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Resea­rch G­rant ­Progr­am
Application Announcement

Application Announcement

Comments by Selection Committee Chair

Grant Framework

Application period	Friday, March 20 to Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Amount of grants	Individual research: ¥1 million to ¥2 million per project Joint research: ¥2 million to ¥8 million per project
Total amount of grants	¥150 million
Period of grants	One-year projects: November 1, 2009-October 31, 2010 Two-year projects: November 1, 2009-October 31, 2011
Selection of grants	Decisions taken at the Board of Directors Meeting in the autumn of 2009

Program Aims and Objectives

This outline is based on the Grant Year 2009. Regarding the Grant Year 2010, please check its detail in the end of March 2010.

After undergoing large-scale reforms for the first time in 12 years, the Toyota Foundation Research Grant Program adopted a new theme in fiscal 2006: "The Search for the Richness of Human Life and Activity." What sort of society is one that abides in the richness of human life and activity? We feel this is not one in which things are assessed merely in terms of narrow standards like economic or material indices, but a society brimming with diversity, in which people respect and try to understand different value systems.

The phenomenon of widening disparities in society, which has attracted much attention in recent years, is nothing other than the result of our excessive faith in a single value system, represented by economic indicators. By chance, the financial crisis befalling the world of late has revealed the dangers of embracing the standardized values of globalism. It is now time to come back down to earth and to focus once again on creating a society of substance.

Based on this understanding of the situation, the Research Grant Program is devoted to discovering the shape of a better society for us all through the pursuit of research activities rooted in our own intellectual curiosity. In the face of the various problems confronting society, the Toyota Foundation has a particular desire to help create energetic, vital communities where people can support one another. In this connection, "The Search for the Richness of Human Life and Activity" in fiscal 2009 focuses on "Revitalizing Local Communities Under Globalization." The Foundation is soliciting proposals for research projects that can help to show how, amid the tide of globalization, local communities can harness their latent vitality through flexible restructuring.

By research, however, we do not mean activities conducted within narrowly defined academic circles by specialist scholars. We take an independent point of view, as befits a grant program run by a private foundation, welcoming not only scholars and people with practical expertise but also activists and practitioners from outside the establishment, as well as others with a strong commitment to the cause of generating new knowledge. Our interest is in appealing projects that provide a specific handhold on the concept of richness, which tends to be discussed in abstract and ambiguous terms, and that can help increase humanity's inventory of intellectual assets.

Project Areas

1. Transmission and Formation of Culture
2. Society's Frameworks
   
3. Individual and Interpersonal Development
   
4. Other
   

Grant Framework

Amount of grants

• Individual research: ¥1 million to ¥2 million per project
  
• Joint research: ¥2 million to ¥8 million per project
  

*The above figures are general ranges, not strict limits. Depending on the project, a higher amount may be deemed acceptable.

Total amount of grants

• ¥150 million
  

Period of grants

• One-year projects: November 1, 2009-October 31, 2010
  
• Two-year projects: November 1, 2009-October 31, 2011
  

Determination of grants

• Formal decisions on the selection of projects for grants are made by the Board of Directors at its meeting in the autumn of the applicable fiscal year on the basis of deliberations by the selection committee in July and August. Applicants will be informed in writing as to whether their application has been successful or not following the decision. There may be delays due to the postal service.
  

Grant implementation

• Once a grant has been decided, the foundation and the project leader will exchange memorandums, on the basis of which the grant will be implemented. The project leader will submit a progress report and an accounting report during the grant period and a final report and other documents at the end of the grant period.
  

Indirect costs, general administrative costs

• The grant does not cover the indirect costs of the organization to which the recipient is affiliated or general administrative costs ("overheads").
  
  

Grant Framework

Eligibility

• Applications are accepted regardless of nationality, gender, educational background, etc. Applicants must have a certain level of project management ability (such as schedule management, cultivation of a common approach to problems within the project team, coordination of team members' roles, and communication with the Foundation). Those who apply to this program this fiscal year as project coordinators cannot at the same time apply to the Asian Neighbors Program as project leaders.
  

How to Obtain Application Guidelines and Project Proposal Forms

To download the form

• Please download the application form from this page.
  (File available from March 20 to May 13)
  
  

The application period has expired.

To receive an application form by post

• Send your request by postcard or fax to the Toyota Foundation (at the address/number below) no later than April 30, 2009. Please indicate (1) the name of the program (for example, "Request for Research Grants application form"), (2) whether you require the Japanese or the English version, and (3) the address to which the form should be sent.
  

Application deadline

• Applicants must ensure that their applications are sent by the deadline, Wednesday, May 13, 2009. This is the final deadline for posting; applications postmarked after this date will not be accepted.
  

How to apply

• Applicants in Japan should send the application form by registered mail or another delivery service that leaves a record of delivery, such as a courier service.
  
  Overseas applicants should use a courier service or EMS (Express Mail Service).
  
  

Points to note

• Applications must be filed on the provided application forms only. Do not add pages.
• As the application forms will be copied in the selection process, please do not attach the form sheets, such as with staples or glue.
• If you format your application by pasting print-outs onto the form, please make a copy of the complete form and send the copy.
• Application forms should be printed on one side of the paper; please do not use double-sided printing.
• Do not bring your application to the Toyota Foundation in person or submit it by fax or e-mail.
• Please submit only one copy of the application form. No additional documents should be included with an application.
  " Applications cannot be replaced or updated once they are submitted.
• Applications postmarked after Wednesday, May 13, 2009, will not be accepted.
  " Submitted applications will not be returned.
• Applications postmarked after Wednesday, May 13, 2009, will not be accepted.
  # Submitted applications will not be returned.
• Submitted applications will not be returned.
• The "application number" space at the top right of the application form is for Toyota Foundation use. We will mail you a postcard by early June to inform you of your application number.
• If any statement in an application is found to be untrue or misleading, the application may be rejected, and even if the project proposal has been approved, the grant may be cancelled.
• The Toyota Foundation will not respond to questions about the reasons for its approval or rejection of project proposals.

Address to Send Applications (Contact Details for Inquiries)

Research Grant Program, The Toyota Foundation
Box 236, Shinjuku Mitsui Building 37F
2-1-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku
Tokyo, Japan 163-0437
Phone: +81-(0)3-3344-1701
Fax: +81-(0)3-3342-6911
Attn.: (Mr.) Kusuda, (Ms.) Nishida

Privacy Notice

The personal information supplied by applicants will be used to screen and select projects, to produce statistics, and for administrative purposes, such as contacting the person in question. It will not be used for any purpose other than those specified without the permission of the individual concerned, except where allowed by law.
For details, please see the Privacy Notice.