（May 11, 2017）
Japan Science and Technology Agency(JST), in order to promote international research interaction and exchange among researchers in Japan, and as a part of its involvement in the EIG CONCERT-Japan, is accepting proposals for collaborative research projects with 8 other countries in the field of "Efficient Energy Storage and Distribution".
1. EIG CONCERT-Japan
CONCERT-Japan began in January 2011 as an international ERA-NET project funded by the European Commission Framework Programme for Research and Technology Development (FP7). The project aimed to further develop existing cooperation between European countries and Japan by promoting and enabling effective collaboration in science, technology and innovation research. Although the ERA-NET funding concluded in December 2014, the participating organizations expressed a desire to sustainably continue their highly effective cooperation by means of further collaborative activities such as joint funding calls. Therefore, the European Interest Group for Japan (EIG) was established in December 2014 as a flexible platform for communication among STI agencies in European countries and Japan that are interested in cooperating together. The collaboration that began in the FP7 project is now continuing independently of EU support, as an activity of the European Interest Group, hence the name "EIG CONCERT-Japan".
2. EIG CONCERT-Japan 4th Call: Efficient Energy Storage and Distribution
The current call is open for applications in the field of "Efficient Energy Storage and Distribution". The following 9 research funding agencies, representing 8 European countries and Japan, are participating in this call:
| Japan | Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) |
| France | National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) |
| Germany | Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) |
| Spain | Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness ü through the State Research Agency (MINECO ü AEI) |
| Turkey | The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) |
| Lithuania | Agency for Science, Innovation and Technology (MITA) |
| Norway | Research Council of Norway (RCN) |
| Slovakia | Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAS) |
| Czech Republic | Czech Academy of Sciences (CAS) |
3. Period of the Call for Proposals
Tuesday 2nd May 2017 until Friday 14th July 2017, 19:00 (Japan time)
4. Application Information
All call documents, application forms and guidance can be downloaded from the PT-Outline website, which also serves as the online submission portal:
5. Application Procedure
- Proposals should be jointly drafted by your team and jointly submitted electronically via the PT-Outline portal. Only the project consortium's Principle Project Leader needs to make this submission.
- In addition, the Project Leader from the Japanese team will have to register their application information and legal compliance checklist on the Cross Ministerial R&D Management System (e-Rad).
- An e-Rad guideline for applicants (in Japanese) is available: e-Rad操作説明
- For further application instructions and guidance, please refer to the following information (available only in Japanese):「日本側応募者への応募にあたっての注意事項」
6. PT-Partnering Tool
A partnering webtool is available to help applicants finding potential research partners within the framework of the EIG CONCERT-Japan Joint Call
7. Eligibilty
- Researchers
Any independent researcher personally affiliated with (and actively conducting research at) a domestic Japanese research institution (or who would fulfil this requirement by the start of the research project if not currently affiliated with a research institution in Japan), regardless of nationality, is eligible to apply. - Consortium
In addition to the Japanese team, the project consortium must include members from a minimum of two different European countries listed as participating in the call. Researchers from countries not participating may also be included in the research consortium, however they will not count towards the minimum country participation stated above.
For further details please see "Part 2: National and Regional Funding Regulations" in the Call Text.
8. Details of Support
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 18,000,000 JPY including direct and indirect costs. Examples of direct costs can include research materials, personnel costs, travel costs and events.
Full details of support can be found in the Japanese guidance information above and "Part 2: National and Regional Funding Regulations" in the Call Text.
9. Enquiries
Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST)
Department of International Affairs
Mr. Clement Ng, and Ms. Junko KATAYAMA
TEL： +81-3-52147375 FAX：+81-3-5214-7379
E-mail: concert(at)jst.go.jp
(replace (at) by @ before sending.)