General conditions:

• The head researcher in the project must be affiliated with the stakeholder submitting the project.
• The research team must be limited to the names provided in the research proposal application form.
• The size of the research team must be justified, as well as the role of each team member.
• The domain of expertise of all participants in the research activity must be directly related to the research project theme.
• The roles and responsibilities of team members must be identified according to the definitions listed in the “special conditions” item of this article.
• A deputy head researcher must be named when submitting the project application.
• A team member cannot combine two functions in the same project. In case of a necessity, such as the head researcher performing also project management duties, the compensation is determined per one function only.
• The head researcher is prohibited from altering the research project in any way once the supervisory committee announces its approval to fund it, unless the head researcher obtains written consent from the unit, taking into consideration the rules of changing the task team stated by these regulations.
• The research team is required to include at least one graduate student, which does not include new universities or research institutions which currently do not offer graduate programs.
• A researcher may not head more than three projects concurrently.
• The  research associate may participate in more than three research projects within the strategic technologies program on the following conditions:
  1. The researcher may not be the head researcher in more than three projects.
  2. The researcher may not be involved in more than five researchers in total.
  3. The overall amount of compensation for research projects in which the researcher participates and earns cannot exceed more than three per month.
  4. The researcher must receive a “highly recommended” evaluation at least once in one of the NSTIP funded “strategic technologies program” projects.

The unit is in charge of following these procedures.

Special conditions:

• Head researcher: Must hold a PhD and be a faculty staff member or one of the researchers at the stakeholder, he must be in charge of the scientific or technical aspects of the project, in addition to the administrative aspects in the absence of a project manager.
• Project manager: Must be PMP certified or hold a certification of attendance of a PMP training course, and must carry out the following:
  • Manage the program according to PMP technical rules and methodology.
  • Coordinate efforts among project team members to ensure that the project deadline is met.
  • Periodically report to the unit on the project.
  • Open an account for the project and use the account for project spending.
  • Be in charge of purchasing project supplies and equipment etc…
  • Administratively manage all project team members with the exception of researches such as: research assistants and technical and administrative personnel etc…
• Research associates: Must hold a PhD or Master’s degree. The research project must be directly related to their area of expertise, and they must be in charge of the technical tasks assigned by the head researcher according to the project plan of action.
• Research associates may be sought from institutions other than the stakeholder implementing the project in the Kingdom provided a written authorization is obtained from the employer stakeholder, and both the unit conducting the project and the general secretariat are notified.
• Restrictions on participation of the researchers from outside of the King Saud University (KSU) in the National Plan for Science, Technology and Innovation’s (NPST) research projects
  1.    The researchers from outside of King Saud University (KSU) and within the Kingdom may participate after submitting a written consent from his/her organization. The PI should inform the NPST thus, for getting the approval from the General Secretariat.
  2.    The researchers from outside of Kingdom who would like to participate must full fill the following:
  • In case of unavailability of specialists inside the Kingdom to perform the tasks.
  • The number of the researchers from outside of Kingdom should not exceed 2 in one research project or (25%) of the research team.
  • The tasks of the researcher (s) must include transfer a new technology to the Kingdom.
  • He/She needs to perform at least 30% of the research tasks of the project in the King Saud University.
  • The researcher must be from a world-renowned universities or research centers.
  • At least three publications in reputed journals with high impact factor which are not less than (10%) according to ISI rating, or obtained a patent or an international scientific award within the last two years.
  • The researcher is limited to participate in one research project.
  • They are not eligible to receive the remuneration/compensation more than the 25% of the approved budget allocated to the project.
  • They must provide a written commitment to the regulations issued by the supervisory committee of the National Plan for Science, Technology and Innovation, such as:
  1. The national comprehensive policy of copyrights.
  2. Restrictions of scientific integrity.
  3. Laws of research ethics on living creatures.
  4. Organizing rules of the National Plan for Science, Technology and Innovation projects
• Graduate students: their assistance may be sought according to item (a) (general conditions), provided they are responsible for the activities identified by the head researcher according to the project plan of action on the following conditions:
  • Must be students in Saudi universities and colleges and preferably Saudi nationals.
  • Major must be related to the project topic.
• Undergraduate students: Undergraduate students may be added to the research team, to carry out the tasks assigned by the head researcher following the project plan of action.
• The project manager must be affiliated with the stakeholder submitting the project.
• The project manager of an operational cannot be the manager of any other project.
• Consultants: A consultant may be recruited from the Kingdom or abroad to work in the project on the following conditions:
  • The consultant must be highly qualified and experienced to work on the research project.
  • The number of consultants must be limited to two per research project per year.
  • The consulting period may not exceed 15 days/year per consultant.
  • The research application must include the consultant’s CV and a letter stating the consultant’s consent to work on the project.