Multidisciplinary Research Grant Programme (MRGP) 2026 – Competition Commission South Africa

The Multidisciplinary Research Grant Programme (MRGP) 2026 is a competitive research funding initiative offered by the Competition Commission of South Africa. The programme is designed to strengthen evidence-based enforcement in competition law and policy by supporting high-quality, multidisciplinary research that addresses both traditional regulatory challenges and emerging economic, social, environmental, and technological issues.

The Multidisciplinary Research Grant Programme (MRGP) 2026, launched by the Competition Commission of South Africa, is a targeted funding initiative designed to strengthen evidence-based competition law enforcement through rigorous, policy-relevant research.

This programme supports multidisciplinary research that integrates perspectives from law, economics, social sciences, behavioural science, environmental studies, data science, ethics, and development research. The objective is to generate high-quality scholarship that informs enforcement practice, regulatory reform, institutional design, and public-interest outcomes in South Africa’s competition regime.

MRGP 2026 specifically seeks research proposals aligned with the Commission’s enforcement priorities and emerging regulatory challenges. Projects must demonstrate strong methodological rigor and clear relevance to competition law enforcement in the South African context.

Funding Structure

• Grant range: R50,000 – R150,000
• Maximum award: R150,000 per project
• Funding covers direct research costs only
• Projects must be completed by August 2026

Draft research outputs are due in June 2026, with final papers required by August 2026. Successful applicants will present findings at the Competition Commission’s Annual Conference (October/November 2026).

Thematic Areas (As per Official RFP)

Proposals must align with one or more of the following thematic areas:

• Constitutional rights and competition enforcement approaches
• Algorithmic pricing in South Africa
• Evaluation approaches for public interest issues in competition law
• Cartel detection techniques and tools relevant to South Africa
• Gender, the environment, and SDGs as public interest issues in competition law
• Criminalisation, fines and deterrent effects of competition law
• The design and efficacy of remedies in competition law
• Competition issues in regulated sectors
• Competition enforcement approaches to foster growth and development
• Competition issues in the Commission’s priority sectors
• Consumer behaviour in South Africa
• Legal and liability standards for competition enforcement
• Competition dynamics in township and rural economies
• Enforcement of the amendments to the Competition Act
• Merger implications for small buyers or small suppliers
• Institutional design for competition enforcement
• Balancing personal data markets with privacy rights and security

These themes reflect both traditional enforcement questions (e.g., cartel detection, merger implications, remedies) and emerging regulatory complexities (e.g., algorithmic pricing, personal data markets, constitutional balancing, environmental and gender considerations).

Who Can Apply

Eligible applicants must be based in South Africa and include:

• Doctoral students (with supervisor support letter)
• Postdoctoral researchers
• Academics at South African universities
• Experienced researchers at recognised research institutions

Requirements:

• Proof of institutional affiliation
• Detailed research proposal and methodology
• Detailed research budget
• Disclosure of existing funding
• Supervisor support letter (doctoral applicants)
• Applicants must source their own data

Project leadership must be South African.

Selection Criteria

The programme is competitive and prioritises:

• Methodologically rigorous proposals
• Strong multidisciplinary integration
• Policy relevance to competition enforcement
• Early-career and historically disadvantaged researchers
• Research addressing emerging economic and public-interest challenges

Key Dates

• Proposal submission deadline: 28 February 2026
• Final adjudication: March 2026
• Draft submission: June 2026
• Final submission: August 2026
• Conference presentation: October/November 2026

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