The TWAS Research Grants Programme for Maintenance grants was established in response to the needs of researchers in developing countries, particularly those attached to institutions that lack appropriate research facilities.

The TWAS Research Grants Programme for Collaborative Grants was established in response to the need of researchers in developing countries to link with each other in the context of interdisciplinary projects combining their skills and expertise. Under this scheme, grants are awarded to high-level scientists for interdisciplinary research projects. Each grant supports a collaborative project jointly carried out by two Principal Investigators (PIs) in the science-and-technology-lagging countries (S&TLC) identified by TWAS.

The TWAS - Elsevier Foundation Project Grants for Gender Equity (SDG #5) and Climate Action (SDG #13) is a new programme established in response to the dual need to support women's well-being through capacity-building of female scientists and respond to the causes and consequences of climate change with concrete action-based projects, under the umbrella of the “climate action” SDG.