Advanced International Collaborative Research Program (AdCORP) Joint Call for Proposals 2022

(Last update: November 24, 2022)

September 2022

The Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) will support international collaborative research between Japanese and foreign researchers based in several leading research countries to support the following aims:

• To create scientific breakthrough by promoting the entry of researchers into top international research circles which are consist of researchers from several leading research countries with high scientific and technological standards and encouraging research collaboration.
• To contribute to a foundation for sustainable participation and collaboration in top international circles for decades to come by nurturing young researchers and strengthening their connections.

In this call, researchers of partner countries need to be currently receiving or expecting to receive support for their research from applicable partner funding agencies.

Link to Japanese page for this joint call

Research Field

Proposals in the below seven research fields are applicable in this call:

Field 1. Biotechnology

・Research area: Biotechnology research related to promotion of bioeconomy, reduction of environmental impact, etc.
・Examples: Bioplastics, food (artificial sashimi, etc.), bio-toilets, bio-agriculture, DNA computers, etc.

Field 2. AI and Information

・Research area: AI and information research for the realization of Society 5.0 based on the principles of
　"human understanding and respect," "diversity" and "sustainability"
・Examples: AI research and computing infrastructure, mathematical sciences, human-centered computing, etc.

Field 3. Materials

・Research area: Materials research that contributes to a carbon neutral society and circular economy
・Examples: Basic and applied research for the development of metal/inorganic, organic/polymer, etc.

Field 4. Semiconductors

・Research area: Semiconductor research related to semiconductor industrial sector
・Examples: Semiconductor technology related to AI chips, electronic design automation (EDA), etc.

Field 5. Energy

・Research area: Energy research for carbon neutrality
・Examples: Next-generation solar cells, storage batteries, hydrogen production by water electrolysis,
　hydrogen utilization technology (fuel cells etc.), energy conservation research, etc.

Field 6. Quantum

・Research area: Research related to quantum computers and quantum software which contributes to the realization of
　a productivity revolution
・Examples: Research on quantum technology that realizes ultra-high-speed and massively parallel information processing,
　research on quantum technologies, such as measurement with accuracy that surpasses existing technologies
　and materials with higher performance, etc.

Field 7. Telecommunications

・Research Area: Research on telecommunications technology that contributes to the development of next-generation
　infrastructure for the digital society
・Examples: Communication research related to wireless/wired technology, devices, security, etc.,
　interdisciplinary research with information engineering, etc.

Details of Support

It is expected that about eight projects in the above seven fields will be funded.
Projects are expected to be supported from April 2023 to March 2028 (tentative period of support).
Research networking and exchange projects selected for funding in this call will receive support for no more than approximately 26,000,000 JPY per year in the first year including direct and indirect costs.
The research period or level of funding may be altered based on an interim evaluation during the project period.
Full details of support can be found in the Japanese guidelines linked to below.

Partner Research Team

Researchers of the foreign-based partner research team must be currently receiving or expecting to receive support from foreign funding agencies in one of the below country.
Canada, France, Germany, UK, U.S., etc.
※The list of eligible partner funding agencies will be updated soon.

・Eligible partner funding agency and programme
　Canada: National Research Council Canada (NRC)
　EU: Euratom Research and Training Programme (EURATOM)
　France: National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS)
　Germany: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft（DFG）
　Germany: German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) / DLR Project Management Agency (DLR-PT)
　Italy: Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR)
　Sweden: Sweden's Innovation Agency (VINNOVA)
　Sweden: Swedish Research Council (SRC)
　UK：UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
　U.S.: National Science Foundation (NSF)
　U.S.: United States Department of Energy (DOE)

Note: If you would like to collaborate with a researcher who receives support from a funding agency in Europe and North America other than the agencies listed above, please contact JST (adcorp(at)jst.go.jp (replace (at) with @)) in advance. JST may or may not be able to provide support through this program depending on the funding agency in question.

Application Deadline

Wednesday, November 30, 2022, 17:00 Japan Standard Time (JST)

Eligibility

• (1) Japanese-side researcher must be affiliated with a university, research institution, or company in Japan.
  Partner researcher needs to meet either criteria (i) or (ii):
  　　(i) already be receiving research support from an eligible funding agency in their country; or
  　　(ii) are currently applying for research support from an eligible funding agency in their country, with the outcome known
  　　　 by no later than the end of November 2022.
• (2) Note before submitting proposal: the Japanese-side applicant must reach out to a potential partner research team who is receiving or expecting to receive support from an eligible funding agency to confirm willingness to collaborate prior to submitting an application. If the proposed partner research team is not receiving research support from an eligible funding agency, or is later rejected for support relevant to the collaboration, the application will not be considered. Applicants should contact JST in advance if it is unclear whether a partner research team or funding agency are eligible.

Application Procedure

■ Application Procedure

• Please see "Call for Proposal".
• The Project Leader from the Japanese-side team will have to register their application information, legal compliance checklist and compliance agreement on the Cross Ministerial R&D Management System (e-Rad) by the application deadline.
• Please see "e-Rad manual" for details on how to use e-Rad platform
• When applying via the e-Rad platform, please add the abbreviation of the research area and the generic name of partner funding agency (half-width capital letter) at the beginning of research title. If research field across multiple research fields, please list them in descending order of relevance (max three fields).

■ Prior Notice (preferable)

Please send JST the following information in Japanese and English about the proposal under consideration before applying.

To： adcorp(at)jst.go.jp　 (replace (at) with @)
Subject：　「Prior Notice_(Research Institution Name)_(Name)」
Body text：　
01　Japanese Principal Researcher / Researcher Number (e-Rad)
02　Japanese Principal Researcher / Institution Name
03　Japanese Principal Researcher / Name
04　Japanese Principal Researcher / E-mail Address
05　Partner Principal Researcher / Institution Name
06　Partner Principal Researcher / Name
07　Applicable Research Field (from field 1-7)
08　Research Project Title (tentative)
09　Research Project Outline
10　Research Project Title of Partner Research
11　Funding Status of Partner Research Project (Awaiting Result/Already Awarded)
12　Expected Result Announcement (if the answer to 11 is "Awaiting Result")
13　Award Number, Project ID, Application ID etc. of Partner Research Project
14　Funding Agency of Partner Research Project

*07 If the applicable research field across multiple research fields, please list them in descending order of relevance (e.g. Field 7, Field 2).

■ Notes

• Compliance agreement documents require the stamp of the research institution's top representative. In the case of a university or college the representative is typically the president, not a department dean or similar.
• Please submit a document (LoI: Letter of Intent, etc.) which shows that the proposed partner researcher has an intention to pursue collaborative research with the Japanese-side applicant for the proposed research in question.
• Applicants must complete a research ethics training program conducted by the research institute with which they are affiliated and then declare the completion of the program to JST by the deadline of the call for proposals. If the applicant is unable to undertake a program provided by their own institute, they should contact JST to register for a research ethics program provided by eAPRIN (formerly known as CITI Japan). Applicants who have failed to complete a research ethics program before submitting their application will be deemed ineligible for funding.
• When research institutions are national or municipal organizations, such institutions concluding research contracts with JST need to implement necessary budgetary measures before entering research contracts for which they are responsible. Please confirm with your institution and contact JST before application submission

Application Form

Document/Form	Links
Call for Proposals	PDF
Application Form	Word
LOI (Letter of Intent) Sample	Word
Application Guidelines (in Japanese)	PDF
e-Rad Manual	PDF

Enquiries

Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST)
Department of International Affairs
Ms. HASHIMOTO, Mr. MIKAMI, Mr. MATSUMOTO
E-mail：adcorp(at)jst.go.jp (replace (at) with @)
TEL:03-5214-7375
(Email is preferable if not urgent)