Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) announced the new projects provisionally selected for the Fiscal Year 2021 Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS) program.

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, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) 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 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 advancement 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. Also, SATREPS will actively correspond to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and contribute to the international community.

For FY2021, JST called for SATREPS project proposals from researchers in Japan in its 3 research fields—Environment/Energy, Bioresources, and Disaster Prevention and Mitigation—and began to accept proposals on September 8th, 2020. A total of 70 proposals were submitted by the close of applications on November 9th, 2020. The screening committee, composed of external experts, then reviewed the proposal documents and conducted interviews, including review from an ODA perspective, and provisionally selected 10 new projects, comprising 6 projects collaborating with Asian researchers, 1 project with African researchers, 2 projects with South American researchers, and 1 project with European researchers. Project involving the Republic of Tajikistan was selected for the first time, bringing the total number of countries selected for SATREPS projects to 52 (53 including projects under administration of AMED). Of the 10 proposals accepted, 2 proposal was selected as a Top-Down SATREPS project.

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 were transferred to AMED on April 1st, 2015, and are now conducted in collaboration between AMED and JICA.