As a core organization for the promotion of science and technology in Hyogo Prefecture, Hyogo Science and Technology Association (HyogoSTA) was established with the goal of contributing to the improvement of peoples’ lives and the development of local communities in the prefecture through the promotion of science and technology. Since its establishment, HyogoSTA has been promoting research and development that contributes to the advancement of peoples’ lives and industry, from basic and fundamental research to applied and practical research by researchers and engineers working or living in the prefecture. HyogoSTA has furthermore been providing support, including research funding grants in science and technology fields, to encourage young researchers to engage in creative and emerging fundamental research.
About Academic Research Grants for 2023(Reiwa 5) ※Application has been closed.
This program provides research funding grants for ambitious research in the natural sciences.
To contribute to the further promotion of science and technology in the prefecture, HyogoSTA is accepting submissions of a broad range of research plans that utilize the excellent research infrastructure in the prefecture, including SPring-8, the SACLA X-ray free electron laser facility, the Fugaku supercomputer, and the FOCUS supercomputer. We are looking forward to receiving many applications from researchers and engineers from universities, research institutes, private companies and more.
1. Overview
This program is aimed at research activities carried out in FY 2023.
○Eligibility: Researchers and engineers (for group research, the principal researcher) working or residing in Hyogo Prefecture and who have permission from their employer(s) to conduct the research in question.
*These conditions must be met for the duration of the grant period.
*Students enrolled at research institutes such as universities outside Hyogo Prefecture as of the date of application may apply if they plan to transfer to Hyogo Prefecture by April 1 of the grant year.
*In principle, those who have received this grant for the same research topic within the past three years (after FY 2020) are not eligible.
○Eligible Fields: 1 Medical/Pharmaceutics/Nursing 2 Life Sciences/Agricultural Sciences 3 Physical Sciences
4 Engineering/Information/Interdisciplinary Studies
Division |
Included Fields |
---|---|
Medical/Pharmaceutics/Nursing | Basic medicine, clinical medicine, pharmaceutics, nursing, sports and health sciences, human medical engineering, etc.(KAKENHI Broad Section H,I) |
Life Sciences/Agricultural Sciences | Agricultural science, agricultural chemistry, veterinary and animal science, molecular biology, developmental biology, cell biology, genetics, neuroscience, etc.(KAKENHI Broad Section F,G) |
Physical Sciences | Mathematics, physics, space and earth science, plasma science, organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, physical chemistry, polymer chemistry, biomolecular chemistry, etc.(KAKENHI Broad Section B,E) |
Engineering/Information/Interdisciplinary Studies | Electrical and electronic engineering, materials engineering, chemical engineering, applied physics, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, architecture, measurement and control engineering, robotics, resource and energy engineering, information science (engineering), disaster prevention engineering, etc.(KAKENHI Broad Section C,D,J,K) |
○Amount: up to 1 million yen/grant
Funds are to be applied to expenses for equipment, supplies, travel expenses for conference presentations, honoraria for research cooperation, and other expenses deemed directly necessary for the research.
○Expected number of grants: approximately 33
○Grant period:April 1, 2023 – March 31, 2024
An extension of up to one year may be granted depending on progress.
○Expected date of conferral:Friday, June 9, 2023
(Conferred grant money should be managed at recipient’s organization’s office and clearly separated from other research funds to ensure proper management and use. All payments must be completed by March 31, 2024).
【FY 2023 Results】
Division |
No. Applications |
No. Grants |
Medical/Pharmaceutics/Nursing | 56 | 10 |
Life Sciences/Agricultural Sciences | 37 | 8 |
Physical Sciences | 24 |
7 |
Engineering/Information/Interdisciplinary Studies | 30 | 8 |
Total | 147 | 33 |
2. Application Period
Thursday, September 1 – Friday, October 14, 2022 (applications must be received by October 14)
– Application forms should be submitted to HyogoSTA office (Project Division) by post or in person.
[For Inquiries or to Submit Application Forms]
Hyogo Science and Technology Association – Project Division
5-10-1 shimoyamate St., Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture, 650-8567
(on the 7th floor of Hyogo Prefectural Office Building №1)
E-mail: jigyou[at]hyogosta.jp
3. Fill out the application form (the form has been changed, so please only use this year’s form).
(1) Click here to download the Grant Application (Form 1) (Word).
Grant Application (Word)
Fill out the necessary items of the application form using a word processor. Photographs and graphics may be inserted. Black and white copies of the application will be distributed to the screening committee.
Applicants can only submit one application per fiscal year.
(Applications for both special and conventional category entries for the same theme are not allowed at the same time.)
(2) Submit two copies (one original and one duplicate) of the application form, printed on one side and fastened using paper clips.
(3) In the “Research Topic” section, describe the details of your research clearly and concisely within 20 words.
Include a subtitle if the research cannot be described within 20 words.
(4) In the “Field of Research Topic” section, write the code that best matches your topic among the five-digit Basic Section codes in the Review Section Table of the “KAKENHI” Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (up to two codes may be used as reference if the applicant wishes to do so).
*Use one letter for the Broad Section
(5) In the “Plan for Use of Grant Funds” section, list the cost of purchasing items needed for the research and amount needed for promoting the research.
○ Equipment and supplies
○ Consumables
○ Borrowing and loss expenses
○ Rental fees
○ Documentation expenses
○ Printing expenses
○ Travel expenses
○ Research cooperation honoraria
○ Communication and transport fees
○ Other expenses deemed directly necessary for the research
(6) Summary of Research Plan (Part 1): In the “Summary of Application” section, summarize your application clearly in 120 words max.
three keywords.
(7) Summary of Research Plan (Part 2): The “3. Research Schedule” should be listed as April 1, 2023 – March 31, 2024.
(8) Summary of Research Plan (Part 3): In the “Summary of Research Experience” section, list major research papers, etc. published by the applicant (a representative, for group research) since 2018, starting with the most recent paper, and moving in reverse chronological order by publication date.
4. Screening(1) Screening schedule
○ First round: November 2022 – end of January 2023
○ Second round: end of January 2023 – end of February 2023
(2) Screening process
○ First round: for each of the four fields to which the research topics belong, a review board consisting of leaders in the corresponding field will select and recommend candidates for the second round.
○ Second round: a committee of industry, academic, and government experts will comprehensively review the topics recommended by the review board in the first round and select the final recipients.
(3) Screening criteria
Submitted research projects will be judged comprehensively based on the following criteria:
・ clarity of purpose and objectives
・ innovativeness and originality
・ potential for future development
・ need for funding
and other factors.
5. Notification of ResultsApplicants will be notified in writing around the beginning of March 2023.
6. Reports and Patents(1) In principle, a performance report (e.g., a progress report, a financial report, etc.) should be submitted by Wednesday, April 10, 2024, after the end of the year in question.
If the report remains unsubmitted without a valid reason, the decision to confer the grant may be rescinded and a refund of the grant requested.
(2) Progress reports will be published on HyogoSTA’s homepage (https://hyogosta.jp/).
(3) Applicants may file patent or utility model applications, but are required to report the details thereof to HyogoSTA.
7. Other(1) Application forms will not be used for any purpose other than screening, and the contents thereof will be kept strictly confidential.
(2) Application materials will not be returned regardless of whether the application is approved or rejected.
(3) Information of the selected projects (names, organizations, positions, research themes to be funded by the grants, etc.) will be announced to the press, as well as published on HyogoSTA’s website, project reports, association bulletins, and presentation ceremony materials.
(4) Grants are to be managed by the office of the organization to which the applicant belongs.
(5) Note that after their research is complete, recipients of the research grants will be asked to present their research results at a research conference to be held the next time grants are presented to new recipients.
(6) Applicants will be asked to participate in a follow-up survey (questionnaire) spread over three sessions after the end of the grant period.
Special Categories ※Application has been closed.
From 2021, HyogoSTA has established a new category for providing special support for research which shows strong potential for creating innovation using Hyogo Prefecture’s advanced science and technology infrastructure. This category provides funding for research which shows strong potential for creating innovation using Hyogo Prefecture’s advanced science and technology infrastructure (*).
This year, we are also looking for research that contributes to new coronavirus infectious disease control and the realization of a post-coronavirus society which are urgent global issues.
*① SPring-8 Large-Scale Synchrotron Radiation Facility
② SACLA X-Ray Free Electron Laser Facility
③ New SUBARU Synchrotron Radiation Facility
④ Prefectural Synchrotron Radiation Research Center (Analysis Equipment)
⑤ Fugaku Supercomputer
⑥ FOCUS Supercomputer Foundation for Computational Science’s
⑦ New Metal Materials Research Center (3D printer for metals, etc.)
1. Overview
This program is aimed at research activities carried out in FY 2023.
○Eligibility: Researchers and engineers (for group research, the principal researcher) working or residing in Hyogo Prefecture and who have permission from their employer(s) to conduct the research in question.
*These conditions must be met for the duration of the grant period.
*Students enrolled at research institutes such as universities outside Hyogo Prefecture as of the date of application may apply if they plan to transfer to Hyogo Prefecture by April 1 of the grant year.
*In principle, those who have received this grant for the same research topic within the past three years (after FY 2020) are not eligible.
*Applications for both special and conventional category entries for the same theme are not allowed at the same time.
Research is limited to “research which shows strong potential for creating innovation using the prefecture’s advanced science and technology infrastructure.” (Research must utilize one or more of the advanced science and technology infrastructure listed above.)
To strategically support fundamental research in step with prefectural policy, the following research will be evaluated with additional points (i.e., points will be added for each item).
(1) Research using Hyogo Beamline (2) Industry-university collaborative research(Research with a clear image of industrial application) (3) Research that combines two or more of the above infrastructure (4) Research contributing to advancement of materials informatics (5) Research contributing to countermeasures against novel coronavirus infections or the realization of a post-coronavirus society |
○Amount: Up to 1 million yen/case/year (maximum duration of 3 years)
Funds are to be applied to expenses for equipment, supplies, travel expenses for conference presentations, honoraria for research cooperation, and other expenses deemed directly necessary for the research.
○Expected number of grants: approximately 3 – 4
○Grant period: April 1, 2023 – maximum of 3 years up to March 31, 2026
To determine whether or not funding will be continued from FY 2024 on, researchers will be asked to submit progress reports on their research plans for review on a yearly basis.
An extension of up to one year may be granted depending on progress. If the infrastructure could not be used according to plan due to the proposal failing its screening or other reasons, the plan may be changed to use the infrastructure in the next or subsequent fiscal year.
○Expected date of conferral: Friday, June 9, 2023
(Conferred grant money should be managed at recipient’s organization’s office and clearly separated from other research funds to ensure proper management and use. All payments for expenses in the first year must be completed by March 31, 2024).
【FY 2023 Results】
No. Applications | No. Grants |
6 | 1 |
2. Application Period
Thursday, September 1 – Friday, December 16, 2022 (applications must be received by December 16)
– Application forms should be submitted to HyogoSTA office (Project Division) by post or in person.
[For Inquiries or to Submit Application Forms]
Hyogo Science and Technology Association – Project Division
5-10-1 shimoyamate St., Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture, 650-8567
(on the 7th floor of Hyogo Prefectural Office Building №1)
E-mail: jigyou[at]hyogosta.jp
3. Fill out the application form (the form has been changed, so please only use this year’s form).
(1) Click here to download the Grant Application (Form 1) (Word).
Special Category entries → Grant Application [Special Category] (Word)Fill out the necessary items of the application form using a word processor. Photographs and graphics may be inserted. Black and white copies of the application will be distributed to the screening committee.
Applicants can only submit one application per fiscal year.
(Applications for both special and conventional category entries for the same theme are not allowed at the same time.)
(2) Submit two copies (one original and one duplicate) of the application form, printed on one side and fastened using paper clips.
(3) In the “Research Topic” section, describe the details of your research clearly and concisely within 20 words.
Include a subtitle if the research cannot be described within 20 words.
(4) In the “Field of Research Topic” section, write the code that best matches your topic among the five-digit Basic Section codes in the Review Section Table of the “KAKENHI” Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (up to two codes may be used as reference if the applicant wishes to do so).
*Use one letter for the Broad Section
(5) In the “Plan for Use of Grant Funds” section, list the cost of purchasing items needed for the research and amount needed for promoting the research.
○ Equipment and supplies
○ Consumables
○ Borrowing and loss expenses
○ Rental fees
○ Documentation expenses
○ Printing expenses
○ Travel expenses
○ Research cooperation honoraria
○ Communication and transport fees
○ Other expenses deemed directly necessary for the research
(6) Summary of Research Plan (Part 1): In the “Summary of Application” section, summarize your application clearly in 120 words max.
three keywords.
(7) Summary of Research Plan (Part 2): The “3. Research Schedule” should be listed as April 1, 2023 – March 31, 2024.
*For Special Category entries, indicate the schedule not only for the year in question, but for the entire plan.
(8) Summary of Research Plan (Part 3): In the “Summary of Research Experience” section, list major research papers, etc. published by the applicant (a representative, for group research) since 2018, starting with the most recent paper, and moving in reverse chronological order by publication date.
4. Screening(1) Screening schedule
January 2023 – end of February 2023
(2) Screening process
A committee of industry, academic, and government experts will comprehensively review the topics select the final recipients.
(3) Screening criteria
Submitted research projects will be judged comprehensively based on the following criteria:
・ clarity of purpose and objectives
・ innovativeness and originality
・ potential for future development
・ need for funding
and other factors.
5. Notification of ResultsApplicants will be notified in writing around the beginning of March 2023.
6. Reports and Patents(1) In principle, a performance report (e.g., a progress report, a financial report, etc.) should be submitted by Wednesday, April 10, 2024, after the end of the year in question.
If the report remains unsubmitted without a valid reason, the decision to confer the grant may be rescinded and a refund of the grant requested.
(2) The final year progress reports will be published on HyogoSTA’s homepage (https://hyogosta.jp/).
(3) Applicants may file patent or utility model applications, but are required to report the details thereof to HyogoSTA.
7. Other(1) Application forms will not be used for any purpose other than screening, and the contents thereof will be kept strictly confidential.
(2) Application materials will not be returned regardless of whether the application is approved or rejected.
(3) Information of the selected projects (names, organizations, positions, research themes to be funded by the grants, etc.) will be announced to the press, as well as published on HyogoSTA’s website, project reports, association bulletins, and presentation ceremony materials.
(4) Grants are to be managed by the office of the organization to which the applicant belongs.
(5) Note that after their research is complete, recipients of the research grants will be asked to present their research results at a research conference to be held the next time grants are presented to new recipients.
(6) Applicants will be asked to participate in a follow-up survey (questionnaire) spread over three sessions after the end of the grant period.