Strategic International Collaborative Research Program (SICORP) Information on Japan (JST) - Canada (NRC) Joint Call

(June 2026)

The Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and The National Research Council Canada (NRC), in order to promote international research interaction and exchange among researchers in Japan and Canada, are jointly accepting proposals for Japanese-Canadian collaborative research projects under the theme of "AI and Automation solutions to enhance Agricultural productivity and resilience".

Research Field

"AI and Automation solutions to enhance Agricultural productivity and resilience"
Projects must be focused on the development of pre-commercial technologies that utilize AI and automation solutions in agriculture to optimize processes, predictions and forecasting to improve efficiency, reduce downtime, and minimize waste.
The project consortium must include a minimum of 5 participants (2 Japanese participants and 3 Canadian participants).

• 2 Japanese Participants
(i) At least one university or research institution
(ii) At least one company

• 3 Canadian Participants
(i) At least one university or research institution
(ii) At least one incorporated Canadian small or medium-sized enterprise (SME)
(iii) At least one researcher from NRC

※A presentation event by researchers from the National Research Council Canada (NRC) is scheduled to take place on Friday, July 19, 2026, from 9:00 to 10:00 (Japan time). This event is intended to facilitate the formation of research consortia under the call, which requires collaboration among Japanese and Canadian academic institutions, companies, and NRC researchers. The presentations will be made available online after the event. (Further details will be updated in due course.)

Details of Support

It is expected that about 3 projects will be funded.
Research networking and exchange projects selected for funding in this call will receive support for a period of 3 years totaling no more than approximately 58,500,000 JPY including direct and indirect costs.
The allocation ratio of the commissioned research funds between industry and academia can be determined at the discretion of the Japanese research team.
Research institutions (the lead institution and collaborating institutions) that enter into commissioned research agreements with JST are required to conclude contracts in accordance with the templates prescribed by JST. For documents related to commissioned research contract, please refer to the following website:
https://www.jst.go.jp/contract/index2.html

Application Deadline

Monday, 30th November 2026, 17:00 (Japan standard time)

Application Procedure

• The Project Leader from the Japanese 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 (Monday, 30th November 2026, 17:00 (Japan standard time)).
  e-Rad : https://www.e-rad.go.jp/
  ※in case that you use e-Rad system for the first time, registration is required. It may take up to two weeks to complete your registration. Please allow enough time to complete the registration process.
• The Project Leader from the Canadian team will have to register electronically by 26th August 2026 and must submit EOI form to NRC by 9th September 2026. After passing EOI evaluation process, the Project Leader from the Canadian team will have to submit International Consortium Project Proposal (ICPP) and other Canadian applications to NRC by the application deadline.
  NRC Website: (TBD）
• If applicants do not submit required documents to both JST and NRC by the deadline, the proposal shall not be accepted and not be brought to the evaluation process.

Application Form (Japanese side)

Notes

• Compliance agreement documents require the stamp of the institution's top person. In the case of a university or college the top person is the president, not the dean.
• 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 it is difficult for them 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). Unless applicants complete a research ethics program, their application will be deemed ineligible for funding.
• When research institutions are national or municipal organizations, such institutions concluding research contracts are obliged to implement necessary budgetary measures before entering research contracts for which they are responsible. Please confirm with your institution and contact JST before submitting.

Enquiries

Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) Department of International Affairs
Email: jointca(at)jst.go.jp (replace (at) with @).