NEF Foundation Offers Research Grant Programme for Asia-Pacific Region

NEF Foundation Offers Research Grant Programme for Asia-Pacific Region

The Research Grant Programme financially supports academic and scientific research that will deepen knowledge of the nature conservation in developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region. With the aim of strengthening research capacity of young researchers in that region, grants are available only for individual researchers, but not for groups/teams, to enhance their skills, knowledge, and experience through their own research work.

Programme Outline

1. Grant size and duration

The maximum grant size in this programme is 500,000 Japanese yen per project for a maximum duration of two year.

2. Eligibility requirements

2-1. An applicant must:

• be a national of developing country in the Asia-Pacific region;
• be a researcher/scientist, who works full-time or is enrolled in a doctoral course, conducting research at a research institution or relevant organisation in his/her home country (those who work and/or study abroad are ineligible.);
• have sufficient experience and skills in conducting and managing the proposed research;
• be able to communicate in English;
• not have another application to the NEF; AND
• not have another on-going research or publication project funded by the NEF at the time of application submission.

2-2. A proposed research project must:

• be scientific research contributing to the nature conservation of the applicant’s country;
• be carried out in the applicant’s country;
• involve fieldwork for collecting data;
• be applicant’s own research work (team projects are ineligible.);
• achieve its objective(s) and submit reports within one to two years as scheduled; AND
• be exclusively funded by the NEF Research Grant Programme, or co-funded with the applicant’s institution.

3. Target countries and regions:

The target countries in the Asia-Pacific region include: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Fiji, Indonesia, Kiribati, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Vietnam.

4. Eligible and ineligible expenses

4-1. Eligible expenses

• expendables necessary for field survey and analysis (e.g., sampling gear, regent, etc.);
• local travel expenses for fieldtrip (e.g., accommodation, food, transportation, etc.);
• reference materials (e.g., article, book, etc.);
• limited wages and labour costs necessary for proposed research; and
• other expenses only when the NEF Secretariat approved.

4-2. Ineligible expenses

• salaries and tuition paid to applicants, assistants, and other people to be involved in research;
• renovation and installation of institution’s facilities (e.g., rearing, cultivation facilities, etc.);
• equipment available through applicant’s institution (e.g., personal computer, computer software/accessory, analytical equipment, microscope, projector, printer, GPS, digital camera, vehicle, motorbike, etc.) Exception might be made only when the NEF Secretariat approve the importance of purchase of brand new equipment;
• honoraria, consultation fees, and travel expenses paid to advisors and experts;
• participation fees to attend national and international workshops, conferences, and trainings;
• international travel expenses;
• expenses necessary for disseminating research results/findings;
• manuscript preparation and publication;
• expenses for the past activities already done;
• general administrative expenses and overheads; etc.

5. Obligations of grant recipient

If granted, recipients should:

• be responsible for individuals and organisations/institutions to which the recipient subcontracts for various parts of the research;
• submit a progress report , with photographs taken and a detailed financial report, one year after its implementation of the approved research; and
• submit a final report , with photographs taken and a detailed financial report, upon completion of the approved research.

6. Those who wish to continue their research with additional grant

Grant recipients may submit a renewal application to continue the funded research project in
subsequent year(s). Those recipients wishing renewal should follow the same application procedure above. The NEF Selection Committee evaluates progress/final reports and other items resulting from the funded research as well as renewal application. Please be sure that submission of renewal application does not guarantee additional grant funding.
Submission of such additional applications is acceptable after completion of the funded projects and up to one time.

How to Apply

1. What to submit

Applicants are required to submit: a completed application form and a recommendation letter. Instructions and application form are available at Forms & Guidelines.

2. Where to submit

All documents (a completed application form and a recommendation letter) should be submitted to the NEF Secretariat by e-mail (secretariat@nagaofoundation.or.jp) in MS Word or PDF or by fax (+81-3-6659-2272).
If e-mail access or fax is unavailable, hard copies can be mailed to:

NEF Secretariat
Nagao Natural Environment Foundation
3-3-7 Kotobashi, Sumida-ku
Tokyo 130-0022 Japan

3. Deadlines

Application deadlines for this year are twice a year: 20 April 2015 and 19 October 2015. All the documents must reach the NEF Secretariat before/by the deadline date for either April or October. Delayed submission of any required document will not be accepted.

4. Evaluation

The NEF Secretariat will check applications whether all the requirements mentioned above are fulfilled. Only those qualified applications will be examined twice a year by the NEF Selection Committee for final decision. Please note that your final grant amount may be the same as or lower than budget amount you requested based on selection results.
The following factors will be considered during the selection process:

• relevance and importance to nature conservation;
• originality and quality of proposed research;
• feasibility of the research design/plan and schedule;
• reasonableness of the budget;
• applicant’s past achievements/experience in related research; and
• recommender’s statement on the applicant and application.

5. Result notification and remittance

Evaluation result will be announced by two to three months after each deadline. If granted, the NEF Secretariat also informs the applicants the payment process.