Center of Excellence (CoE) Grants

Call for Proposal of Center of Excellence (CoE) grants 2021-2022 is now open. Applications can be submitted through the HEC online portal at research.hec.gov.pk after 25.12.2021

Last date for submission of applications is 28.01.2022 (11:59 PM Pakistan Time)



The Center of Excellence (CoE) Grants are one of the key elements of the Higher Education Development in Pakistan (HEDP) Project supported by the World Bank and implemented by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan. The CoE Grants are open to all Centers (list attached under Appendix 1) established under various Parliamentary Acts of Centers of Excellence, the Centers of Excellence established through university statutes, US-Pak Centers of Advanced Studies by HEC and USAID, and National Centers established through PSDP. Both individual CoEs and (preferably) consortia led by a CoE (with other CoEs or academic institutions, public sector departments and industries) are encouraged to apply for these CoE Grants.



The CoE Grants are expected to support research excellence at the Centers of Excellence, to promote strategic sectors of Pakistan’s economy, and to address social & environmental challenges. The aim is to promote applied research with a solution driven – either commercial or sustainable – outlook. The area of research for the projects is to be limited to the lead Center of Excellence’s broad subject specialization i.e., if the lead applicant’s area of excellence is in the subject of Geology, the research area should fall within the boundaries of Geology or a multidisciplinary topic with the contribution of geology and other allied themes.



The CoE Grants will provide funds on a competitive basis to selected Centers of Excellence that are successful in identifying a synergistic approach in which both the problem statement and proposed solutions to the research challenges will be initially developed by the Center of Excellence.  In project implementation, HEC subject experts and HEDP team will provide ongoing technical assistance, rigorous monitoring, and evaluation to ensure that the project outcomes and impact reflect the objectives of the HEDP Project and to align the project with the national needs.