In line with the targets of the Kingdom's Vision 2030, which supports scientific research and enhances the ranking of Saudi universities in global rankings, the Research Groups Support Initiative at the Deanship of Academic Research at Imam Mohammad ibn Saud Islamic University has provided support for 462 research papers, as part of the research initiatives in the University's strategic plan 2021-2025.

During two academic cycles that started in 2021 and ended at the end of 2023, the initiative achieved the publication of 462 research papers in journals classified by the Global Science Network database. The program also managed to support 248 research groups headed by faculty members from the University's staff from various academic disciplines. These research group focus on exchanging research experiences and benefitting from the specialized backgrounds of researchers. Research teams comprised individuals from both within and beyond the University, belonging to two or more fields, to achieve quality in the outputs of academic research. The program benefited over a thousand researchers across a variety of academic disciplines.

To facilitate the research endeavors of University faculty members and foster the research movement, the University, under the leadership of the Deanship of Academic Research, has increased the number of qualitative agreements reached and augmented partnerships and agreements by 86% compared to the agreements in the initial cycle commencing in 2021.

It is noteworthy to mention that this endeavor arose with the intention of advancing cognitive development across various academic fields, fulfilling the requirements of national progress, and boosting interdisciplinary research in order to increase the University's output of reputable academic publications in a variety of integrated interdisciplinary disciplines. Furthermore, it aimed to foster a work ethic among multidisciplinary research teams.

The University unveiled in 2020 initiatives to support research projects, through a variety of programs, to achieve the targets of the University's strategic plan 2025-2021. Four research programs were launched, namely: Research Groups, Graduate Students' Research Support, University's Scholarship Students Research Supporting, and Global Research Partnership