(1) Abstract of the program
The program aims for early-stage implementation of innovation in aging societies through academia-industry partnership between Japanese and Swedish teams.
The program also adopts a two-phases funding scheme “stage-gate”, designed for smooth transition of projects’ research development from the preparatory Phase 1 to the long-term Phase 2 via a stage-gate evaluation process.
Phase I confirms innovation and effectiveness of ideas of solutions (e.g. innovative devices, services and community design) envisioned by both Japanese and Swedish sides. In Phase II, the confirmed solutions are tested and demonstrated in order to be deployed in an aging society.
(2) Research Period and Funding Amount (JST)
| Phase 1 | Phase 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Research Period | 2 years | 3 years |
| Budget (including overhead expenses) |
Per project Max. 6.5million Yen / year |
Per project Max. 30 million Yen / year |
| Number of selected projects | 4 projects | 2 projects |
(5) Evaluation criteria for the stage-gate evaluation
The following criteria were considered in the evaluation process:
1) Evaluate the project’s progress towards the objectives/goals during phase 1
- Execution of the project appropriate in relation to the objectives and goals set in proposal
- Development and/or adaption of the goals and activities during phase 1
- Relevance to, and value for, the project
- Is the project developed enough so that it has a good potential to execute a demonstration during phase 2?
2) Appropriateness of the team in Phase 1
- Relevance of partners; competences, resources and abilities to advance the project
- Contributions of the partners towards to the goals
- Are they needed in order to achieve the goals?
- Balance of activities between the partners
- Is there too much reliance on the academic partners?
- Are companies and other stakeholders involved enough?
- Balance of activities between the two countries has been achieved?
3) Development, during phase 1, of the understanding of the need/challenge and the path to realize the solution in social implementation
- Development of project structure and management (to be able to progress towards a novel solution)
- Understanding of the needs and factors which need to be address in the next phase in order to progress towards a novel solution in practical use
4) Relevance of the goals in Phase 2
- Have the results and reflection from phase 1 been taken into account when developing the goals for phase 2
- Potential to reach the goals in Phase 2
- Legal, regulatory, ethical and societal constraints which may impact the goals and the project work in phase 2 and subsequent steps towards social implementation
5) Feasibility of the plan for Phase 2
- Appropriateness of the over-all approach
- Relevant activities and work packages
- Relevant milestones during phase 2
- Project partners have clear, relevant and defined roles in the execution
- The test/demonstration activities have good chances to deliver results needed to assess the potential of the solution in social implementation. Relevant set-up, setting, “test group/sample”, partners
- Faculties and infrastructure in place
6) Appropriateness of the team for Phase 2 to realize the goals. Is the proposed team suitable to realize the goals?
- Availability of required resources during Phase 2 as well as in subsequent steps
- Manpower,
- Competences,
- Financial
- Additional external competences, if needed (for example regulatory, IPR, trials, documentation, etcetera)
- Inclusion of “problem owners/potential customers” and users or other relevant stakeholders in the team
- Balance between the two countries and between partners in the execution of the project
- Gender balance and inclusion
7) Importance of experimental approaches for a novel solution
- This program aims at testing ways to facilitate innovations in order to solve internationally-common challenges in mature societies such as climate change, access to natural resources, energy, water and food, and poverty.
- From this viewpoint, providing widely applicable knowledge not limited to ageing society, or finding such a possibility, would be highly evaluated.