Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ # Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to the questions we hear most often from institutional procurement teams, IT managers, and compliance officers. If your question is not covered here, contact us directly.
About OBF Compliance
What is the MoHESR OBF framework and why does it matter?
The Outcome-Based Framework (OBF) is the performance measurement and reporting system mandated by the UAE Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MoHESR) for all accredited higher education institutions. It structures institutional performance across six weighted KPI pillars: Employment Outcomes (25%), Learning Outcomes (25%), Collaboration with Partners (20%), Scientific Research Outcomes (15%), Reputation (10%), and Community Engagement (5%). Its latest update V11.5 (23 March 2026) introduces an additional, voluntary assessment for HEIs that evaluates future skills alignment, and AI-enabled teaching and learning. While these latest requirements are excluded from the official OBEF score and do not affect the 24-KPI institutional or programmatic scorecard, they are presented as forward-looking, non-compliance elements designed to support institutional innovation beyond the core OBF metrics.
Compliance with the OBF is not optional — UAE Federal Law No. 1/2021 requires all 76+ accredited UAE HEIs to demonstrate performance against OBF indicators. Non-compliance carries material (i.e. licensing and accreditation) consequences.
Does my institution need to comply with OBF?
Yes, if your institution holds accreditation from MoHESR or CAA. UAE Federal Law No. 1/2021 mandates OBF compliance for all 76+ accredited higher education institutions operating in the UAE. There is no exemption for institution size, type (public or private), or emirate of operation.
What version of the OBF Guidebook is currently in use?
MoHESR OBF Guidebook v11.5 (23 march, 2026) is the current operative version. All delivered BRASS Digital Lab platforms are certified against v11.5. When MoHESR releases a new version, we update all platforms under active service agreements to reflect the new requirements.
What is the difference between OBF compliance and CAA accreditation?
OBF compliance is about demonstrating institutional performance against MoHESR 24 KPI targets — primarily a data and reporting obligation. CAA accreditation is about demonstrating academic quality against education standards — a broader institutional quality assurance process. BRASS Digital Lab OBF platforms, as customized institutional Edu-RegTechs are designed and delivered to address these requirements.
About BRASS Digital Lab Platforms
What is the Edu-RegTech OBF Platform?
The Edu-RegTech OBF Platform is an enterprise R Shiny application that manages the complete OBF compliance lifecycle for a single institution: KPI data entry, evidence upload, multi-stage approval workflows, real-time compliance dashboards, and automated report generation. It is a full institutional compliance management system, covering all programs across all colleges or similar institutional units of management.
What is the Edu-SupTech Portal?
The Edu-SupTech Portal is the companion government supervision layer — built for MoHESR and CAA. It provides a unified portal for national level HEI oversight by regulatory authorities, offering sector-wide visibility, benchmarking, early-warning alerts, and ministerial reporting, through aggregating OBF compliance data from all 76+ UAE HEIs into a single regulatory intelligence dashboard.It is not an institutional tool; it is the regulatory oversight tool above the institutional platforms. BRASS DIGITAL LAB designed the MoHESR and CAA Edu-SupTech Portal together the institutional Edu-RegTech Portals to ensure the full coverage of the UAE Higher Education ecosystem.
How many institutions are using BRASS Digital Lab platforms?
As of early April 2026: 4 institutions have live deployed platforms. A further 20 platforms are completed and ready for institutional onboarding. An additional 52 are in active development, bringing the total scope to 76 UAE accredited HEIs.
Can the platform be hosted on our institutional servers?
Yes. While our default deployment target is shinyapps.io (managed cloud hostings) aimed at eliminating the burden of institutional infrastructure requirement, BRASS Digital Lab platforms are architecture-agnostic. They can be deployed to: - shinyapps.io (default, fastest to production) - Shiny Server Open Source (on-premises) - Posit Connect (enterprise, on-premises or private cloud)
Institutional server deployments require coordination with your IT team on server specifications (minimum: Linux, R 4.x, sufficient RAM for Shiny Server). We provide full deployment documentation and support.
Is the platform available in Arabic?
Yes. Given our initial focus on the UAE market, with prospective expansion plans for the whole GCC regional market, Bilingual English/Arabic interfaces are standard on all BRASS DiGITAL LAB institutional platforms. Arabic text uses Cairo and Noto Sans Arabic fonts for correct rendering in both the web interface and LaTeX-generated PDF reports. RTL layout management is implemented throughout.
Can the platform integrate with our existing Student Information System (SIS)?
Integration with institutional SIS depends on whether your SIS provides an API or data export capability. All BRASS Digital Lab OBF platforms are designed to integrate with institutional data sources via: - CSV/Excel export from SIS → automated import into the RegTech platforms - REST API connections (where the SIS supports this) - Direct database connections (with appropriate IT sign-off)
SIS integration is scoped during the Discovery phase of any engagement. Contact us to discuss your specific SIS environment.
About Engagement and Pricing
How much does a platform build cost?
Platform pricing is scoped individually based on requirements complexity, integration requirements, and institutional data environment. All engagements begin with a no-charge scoping call. Contact us with your institution’s requirements and we will provide a detailed scope and fee proposal.
As a general guide: - A standard OBF Platform build is a fixed-price project delivered over 8–16 weeks - SaaS subscription pricing is per-institution per year - Advisory retainers are quoted at daily rates
What does a typical engagement look like?
Every engagement follows five structured phases: Discovery (regulatory mapping), Architecture (blueprint sign-off), Sprint Development (1–2 week sprints with deployable output), Testing & QA (functional + security + compliance walkthrough), and Handoff (codebase, documentation, user manual). See the Services page for the full engagement timeline.
What happens after the platform is delivered?
You receive a complete technical handoff: codebase, database schema documentation, architecture diagrams, a developer maintenance guide, and a user manual. You own the code.
Optional post-delivery services include: - Annual SaaS subscription (hosted, maintained, updated by BRASS Digital Lab) - Technical support retainer - OBF Guidebook version update service (when MoHESR releases new versions) - Training for your IT team to maintain the platform independently
How long does a typical platform build take?
Given our current expertise and developed blueprint, we can deliver a Standard Edu-RegTech OBF compliance Platform in 8–16 weeks from Discovery sign-off to handoff. Actual timeline varies by scope. The engagement Gantt on the Services page shows a typical 7.5-week timeline for a mid-complexity engagement.
About BRASS Digital Lab
Is BRASS Digital Lab registered in the UAE?
BRASS Digital Lab is pursuing UAE incorporation through Hub71 (Abu Dhabi’s global technology hub), with incorporation expected in 2026. In the interim, the company operates from its existing registered legal entity, while pursuing an active technology partership with MoHESR/CAA.
Why should we choose BRASS Digital Lab over international RegTech vendors?
Three reasons:
Specificity — International RegTech vendors sell generic compliance platforms. BRASS Digital Lab builds exclusively for UAE higher education regulatory frameworks (OBF, CAA, PDPL). We advise on the frameworks we build for.
Cost — The R Shiny open-source stack delivers enterprise-grade capability at 1/10th the total cost of SAP, Oracle, or international RegTech vendors — with no per-seat licensing requirement.
Track record — We offer 100% MoHESR OBF V11.5 compliance on every platform we design, build and deliver. No international vendor has yet deployed a fully compliant OBF platform in the UAE.
How can we verify that your platforms actually achieve compliance?
The OBF Platform case study documents the Al Ain University deployment in full technical detail — architecture, database schema, security implementation, and the compliance outcomes. The compliance result (100% MoHESR OBF v11.5) is factual and verifiable by each institution we work with. Prospective clients are encouraged to reach out and request our trial OBF compliance platform, pre-built for showcasing.
Still Have Questions?
Contact us and we will respond within 2 business days.