Request for Proposals – Digital Economy

Over the past year, ADIA Lab has developed a research plan for the digital economy, informed by inputs from our advisory board, research fellows, and external experts. The plan is structured around four key research thrust areas at the intersection of AI and the digital transformation of the economy. These thrusts are designed to stimulate high-impact research that advances scientific foundations, computational architectures, and real-world applications contributing to the development of resilient, fair, and scalable digital economic systems. The ultimate goal of the program is to improve understanding, prediction, and decision-making in economic and financial systems, supporting more effective policy, investment, and operational strategies. ADIA Lab places particular emphasis on trustworthy AI systems that are transparent, robust, and economically interpretable.

For the 2026 proposal solicitation, ADIA Lab will focus on the following research thrust areas (please refer to the RFP document for the full scope):


AI Models for the Economy

Research in this area focuses on the application of AI to economic systems, including:
  • Models for complex economic environments such as global trade and monetary networks, and decentralized markets.
  • Leveraging AI tools for analyzing economic resilience and crisis/recovery dynamics.
  • High-quality databases for the digital economy, and AI foundation models for economic applications.
  • Agentic and generative AI for economic data simulation and compliant financial applications.

Digital Assets

Research in this area focuses on the digital transformation of assets, including:
  • The tokenization of public and private assets.
  • Architectures for digital money such as CBDCs and stablecoins.
  • Risk management and collateral automation.
  • Safe and scalable decentralized finance.

The Economics of AI

Research in this area focuses on the economic features and effects of AI, including:
  • Analyzing the effects of AI on labor and on economic organization.
  • Studying AI as an asset class, through funding, energy and technology cycles.
  • Exploring novel approaches for interpretable and causal AI economic models.
  • Quantifying uncertainty in AI models.

Digital Infrastructure

Research in this area focuses on future digital infrastructure, including:
  • Scalable platforms for integrated smart-contract and agentic AI ecosystems.
  • Governance frameworks for trusted and verifiable AI.
  • Digital twins and other tools for physical-digital integration.
  • Quantum technologies and computing for economics and finance.

Projects selected in this funding cycle will be evaluated based on their potential to contribute to the program’s goals. Applications addressing coherently more than one research question and covering more than one area are welcome.

Proposed projects need to articulate a credible plan to progress from initial ideas toward application readiness, including validation, prototyping, or deployment. Purely theoretical proposals without a clear path toward application are unlikely to be competitive.

ADIA Lab will offer up to three prestigious awards, each up to $600k, distributed over two years (annual cap of $300,000 per award). Please see the RFP document for full details.

These awards support research in AI, digital assets, and digital infrastructure, including data-intensive and high-performance computing approaches required to support next-generation economic systems.


Research Awards

Three awards of up to $600k each, distributed over two years (annual cap of $300k).

Award 1

Up to $600k
($300K per year)

Award 2

Up to $600k
($300K per year)

Award 2

Up to $600k
($300K per year)



Important Information for Applicants

Please review the timeline below for key deadlines and an overview of the award process. For detailed information on eligibility criteria, award specifics, the review procedure, and more, please refer to the full RFP document.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out at digital.economy@adialab.ae.

Detailed submission and preparation instructions are given in the RFP with referenced templates and guidelines including page limitations.

Download RFP Document

Award Timeline

May 04, 2026 Expression of Interest:
Due by Midnight (GMT)
May 22, 2026 Proposal submission:
Due by Midnight (GMT)
July 10, 2026 Shortlisted proposals notified - cooperative agreement negotiation begins
October 28, 2026 Award presentation during ADIA Lab Symposium
→


What Makes a Strong Proposal?

Clear Research Strategies

  • Provide clear research questions and specific objectives that advance ADIA Lab’s digital economy research areas, especially the priority domains such as modelling economic networks and advancing digital markets, assets and platforms.
  • Outline computational and analytical strategies to be employed, including scalability and infrastructure considerations, and emphasizing the rationale for their selection.

Clear outcomes

  • Define clear milestones and deliverables achievable within the project period, from publications to validated models, prototype systems, deployable tools, and high-quality datasets.
  • Outline the expected budget across the research period and justify it in detail
  • Integrate research and knowledge building with education and knowledge transfer

Collaboration

  • Include full information about the institutions involved and the team, providing evidence of team expertise and institutional commitment.
  • Develop a management plan detailing project oversight, team communication and financial monitoring

UAE Partnership

  • Outline how the project can strategically contribute to the UAE leadership in computational and AI research, also through collaboration with UAE institutions.
  • Involving UAE researchers, including ADIA Lab members and fellows, can reinforce the strategic impact.