The Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Distinguished Academic Performance (HBRADAP) focuses on increasing performance across all educational entities that fall under the UAE Ministry of Education. Established in 1998, this initiative was created by HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and the UAE Minister of Finance.

Now in its 20th year, the Award aims to enhance the quality of the overall educational system and encourages innovation and excellence in all literary and scientific domains as well as recognising the valuable contributions made to this sector. The Award was initially a Dubai based programme, however it has now expanded to cover all of the UAE and the GCC countries, under the title Best Applied Education Research in the Arab Nation.