I. Background
The Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Research and Innovation Authority (RIA) are collaborating to offer a new strategic research grant opportunity focused on developing Innovative Solutions for Health Care Challenges to improve health care for the population in Oman.
The mission of this collaborative grant programme is to improve health care for the population in Oman and to accelerate the adoption of evidence-based health innovations that align the mutual interests of patients, healthcare professionals, and the community. The MoH is the lead organization for management of applications along with the strategic research programme committee. Grant funding will be provided by RIA.
The intent of this Call for Proposals (CFP) is to encourage researchers and organizations to submit research proposals designed to tackle and improve the understanding of health care challenges in Oman, design innovative solutions and study the impact of these solutions. Successful proposals will include a detailed plan and scope to address the selected research challenge. Proposals must describe how the outcomes, can be implemented, with possible evidence of scalability (e.g., integration with an electronic medical record system) and sustainability (e.g., plan for dissemination/applicability beyond the proposed institution). Consideration should be given regarding potential adaptation of the outcomes to different settings. The full proposal will go through a competitive peer-review and grant decision-making by the Programme Team.
II. Type of CFP Research Areas for the 2026 Cycle
Main Theme: Enhancing the Pharmaceutical Economy and Drug Security
Sub-Themes:
III. CFP key information
| Scope: | To encourage researchers and organizations to submit research proposals designed to tackle and improve the understanding of health care challenges in Oman, design innovative solutions and study the impact of these solutions. Successful proposals will include a detailed plan and scope to address the selected research challenge. |
| Research Challenge Title 1: | Main Theme: Enhancing the Pharmaceutical Economy and Drug Security |
| Proposal Instructions: | All proposals should: – Address clearly defined national-level challenges or scalable solutions, supported by evidence (e.g., needs assessments, national data, or documented system gaps) – Demonstrate economic impact and/or measurable system improvement – Provide clear, implementable outputs relevant to the Omani health system and key stakeholders – Clearly specify the primary priority topic addressed in their proposal (e.g., A1, B3, D7). Proposals addressing multiple topics should identify one primary topic and may indicate secondary alignment. |
| Research Sub-themes: | A. Drug Security, Supply Chain Resilience & Shortage Prevention Priority Topics: 1.Supply chain vulnerability mapping and national supply chain resilience frameworks 2.Predictive models, early warning systems, and strategic medicine reserve planning for drug shortages B. Pharmaceutical Economics & Cost Optimisation Priority Topics: 3.Centralised vs decentralised procurement models 4.Pharmacoeconomic evaluation of high-cost medicines, including generic and biosimilar medicine uptake strategies C. Pharmaceutical Governance & HTA for Strategic Decision-Making Priority Topics: 5.Integration of HTA into policy and clinical guidelines 6.National pharmaceutical security index development D. Local Pharmaceutical Manufacturing & Industry Development Priority Topics: 7.Feasibility of local production (generics, biosimilars) 8.Strategies for expanding pharmaceutical manufacturing E. Clinical Pharmacy, Rational Medicine Use & Patient Safety Priority Topics: 9.Expansion and impact of clinical pharmacy services, including rational prescribing, 10.Deprescribing, medication safety, and adherence to national prescribing guidelines |
| Type of Submission: | Full proposals only |
| Eligibility criteria: | ·Applications should be limited ONLY to the research areas of the selected theme/challenge(s). Unrelated applications will not be considered. ·Principal Investigator (PI): PhD holder or equivalent (clinicians: senior specialist or higher) ·PI should be from an organisation that is electronically connected to Ministry of Higher Education Research and Innovation |
| Key requirements: | ·Individual projects can be funded for up to a maximum of 24-months’ duration ·MoHERI will fund up to 50% of the total project cost with a maximum cap of OMR 50,000 ·PI and Co-PI should be from the same organisation ·PI and Co-PI should not have any ongoing funded projects from MoHERI ·Confirmation and details of cash/material/in-kind contribution in writing to be attached with the proposal |
| Selection criteria: | Submissions will be evaluated on the basis of: ·Alignment to CFP described theme/challenge research areas ·Applicant knowledge of and experience with the area ·Capability of carrying out the work ·Inter-sectoral collaboration ·Potential impact and expected outcomes of the project ·Adaptation of the outcomes by the stakeholders ·Dissemination strategies |
| Key dates/deadlines: | · 14 April 2026 CFP released · 30 May 2026 Full Proposals due · 1 July 2026 for pending relevant ethical approval letters |
| How to Submit: | Submissions should be made as an ‘SRP Application’ (Full Proposal) on the RIA website (rims.moheri.gov.om) Please ensure respective ethical approvals are obtained (as appropriate). |
Attachment for more information and instructions: اولوية الصحة_SRPHealth2026
