwait primarily rely on domestic agencies for research funding. The study highlights that scientific research in MENA countries is mainly funded by the government and academic sectors, with little involvement from the industry sector. The qualitative analyses conducted provide further context into the complex funding mechanism. The findings contribute to a better understanding of the funding structure in MENA countries and offer insights for funders and research managers to evaluate the funding landscape. It also emphasizes the importance of both quantitative and qualitative methods in uncovering information not explicitly communicated in funding acknowledgments. While this study provides valuable insights, it acknowledges certain limitations such as achieving complete standardization of funding acknowledgments may not be feasible which necessitates ongoing reliance on qualitative analyses. Nonetheless, these quantitative and qualitative analyses are expected to inform policymakers on the funding structure of national science systems in MENA countries and guide future funding strategies. It should be noted that this research project received no external financial support but utilized data made available by Clarivate Analytics -the provider of Web of Science-and InCites; where author is an employee at Clarivate Analytics . Overall, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of the funding landscape in MENA countries and provides valuable insights for stakeholders involved in research financing management decisions making process .