Program Description
This Call (SIC 2-2026) focuses on fostering engagement within the Society and Governance Cluster to advance cross-entity collaboration, generate impactful research, and address critical societal challenges.
Objectives
Fund social science research on how global futures are shaped and how societies can influence them ethically.
Stimulate collaboration across HBKU entities, integrating disciplinary perspectives.
Support practical, implementation-ready research with policy, societal, and applied impact.
Identify emerging civilizational, technological, and institutional challenges, positioning HBKU as a pioneer in social-scientific work on the future of societies.
Leverage Islamic intellectual traditions and Global South perspectives as substantive research foundations to advance HBKU’s distinctive contribution.
Drive research excellence in HBKU’s flagship research areas, including Global Transformations: Future of Governance, Islamic Ethics: From Social Cohesion to Global Challenges, and AI and Applications, while encouraging contributions to other relevant flagship research priorities.
Focus Areas
This Call (SIC 2-2026) focuses on engaging with the Society and Governance Cluster to advance cross-entity collaboration and research impact.
- AI, digital technologies, and the future distribution of technological, economic, and geopolitical power.
- Institutional innovation, governance renewal, and resilient societies, including pathways to sustainability in arid and resource-constrained cities.
- Human agency, ethical economic life, and the future of money, finance, work, and wellbeing.
- Future-making, strategic foresight, and cross-civilizational dialogues on emerging global orders and societal transformation.
Proposals Submission
Project teams are required to submit detailed proposals through the Portal using the Proposal Internal Approval form.
Deadline: 8 September 2026 (11:59pm)
