The North American Arab Council for the Social Sciences
Supporting research and academic collaborations for better understandings of the Arab region and the Middle East.
Promoting and Expanding Knowledge on the Arab Region
The North American Arab Council for the Social Sciences (NAACSS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides grants, fellowships, training, and networking opportunities for scholars of/on the Arab region and Middle East, with a special focus on Arab scholarly communities in North America.
Who we are
The North American Arab Council for the Social Sciences was established to promote and expand knowledge on the Arab region, with the conviction that robust and equitable collaborative research communities and practices enhance knowledge as a public good.
Vision
Building knowledge societies requires the promotion of social science research and the production of high quality, independent and innovative lines of inquiry that contribute equally to the strengthening of scholarship and to informed public debate. NAACSS sees equitable and ethical global collaborations as key to this vision, and is committed to the general principles of independent thought, critical thinking and academic/intellectual freedom.
Mission
NAACSS seeks to identify and address the needs of individual scholars, scholarly institutions and research communities studying the Arab region/Middle East, as well as those of Arab scholars based in North America. By enhancing the capacity of these researchers, as well as those of academic and research institutions, NAACSS encourages the production of independent, high quality research, provides forums for exchange and collaboration and helps to articulate and support the role of the social sciences in promoting the public interest.
What we do
A Global Network
NAACSS provides grants and fellowships to researchers and to research institutions, organizes training, networking and dissemination events and provides opportunities for collaboration and exchange between scholars of/on the Arab region and the larger Middle East, with a particular focus on Arab scholarly communities based in North America. NAACSS works with individuals and institutions in North America, collaborates closely with the Arab Council for the Social Sciences (based in Beirut, Lebanon) and has extensive regional and global networks.
Programs
Current Initiatives & Projects
All NAACSS initiatives are designed to work separately, and in conjunction with each other, to support scholars and research institutions and to stimulate inquiry into the enduring questions and emerging challenges that shape the Arab/Middle East region and its diasporas and the production of knowledge on these regions.
Fostering Collaborations
NAACSS works with its regional partners and numerous scholars to understand the current moment/s and to address the unique challenges facing researchers of the Arab region and Middle East, whose work relies on sustained collaboration across borders.
New: Mapping Knowledge Production Landscapes
The Fellows Program
Our fellowships are designed to support scholars at various stages in their academic journeys drawing on multiple disciplines and approaches to produce knowledge on/about the Arab Region and the greater Middle East.
Current Cycle: 2025–2026 Fellowships
Partnerships are vital to our mission of restructuring global networks to ensure they are more equitable and collaborative.
Individual donations
For further information on becoming a donor, please contact Holly Danzeisen at danzeisen@naacss.org