Data & Tools
Funding landscape
Research and project funding for water in or about the MENA region: five programmes, each read on the funder’s own page. It is for researchers, universities, institutes and companies that want to know what exists, who may apply, what it pays and when it closes.
Dates to know
Deadlines and openings printed by the funders for the programmes below. They also appear in the calendar.
| Date | Programme | What happens (links to the funder’s page) |
|---|---|---|
| 10 Nov 2026 | Water4All 2026 | Pre-proposals due, 15:00 CET |
| 8 Dec 2026 | UAEREP 7th cycle | Online portal opens |
| 5 Mar 2027 | UAEREP 7th cycle | Registration due |
| 12 Mar 2027 | UAEREP 7th cycle | Pre-proposals due, midnight GMT |
| 31 Mar 2027 | develoPPP Classic | Ideas competition closes (window opens 15 February; the page prints no year) |
| 6 Apr 2027 | Water4All 2026 | Full proposals due, 15:00 CEST (deadline to be confirmed after step 1) |
The programmes
Most of these fund consortia of research institutions. The one scheme aimed at companies is develoPPP, which is not specific to water. Every card gives what the funder says about scope, applicants, amount and dates, then the page it comes from.
EU co-funded partnership (Horizon Europe)
Water4All 2026 joint call
- What it fundsCollaborative research and innovation projects of 36 months on sustainable water management (excluding extreme events and circularity). A proposal must address at least one of four topics: integrated monitoring and assessment; nature-based approaches for resilient water management at hydrological and hydrogeological system scale; smart, secure and adaptive water infrastructures; and resilient water systems through systemic change, policy coherence and inclusive governance. A separate modality is open to early-career researchers (PhD less than ten years before the call launch).
- Who can applyA consortium of at least three eligible partners that request funding from participating funding organisations in three different countries, including at least two independent legal entities from two different EU Member States or Horizon Europe associated countries as recipients of the financial support. At most seven partners, including one self-funded partner (a self-funded partner cannot coordinate). Every partner must also meet its own national or regional rules and confirm eligibility with its national contact point. Funders from the MENA region in the call table: Israel, Tunisia and Turkey.
- AmountAbout EUR 34 million in total from 32 funding organisations in 29 countries. Each funder commits its own budget: the call announcement lists EUR 220,000 for Israel (Ministry of Energy), EUR 700,000 for Tunisia (Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research) and EUR 500,000 for Turkey (TUBITAK), all three for the main call and not for the early-career modality.
- DatesOpened 8 September 2026. Mandatory pre-proposal due 10 November 2026, 15:00 CET. First-step results notified 9 February 2027. Full proposals due 6 April 2027, 15:00 CEST (the announcement says this deadline is to be confirmed after the first step). Selection September 2027; projects start at the end of 2027 or the beginning of 2028.
- StatusOpen until the pre-proposal deadline of 10 November 2026.
- Official pagesCall page · Call announcement (V3, 6 Oct 2026)
- Checked19 October 2026
United Arab Emirates, National Center of Meteorology
UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science, 7th cycle
- What it fundsResearch and technology for rain enhancement, in five thrust areas: optimised seeding materials; novel cloud formation and rain enhancement systems; autonomous unmanned aircraft systems; limited-area climate interventions; and advanced models, software and data. The call is about rain enhancement, not water research in general.
- Who can applyDomestic (UAE) or foreign, public or private, non-profit or for-profit organisations. They must show access to the facilities and infrastructure the project needs. The principal investigator needs substantial research and management experience. An organisation or investigator can receive one award per cycle. Proposals must not already be funded or under review elsewhere. Pre-proposals come first; only invited full proposals are evaluated.
- AmountUSD 3 million in total, shared by up to five awards: up to USD 500,000 for a one-year project, up to USD 1 million for two years, up to USD 1.5 million for three years. Indirect costs capped at 20% of direct costs.
- DatesPortal opens 8 December 2026. Registration due 5 March 2027. Pre-proposals due 12 March 2027, midnight GMT. Invited full proposals notified 31 May 2027 and due 28 August 2027. Awards announced January 2028; anticipated start 1 March 2028.
- StatusCycle announced; not yet open for submission.
- Official pagesProgramme site · 7th cycle solicitation (PDF)
- Checked19 October 2026
German development cooperation (BMZ), for companies
develoPPP Classic
- What it fundsEntrepreneurial projects by companies in over 60 developing and emerging countries that improve the local economic, environmental and social situation, for example sustainable supply chains, training of local skilled workers and sustainable agriculture. The programme is not specific to water.
- Who can applyPrivately owned (majority), profit-oriented companies registered in the EU, an EFTA member country or a country on the OECD DAC list (the page does not define that list). Also required: positive net income, annual turnover of at least EUR 800,000, at least eight employees, two audited annual financial statements, and a project country on the programme's country list. Applications go to one of two implementing partners, DEG Impulse or GIZ. Of the 20 countries on this site, the country list (as at August 2022) names Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine (as Palestinian Territories), Syria, Tunisia and Yemen.
- AmountUp to EUR 2 million in public funding, with a maximum of 50% public contribution.
- DatesAn ideas competition twice a year, open for six weeks each time: 15 February to 31 March and 15 August to 30 September. The page shows the latest call as closed and says the next call starts on 15 February. It does not print a year; the 2027 date follows from the autumn window being shown as closed.
- StatusClosed; next window not yet open.
- Official pagesClassic ideas competition · Conditions (PDF, as at 01/2026) · Country list (PDF, as at 08/2022)
- Checked19 October 2026
Euro-Mediterranean research partnership
PRIMA
- What it fundsResearch and innovation on water management, farming systems and the food value chain in the Mediterranean area, with a water-energy-food-ecosystems (WEFE) nexus approach. The 2026 water topics were a Section 1 innovation action on decentralised brackish water desalination for climate-resilient and resource-efficient Mediterranean agriculture (EUR 10.815 million), a Section 1 coordination action on a Mediterranean WEFE nexus community of practice (EUR 1.05 million), and, in Section 2, a research topic on ecosystem functions and water allocation for non-perennial watercourses (the page gives EUR 36 million for the three Section 2 topics together).
- Who can applyEntities in the 20 participating countries. Of the 20 countries on this site, eight are named: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey. The Commission page says the agreements with Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Morocco had to be revised and re-signed to continue for 2025 to 2027, done already for Jordan, Lebanon and Morocco; it records Morocco's formalisation on 27 March 2026 and says the agreement with Algeria is concluded with entry into force pending. Section 1 calls are funded by the EU; Section 2 calls by the participating states. Consortium rules sit in each call's documents, which this page does not summarise.
- AmountPer topic, as above. The EU contribution to the partnership is up to EUR 325 million from 7 August 2017 to 31 December 2031, and the participating states' contribution is about EUR 384 million for the same period.
- DatesThe 2026 calls opened on 20 March 2026. Last deadlines: 11 June 2026 (nexus coordination action), 29 September 2026 (Section 2) and 7 October 2026 (Section 1 desalination topic, stage 2). The Commission page says PRIMA launches transnational calls yearly through annual work programmes and that EU funding was extended to 2025 to 2027.
- StatusThe PRIMA page states that calls for proposals 2026 are closed. No 2027 call is shown. Individual 2026 topic cards on the same page still carry an "Open" label; their dates have passed.
- Official pagesSubmit your proposal · European Commission page
- Checked19 October 2026
European Union research and innovation programme
Horizon Europe: who may take part
- What this entry coversNot a call. Horizon Europe funds Water4All and the Section 1 calls of PRIMA above. Individual calls are published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal and are not listed here. This entry shows only where each of the 20 countries stands in the Commission's list of participating countries (version 4.2, 7 October 2026).
- The list's rulesEntities from associated countries take part under equivalent conditions as EU Member States, unless the work programme or call text sets limits. Entities from non-associated non-EU countries can take part, but not always with funding. Countries on the automatic-funding list are eligible for funding subject to EU restrictive measures. Other countries usually take part at their own cost and can receive exceptional funding only if the call names their country as eligible, or the granting authority considers their participation essential to the project. Entities subject to EU restrictive measures, and entities covered by Commission guidelines 2013/C 205/05, are not eligible in any capacity.
- Official pageList of participating countries (HE), V4.2, 7 Oct 2026 (PDF)
- Checked19 October 2026
Horizon Europe, country by country
Where each of the 20 countries stands in the Commission’s list of participating countries, version 4.2 of 7 October 2026. The list governs who can take part in Horizon Europe calls and whether they are funded; a call’s own text can narrow it.
| Country | Status in the list | What the list says |
|---|---|---|
| Egypt | Associated | Associated to the entire programme for award procedures implementing Union budget for 2025 onwards. Listed as low- to middle-income only for award procedures of 2024 and earlier. |
| Israel | Associated | Listed as associated. The list refers to Commission guidelines 2013/C 205/05 on Israeli entities and activities in the territories occupied since June 1967. |
| Tunisia | Associated | Listed as associated. |
| Turkey | Associated | Listed as associated, under the name Türkiye. |
| Morocco | Transitional arrangements | Transitional arrangements may apply, for the entire programme, if the work programme provides for them (association negotiations are being processed or imminent). Morocco is also on the automatic-funding list. |
| Algeria | Automatically eligible for funding | On the list of low- to middle-income countries. |
| Iran | Automatically eligible for funding | On the list as Iran (Islamic Republic). |
| Iraq | Automatically eligible for funding | On the list. |
| Jordan | Automatically eligible for funding | On the list. |
| Lebanon | Automatically eligible for funding | On the list. |
| Libya | Automatically eligible for funding | On the list. |
| Palestine | Automatically eligible for funding | On the list as Palestine; the list states the designation is not a recognition of a State of Palestine. |
| Syria | Automatically eligible for funding | On the list as Syrian Arab Republic. |
| Yemen | Automatically eligible for funding | On the list as Yemen Republic. |
| Bahrain | Not listed | Not named in the associated, transitional or automatic-funding lists. May take part, usually at its own cost; exceptional funding only on the conditions above. |
| Kuwait | Not listed | Not named in the associated, transitional or automatic-funding lists. May take part, usually at its own cost; exceptional funding only on the conditions above. |
| Oman | Not listed | Not named in the associated, transitional or automatic-funding lists. May take part, usually at its own cost; exceptional funding only on the conditions above. |
| Qatar | Not listed | Not named in the associated, transitional or automatic-funding lists. May take part, usually at its own cost; exceptional funding only on the conditions above. |
| Saudi Arabia | Not listed | Not named in the associated, transitional or automatic-funding lists. May take part, usually at its own cost; exceptional funding only on the conditions above. |
| United Arab Emirates | Not listed | Not named in the associated, transitional or automatic-funding lists. May take part, usually at its own cost; exceptional funding only on the conditions above. |
Sources and notes
Every programme was read on the funder's own page or in its own documents on 19 October 2026: the pages and documents linked in each card. Figures, dates and eligibility wording follow those pages; where a sentence goes beyond them it is marked on the card.
- Horizon Europe: the participating-countries list is the Commission's version 4.2 of 7 October 2026. Water4All, PRIMA and the other programmes may apply stricter or additional rules in their own call texts.
- PRIMA: the topic amounts and deadlines are those printed on the 2026 call page. The consortium rules in the 2026 call texts were not read for this page.
- develoPPP: the page gives the next start date (15 February) but no year, and the country list is dated August 2022 while the conditions are dated January 2026. The page uses "OECD DAC list" without defining it, so this page does not say which MENA countries that covers.
- UAEREP: the dates are those in the 7th cycle solicitation PDF; the programme site's own pages also link to it.
Not included, and why:
- J-WAFS seed grants (MIT): the page says proposals are sought from MIT principal investigators; letters of interest are due 18 November 2026.
- IDRC (Canada): on 19 October 2026 its funding page said there were no open calls.
- Other funders (for example the Arab Fund, the Islamic Development Bank, MEDRC, KAUST, Saudi RDIA, Qatar's research funds and Dutch programmes) are not covered: their call pages could not be opened or read, or showed no call. That is not a finding that nothing exists.
This page reports what the funders state. It is not advice on whether to apply, and rules and dates can change after 19 October 2026. Confirm everything with the funder before acting.
Sources and notes
As of 19 October 2026. Refreshed twice a year; next refresh due April 2027. A dated reference, not a live list of calls: confirm every date and rule with the funder before acting.