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Asian Neighbors Program
Comments by Selection Committee Chair

Asian Neighbors Program Comments by Selection Committee Chair

Takashi Shiraishi

Outline of 2011 Asian Neighbors Program

The origin of the Toyota Foundation’s Asian Neighbors Program can be traced back to the distinctive “Know Our Neighbors” program of the 1980s. Since 2009, the Program has been supporting projects that seek to overcome various challenges facing Asia. For the 2010 selection process, however, the selection committee had to limit the number of grant-receiving projects due to a lack of proposals for projects deemed adequately feasible. In response to this situation, the foundation has amended the Program for 2011, as outlined below, based on an analysis of different issues and challenges in the Asian region.

First, the theme has been changed to “Shared actions to build our future Asia,” in line with the foundation’s “Vision 2010: Building a Better Future.” Second, the new project area “Fostering mutual understanding and social actors” has been created, with a focus on fostering young leaders. The other two project areas for the two categories “environment” and “social systems” remain, as in 2010, “Enhancing sustainable communities” and “Forging social systems to address local issues.” Third, grant frameworks have been changed from two (“Small-scale” and “Regular” in 2010) to three (“One country,” “Over two countries,” and “Special grant”), based on consideration for the scope of projects and of project participants.

Overview of Applications

There were 245 applications for the 2011 Program, 30.6% decrease from the 353 applications in 2010. As in the previous year, applications from non-Japanese nationalities (162) exceeded those from Japanese applicants (83); in 2010 there were 254 non-Japanese applicants compared to 99 Japanese ones. This trend may be an effect of holding briefing sessions in Asian countries.

The project area “Enhancing sustainable communities” had the largest number of applications, (106), followed by “Fostering mutual understanding and social actors” (75) and “Forging social systems to address local issues” (64). Still, it should be noted that the concept and activities of projects were not necessarily limited to one of the three project areas, and in many cases spanned more than two project areas.

Selection Process Results

The selection committee conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the applications, with a particular focus on (1) the significance of the issue addressed by the project, (2) the feasibility of activities and implementation processes, and (3) the originality and creativity of the project design. We also highly evaluated projects that were deeply rooted in local communities and respected the ownership of their residents. As a result of the evaluation, the committee has selected 22 grant-receiving projects for the Program (9 for the Over two countries grant framework; 13 for the One country grant framework) as the recipient of the Program grant. There was no project selected for the Special grant framework.

The impression among the selection committee members was that there were more applications in 2011 for projects that have concrete structure and can be expected to have future potential and bring significant benefits to the targeted communities. The selection rate for applications was 9%, an increase over the 6.2% rate in 2010.

In terms of each project area, eight projects were selected for “Fostering mutual understanding and social actors,” seven for “Enhancing sustainable communities,” and seven for “Forging social systems to address local issues”; and 12 of the projects selected had a non-Japanese representative.

Turning to the project frameworks, we received many applications for original projects in the One country grant framework. For the Over two countries grant framework there were some applications for projects regarding two or more Asian countries (not including Japan), but after reviewing the feasibility of project activities and management, most of the projects finally selected for a grant were projects involving a partnership between Asian countries and citizens of Japan (or some other developed country). No project was selected for the Special grant framework, but an effort was made for the Toyota Foundation to develop higher quality projects together with potential applicants, and we aim to undertake further considerations and improvements in the future.

We would like to acknowledge the efforts of the program officers of the foundation, who made a significant contribution to the selection process by offering applicants introductory sessions and guidance, and collecting additional information related to the project applications.

Profile of Selected Projects

Here we will introduce one project selected for a grant this fiscal year in each of the project areas.

1.Fostering mutual understanding and social actors

Kochsamrong Padungsak
“Power kids: Migrant youth from Burma living in Thailand use applied arts to promote entrepreneurship in multi-ethnic migrant and non-migrant youngsters” (One country grant framework, 1.7 million yen)

The youngsters of Burmese migrants (including ethnic minorities) living in northern Thailand often do not proceed beyond the primary level of school. This project aims to empower these migrant youngsters to develop a better future for themselves by providing them training on fabrication and handicraft techniques, designing, and basic business skills. In various Asian countries, migrant youngsters lack educational opportunities and start working quite early in their lives, including work performed at home. This youngster labor has become a serious social problem. The project’s attempt to educate the youngsters of migrants in areas that include not only handicrafts and business skills but also foreign languages and IT skills is the sort of effective measure that can serve as an example for other communities to follow.

2.Enhancing sustainable communities

Cleofe Jovelyn
“Sustainable social enterprise on seaweed in Lavezares, Northern Samar, Philippines” (One country grant framework, 1.8 million yen)

In coastal regions of the Philippines, income in fishing communities is declining due to low fish catches and the degradation of coastal resources. This has forced communities to illegally log mangrove forests, causing further damage to the ecosystem. This project aims to generate income and stabilize the livelihoods of fishing community members by introducing seaweed production. The project was highly evaluated by the Selection Committee for its feasibility: namely the fact that it is based on a partnership between a local NGO involved in environmental protection for many years and the local fishing community members, and that it lays out the overall process over two years leading from seaweed production to actual sales. We anticipate that the project will help to improve and diversify sources of income in the community, and also to protect the area’s natural resources.

3.Forging social systems to address local issues

Isao Aoyama
“Developing human resources, organizations and communities through the use of know-how of COINN’s NGOs and Kominkan: Community development and rebirth through non-formal education in developing countries” (Over two countries grant framework, 7 million yen)

This project utilizes Community Learning Centres (CLCs) in Nepal to provide non-formal education to women and children who find it difficult to attend schools.
The plan is to provide technical support to the Women Awareness Centre Nepal (WACN) for their projects to elevate the status of local people, especially women, and improve their living standards, and to assist the management of women’s savings and credit cooperatives.

The area covered by the plan includes 13 villages (in 5 districts) within a roughly 100km radius of Katmandu. Each village has one WACN supported facility. The project for non-formal education will benefit the general public as well as villagers, members of the 40 groups belonging to the cooperatives, leaders of the cooperatives, children between the ages of eight and 14 who find it difficult to attend school, and women between the ages of 15 and 45. The number of people targeted by the program is around 80,000 (equivalent to 20,000 4-member families). The project aims to improve management of the CLCs. The overall goals are (1) to educate women and their spouses and children, (2) to create organizations that foster village communities, and (3) enhancing the capacity of women's savings and credit cooperatives.

Conclusion

For the past four years I have chaired the Program selection committee. During that time, I have tried to emphasize not only the feasibility of the proposed projects but also their medium- to long-term sustainability and their potential for future expansion. My impression is that over the four years, judged by these standards, we have seen an increase in quality not only for the grant projects but even for the project proposals not selected.

Under the leadership of the new chair of the committee, I look forward to the proposal and selection of new initiatives aimed at cross-border cooperation in order to build a better future for Asia.