The National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS) is a national public institution, which, since its establishment by law on 14 September 1962, has been entrusted with a double mission: the first advisory, the second executive. Reporting to the Prime Minister, the CNRS is an autonomous office directed by a Board of Directors and managed by a Secretary General. The consultative mission of the CNRS involves the formulation of guidelines for national scientific policies aimed at enhancing the development of the country.
As part of its executive mission, the CNRS secures the promotion, organization and realization of these policies in programmes of action, implemented in its own research centres or in collaboration with other academic, research and development institutions. As part of its main mission, the objectives of the CNRS are to develop scientific research in Lebanon and to direct that research to respond to the needs of the country and to the evolution of science and innovation worldwide.
The creation of 4 affiliated research centres is a major accomplishment of the CNRS, namely: the National Centre for Geophysics, the National Centre for Marine Sciences, the Lebanese Atomic Energy Commission and The National Centre for Remote Sensing. The CNRS has been involved in several EU funded projects, particularly in the Mediterranean Innovation and Research Coordination Action (MIRA) as a co-leader of the work package on the Observatory of EU-MED Cooperation; and as a leader in the ERA-WIDE Project on Improving National Assessment and Monitoring Capacities for Integrated Environmental and Coastal Ecosystem Management (INCAM). Other FP7 Projects in which the CNRS was involved are: MED-IST, MEDCOASTLAND JOIN-MED, SEADATANET, SESAME, and others. The majority of these projected contributed to enhancing the local expertise by implementing innovative methodologies.
