Grants are offered biennially and the number of accepted projects will depend upon the allocated grant for that cycle, the quality of proposals and the amount of funding requested by applicants.

A.Terms & Conditions:

1. Grants are offered once every two years.
2. The Grant duration is for a period of 2 years.
3. The total number of accepted projects depend upon the Grant allocated for that cycle, the quality of applications and the amount of funding requested by the applicants.
4. Scope of research: applications from all areas of research interest as stipulated in the mission of the Award will be considered. The submitted proposals may be basic, clinical, educational or epidemiological research pertaining to the broad area of health care. Research pertaining to topics selected for the current term will be given priority.
5. Area of Study:  Health & Lifestyle Education, Mental Health, Molecular & Cellular Basis of Disease.
6. Eligibility: All researchers working within universities and other health institutions in the UAE are invited to apply (Please note that the grants for selected projects will be through the institution of the principal investigator concerned).
7. The Award reserves the right to reject any research proposal without giving any reasons.
8. The Award reserves the right to cancel, withdraw or stop the financial support at any time if conditions are not fulfilled and/or if the project is not started within three months from the date of signing the agreement, unless the delay is justified with satisfactory evidence.
9. The Principal Investigator may present his /her results at regional or international meetings. However, the Award should be notified of and acknowledged in any such presentations or publications resulting from the work supported.
10. The grants are non-renewable
11. Funds are not to be used for salaries of primary investigators.

B.The Process:

1. The Announcement:

The Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum for Medical Sciences shall periodically announce its medical research support program at the beginning of each chapter of the Award (which lasts two years). The announcement shall include the following:

1. The topic(s) of research, and invitation to researchers wishing to conduct it.
2. Terms and Conditions of application.

2. Submission of applications:

A period of six-months, starting from the announcement of new term, is given for submission of application.

The application process is done electronically through the website. Each project should be submitted on a completed online application form that includes a research plan, a detailed budget, time-schedule for implementation of its various stages, details of financial requirements, items to be financed and periods of spending.

The primary investigator is committed to append the following documents to the application:

1. Curricula vitae of the primary investigator and co investigators.
2. Ethical Committee approvals, for research involving human and animal subjects, investigators will be expected to obtain and demonstrate approval of the Ethical Research Reviewing Committee before funds will be released. A copy of the consent form for the study must be submitted.
3. Institutional Support letter, from the Director of the Institution supporting the plan and assuring the feasibility of the study should accompany each application.

3. Selection of applications:

The research grant committee shall examine the applications, assess the quality of the research, and estimate the volume of material support for each project. The support shall be drawn from the research budget in accordance with the financial regulations and cash mechanisms applied at the Award.

The applications are considered eligible for screening and evaluation if all the required documentation process is completed. All eligible applications are then evaluated by internal and external referees for the following criteria:

1. Significance
2. Methodology
3. Scientific Merit
4. Track record of applicants
5. Feasibility of Project
6. Adequacy of budget

The Award shall endorse research projects after approval thereof by the Scientific Committee. This approval will depend on the evaluation of the project by the referees.

4. Nomination of grant holder:

The final list of accepted projects is approved by both the scientific committee and the Award management before being announced. The Award will then contact the respective principal investigators with a set of documents, including:

1. The announcement of approval of project, including the total amount of grant and requests for revised budget, if applicable.
2. The approval letter
3. The grant agreement

5. Research Support & funding:

1. The funds can be released only after the agreement signage and only by using the appropriate requisition form.
2. It is the scientific committee's right to decide on the disapproval of requests in case they do not conform with the original plan and to communicate the disapproval justifications to the primary investigators.
3. For research purposes, the primary investigator is allowed to seek the help of a research assistant and/or lab technicians. In such case, he/she shall submit a request to get the Award's approval for hiring such help and sign a special contract for this purpose.
4. The Award is responsible for the regular request processing and the final approval of the requested payments.
5. The payment request is required to conform to the original project budget.
6. Requests for funding include the cost of chemicals, drugs and consumables
7. Each purchase request shall be accompanied by at least one company quotation in order to expedite the funds for consumables, chemicals and drugs.
8. The payments are released against a submitted invoice from the supplier, and approved by the scientific committee.
9. The request for payment for research assistant and/or visiting scientist will be calculated on the amount approved under the respective category.
10. The funding will be made in instalments to the investigator on the condition that reasonable progress has been made.

6. Extensions:

1. It is the responsibility of the Principal Investigator to ensure that the project is completed within the allotted time limit.
2. A non-funded extension might be approved by the Scientific Committee in exceptional cases. Such an extension will be provided only on the basis of sufficient evidence for a valid reason for extension.

7. Reporting & file closure:

1. An initial progress report will due to the scientific committee within 6 months after the receipt of the fund.
2. Periodic progress report are required to be submitted to the Scientific Committee every six-months starting from the time the funds are released
3. The reports should indicate the progress made in the implementation of the research in accordance with the set plan and the agreement signed with the Award.
4. Submission of such reports shall not be delayed without providing acceptable reasons to the Scientific Committee.
5. The Institute shall be copied on all such periodic reports and related correspondence.
6. A final detailed report of the study results and expenditure will be due six months within the completion of the study.
7. Submission of the research results and a final report upon conclusion and copied to the notice of the institute.
8. The Principal Investigator shall submit an original research article based on the findings of the study, upon conclusion thereof, for publication in the official journal of the Award, HMJ – Hamdan Medical Journal. The submission of this manuscript is a pre-requisite to closing the file, and failure to publish in HMJ will cause loss of eligibility for future funding
9. All the submitted articles to HMJ are eligible for evaluation to be nominated to "the Hamdan Award for original research paper published in HMJ" in the category of research conducted in the UAE and published or accepted for publication in the Hamdan Medical Journal.