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A Case Study on Lebanon's National Strategy for Forest Fire Management
The RAPP program conducted a 3-month case study on Lebanon's forest fire policy, tracing the policy-formulation process that lead to the National Strategy for Forest Fire Management—this policy represents a successful example of how a civil society organization specialized in reforestation activities can influence policy-making through research and advocacy. IFI collected data in two phases: a review of relevant documents, and elite interviews conducted with primary policy-makers, including officials from the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Defense. The study found that the policy-formulation process was achieved by the forestry association's strong lobbying efforts and its grasp of an entry point into policy-making.

The Economics of Tobacco in Lebanon: An Estimation of the Social Costs of Tobacco Consumption
Lebanon has one of the highest smoking rates worldwide. With young teenagers smoking water-pipe and cigarettes at the age of 13, Lebanon has yet to set a policy on tobacco control. Work inefficiency and environmental costs are not the only problems the Lebanese people face as a result of high smoking rates; they also face the vast number of diseases that come with it. This IFI-funded research paper written by AUB's Dr. Jad Chaaban, Dr. Nisreen Salti, and Miss Nadia Naamani is the first study in Lebanon to take a comprehensive look into the organization of tobacco and all major tobacco-related markets, and shows the millions of dollars in losses Lebanon faces as a result of tobacco consumption.

Does mandatory health insurance for migrant domestic workers provide health care when needed?
Sawsan Abdul Rahim, Health Behavior & Education, Faculty of Health Sciences, AUB

Policy Innovation and Diffusion in the Gulf Countries: the cases of Abu Dhabi, Qatar
Hiba Khodr and Daniel Reiche, Political Studies and Public Administration, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, AUB

Understanding the economic cost of sectarian flavored public policy competition in Lebanon
Marcus Marktanner, Department of Economics, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, AUB

The efficiency of food labeling as a rural development policy: the case of olive oil in Lebanon
Jad Chaaban, Department of Agricultural Sciences, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, AUB

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Consortium of Arab Policy Research Institutes (CAPRI) Project
Rami G. Khouri, Hana A. El-Ghali, and Hania Bekdash, Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs, AUB

The CAPRI project was launched in fall 2010 as part of the RAPP program particularly aimed at studying the research and policy links related to Policy Research Institutes (PRIs).

National case studies on health policy-making in the Middle East
Fadi El Jardali, Health Management & Policy, Faculty of Health Sciences, AUB

Understanding the influence of research on public policy-making in the Arab world: a comparative perspective
In collaboration with Dubai School of Government (UAE) and Syria Trust for Development (Syria)

Non-state actors in the policy-making process: the case of environmental NGOs
In collaboration with Moynihan Institute, the Maxwell School of Public Affairs, Syracuse University