Closed · NEAAC24MERC1002 · CFDA 19.502 · Discretionary

Middle East Regional Cooperation (MERC)

Federal grant opportunity posted by Assistance Coordination, cataloged on Grants.gov.

up to $1M
Award range
Closed
Status
January 15, 2025
Close date
5
Expected awards

The verdict

Middle East Regional Cooperation (MERC) is a closed discretionary listing from Assistance Coordination that offered Up to $1,000,000 across 5 expected awards. Future funding cycles may be published under the same CFDA number. PlainGrants indexes 114 other opportunities from Assistance Coordination.

up to $1M
award range
Closed
application status
5
expected awards
19.502
CFDA program

Archived opportunity record

Middle East Regional Cooperation (MERC) is closed (last close January 15, 2025). Check the agency catalog for replacement NOFOs. Assistance Coordination still indexes 114 other opportunities here.

According to Grants.gov (extract vintage 2026-08-10), this record reflects the officially published listing. See methodology.

Deadline tracker

Application window closed

Closed January 15, 2025

Posted Oct 16 Closes Jan 15

Expected Awards

5

Instrument

Grant

Description

The MERC Program is funded as assistance to promote scientific cooperation, technology-led development, and capacity building between partners in Israel and eligible countries/territories in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Subject to change based on U.S. federal law and country-specific restrictions on funding, those countries include: Algeria, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and the West Bank and Gaza. Emphasis is given to research and technology subjects of regional importance and relevance to the development in the MENA. Moreover, benefits should target developing, USAID-presence countries in the MENA and resource-limited populations. Strong, direct cooperation between Israel and the eligible MENA partners is required for proposals receiving funding under the MERC Program. Participation of partners from outside the MENA, including the United States, is not a key feature of the MERC Program, but they may be considered for modest roles in exceptional cases to meet an essential technical need that is not otherwise available among the partners. Applicants must be prepared to provide a well justified case for the involvement of partners from outside the MENA and accept that MERC may not support their participation.The MERC program funds peer-reviewed, collaborative, applied scientific research and technical exchanges between Israeli partners and the eligible MENA partners. As part of this Notice of Funding Opportunity, MERC is seeking to fund proposals in the following categories:Applied research grants: Multi-year, cooperative research projectsContinuation grants: Extension of existing or recently ended applied research grantsTravel and workshop grants: Support for workshops, meetings, and researcher exchange

Catch-all / unrestricted eligibility mark · NEAAC24MERC1002

Grants.gov marks Middle East Regional Cooperation (MERC) with a catch-all / unrestricted eligibility code (Others (see official listing text)). Read the official announcement text for the real applicant filter — the code alone is not a door list. The extract does not mark applicant cost-sharing as required. Instrument: Grant. Funding-activity code maps to Other (O). This eligibility-code string dominates the Assistance Coordination book (69 peers, 60% of 115).

Code 25
Others (see official listing text)

Codes are Grants.gov eligibility category values from the extract vintage 2026-08-10. Confirm the full eligibility statement on the official listing or the Grants.gov eligibility reference.

Official Listing on Grants.gov

View full details, application forms, and submission instructions.

View on Grants.gov

Agency Contact

If you have difficulty accessing the full announcement electronically, please contact merc@usaid.gov.

More from Assistance Coordination

Closed Closed September 30, 2026

Middle East Regional Cooperation (MERC)

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What to do next

Middle East Regional Cooperation (MERC) is closed; use the parent program and agency catalog for the next funding cycle.

  • Browse open federal opportunities in the same category when this listing is closed. Open opportunities
  • Look up CFDA 19.502 across all indexed listings before you commit to this opportunity alone. Eligibility finder
  • Compare award ranges across federal categories before you pick a single CFDA. All categories

Opportunity deadlines and eligibility change on Grants.gov; PlainGrants mirrors the extract and is not the submission system.

Disclaimer: This information is sourced from Grants.gov and SAM.gov and is for informational purposes only. Opportunity details, deadlines, and eligibility requirements change frequently. Always verify current information directly on Grants.gov before applying. PlainGrants is not affiliated with any federal agency.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from the SAM.gov Assistance Listings and Grants.gov. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainGrants