Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS: Project Type Technical Cooperation)

1. Objective

This program is designed to promote international joint research in which both Japanese research institutions and those of recipient countries work together based upon the social needs in recipient countries. Its aims are to obtain new knowledge and to utilize research outcomes to the benefit of the society with a view to resolving global issues such as the environment and energy, biological resources, disaster prevention, and infectious diseases. In conjunction with this, it also aspires to improve the development of human resources and research capabilities in recipient countries by conducting joint research.

2. Roles of JICA and JST/AMED

SATREPS is carried out through the collaboration of four Japanese institutions: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and JICA, as well as the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED).

JICA provides technical cooperation for recipient countries that are targeted for projects. JST/AMED provides support to Japanese research institutions for research costs outside of the targeted countries, including within Japan (information including the project scheme is found in Figure 1.

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Figure 1. Project Scheme

3. Eligible Fields of Research

Four fields; Environment and Energy, Bioresources, Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, Infectious Diseases Control are currently selected as the eligible fields of research. Among these fields, the research of infectious diseases control was transferred from JST to AMED in April 2015.

4. Essential Qualifications required for the proposed research project

5. Content of the Desirable Research Cooperation

6. Organizations for the Joint Research

Organizations of the Joint Research are required to be those which carry out activities with a public nature in the targeted field(s), such as universities (including private schools), public research institutions, and so on (except military-affiliated research institutions). In addition, they must have structures that are suitable for conducting international joint research.

7. Cooperation Period

The period of the Joint Research is three to five years.

8. Expenses supported by JICA and by JST/AMED

JICA covers the expenses needed for the Japanese research institutions to carry out research cooperation activities in the recipient country (expenses for the dispatch of researchers from Japan, acceptance of invited foreign researchers, provision of equipment and research expenses incurred in recipient countries, etc.). In such cases, outlays management will be handled by JICA or by Japanese research institutions as is the case with ordinary technical cooperation projects , without the project expenses being directly distributed to the research institutions in the recipient country.

JST/AMED furnishes the Japanese research institutions with the expenses that they will need in order to conduct research in Japan and other countries except the recipient country.

Please note in advance that, as this program is implemented within the ODA framework, it cannot provide support in principle for local costs, such as the personnel costs for researchers from the recipient country, their travel expenses, supply expenses, or the cost of renting an office, etc. in the recipient country.

9. Selection process of the research proposals

Under SATREPS, JST/AMED engages in public recruitment for research proposals with a focus on research institutions within Japan at the same time as the ODA needs survey that is conducted by MOFA and JICA. Reviews are then held from scientific and technological perspectives while capitalizing on the knowledge of experts in the fields concerned .

Both the request form for an ODA project applied by the recipient country and the proposal document(s) for research project applied by the Japanese research institutions under JST/AMED program are to be submitted by the prescribed deadline. In case that the both applied projects are confirmed to be identical (i.e., represent the same subject of research) as candidate projects for SATREPS, those candidate projects will be subject to the selection process. Then, in case that both of them are deemed worthy of being selected as projects for SATREPS, a final decision for the adoption of the projects will be made. Please bear in mind that any ODA request form and/or research proposal document that have not been submitted by the deadline will not be acceptable.

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Figure 2. Selection process for the research proposal

10. Considerations


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