Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) announced the new projects provisionally selected*1 for the Fiscal Year 2016 Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS) program (Appendix 1).
SATREPS is a science and technology diplomacy initiative that promotes international joint research using advanced science and technology from Japan in combination with Official Development Assistance (ODA). The program is a collaboration between JST and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), supported by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).
Based on the needs of developing countries, JST and JICA cooperate to promote international joint research targeting global issues with an objective of future utilization of research outcomes. Implemented through collaboration with ODA, the aim of the program is to acquire new knowledge and technology that lead to the resolution of global issues and the advance of science and technology, and through this process, to create innovations. International joint research under this program also aims to enhance the research and development capabilities of developing countries, and helps create sustainable research systems able to address and resolve issues.
For FY2016, JST called for project proposals from researchers in Japan in three research areas—Environment/Energy, Bioresources, and Disaster Prevention and Mitigation—and began to accept proposals on September 9th, 2015. A total of 89 proposals were received by the close of applications on October 26th, 2015 at 12:00 noon (Japan Time). The screening committee, composed of external experts, then reviewed the proposal documents and conducted interviews, including review from an ODA perspective, and provisionally selected 12 new projects, comprising 7 projects collaborating with Asian researchers, 4 with African researchers, and 1 with European researchers. Projects involving Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Republic of Madagascar, and Ukraine were selected for the first time, bringing the total number of countries selected for SATREPS projects to 46.
Support for these projects will commence as soon as the contracts are in place and preparations are complete.
SATREPS projects in the field of Infectious Diseases Control have been transferred to the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) from April 1st, 2015, and are now conducted in collaboration between AMED and JICA.*2
- *1 Provisional selection:
- Before a project can proceed, an international agreement needs to be signed between MOFA and the government of the developing country regarding implementation of the project, followed by an agreement between JICA and the research counterpart(s) in the developing country on the details of technical cooperation. Consequently, the situation in the developing country or the discussion of details with the research counterpart(s) may result in the research plan for the provisionally selected project being modified or the project itself being terminated. For this reason, the selection of these projects is currently “provisional selection”.
- *2 AMED Press Release:
- http://www.amed.go.jp/en/news/release_20160511.html
Appendices
Appendix 1: Provisionally Selected Projects for FY2016
Appendix 2: Results of the FY2016 Selection Process
Reference : Overview of SATREPS (Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development)
Contact
Department of International Affairs (SATREPS Group), JST
K's Gobancho, 7 Gobancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0076
Tel:+81-3-5214-8085
E-mail: 
SATREPS URL: http://www.jst.go.jp/global/english/