HEC-CSF Applied Research Support Program is a joint program of the Higher Education Commission and Competitiveness Support Fund. The program is an important step towards fostering high level of tangible cooperation between academia and industry for the sake of capitalizing on emerging international demands for products and processes in discrete and continuous manufacturing which shall in turn contribute to national economy. This program will focus on number of industrial sectors which range from sectors which are already major contributors to world trade to sectors which have high potential for international trade along with sectors which need developments regarding both local and international consumption.

HEC-CSF Applied Research Support Program of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF) proposes that the researchers preferably with PhD degree and having a track record of research may collaborate with local industry involved in discrete and continuous manufacturing for tangible results in terms of improvement of product and processes leading to decreased import of raw material and increased export of the finished product and processes. The products and processes needing improvement should ideally be in priority areas relevant to national needs for socio-economic development of the country.

Proposals received under HEC-CSF Applied Research Support Program will be awarded on the basis of competitive merit by HEC and CSF. The proposals should be based on high-quality industrial research of direct relevance to current needs of the industry where research is carried out in Pakistan by creative scientists of public/private sector universities and degree-awarding institutions in collaboration with professionals from local industries. The purpose of these grants is to promote scientific research in applied sciences in the country to strengthen the indigenous capacity for industrial competition in the world market. The research grant will be provided for a maximum period of two years with a budget upto $250,000 with contribution ratio of 50% from CSF, 30% from HEC and 20% from Industry. Technical Consultancy may also be provided by CSF for the implementation of Applied Research in the industry if required.