Institutional Project Support Program: Offering $150,000 per year (US)

Deadline: 31-Oct-24

The Japan Foundation is seeking applications for its Institutional Project Support Program to encourage innovative and sustained growth of the Japanese Studies field in the United States.

The Japan Foundation (“JF”) welcomes Institutional Project Support (“IPS”) proposals designed to meet institutional needs in Japanese Studies, whether for a single institution, collaborating institutions or consortia. Applications that propose a new permanent faculty position in Japanese Studies are especially welcome, and tenure-track hires will be given strong priority.

Funding Information

• The maximum amount of the grant request from JF is $150,000 per year.
• Projects must commence between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026 and their duration can be up to three years.

Eligible Projects

• Projects must fulfill the following requirements to be eligible for application:
  • They must not be used for political, religious, social welfare, or commercial activities.
  • They must not be activities in support of specific doctrines or claims.

Ineligible Projects 

• The following proposals are not eligible:
  • Projects in the field of medicine, manual training or natural sciences
  • Organization of or participation in sporting events and training
  • Projects in the field of art (art-related projects such as exhibitions, film series, etc. that form a portion of a larger, comprehensive Japanese Studies project may be funded)
  • Goodwill exchanges
  • Social welfare or international development projects
  • Tourist-oriented programs
• Japanese language-related components may be supported if they are part of a more comprehensive Japanese Studies project.

Eligibility Criteria

• Only submissions from U.S. institutions and organizations with 501(c)(3) status and other qualifying tax-exempt statuses will be accepted.
• In principle, institutions that have received IPS support for three consecutive years, ending in the 2024-2025 fiscal year, are not eligible to apply to this IPS round. Current IPS grantees who will receive JF funds between April 1, 2025 – March 31, 2026 may not apply.

Ineligibility Criteria

• Multiple applications from one institution will not be accepted.
• Applicants for this program are not eligible to apply to the IPS Small Grant program for fiscal year 2025-2026.

Screening Criteria

• Criteria for Evaluating the Content of the Proposals are:
  • Significance within the field
  • Potential for lasting impact and sustainability
  • Potential for expansion
  • Cost efficiency of funding request
• Criteria for Evaluating Applicants are:
  • Firm commitment from the institution, including support from senior institutional officials, such as the president and provost
  • Competence of project leaders and their institutions to execute proposals
  • Viability of cooperative frameworks
  • Geographical distribution/balance
  • Likelihood of expanding the Japanese Studies program at the institution through the applied project (higher priority may be given to institutions without well-established graduate level Japanese Studies programs)
  • Necessity of grant support (level of financial need)
• Criteria for Assessing Matching Funds are:
  • Extent of the match
  • Feasibility of implementation
  • Variety of matching fund resources
  • Likelihood of continuation and self-support

Selection Criteria 

• Proposals will be reviewed with the confidential assistance of the American Advisory Committee, which is comprised of distinguished scholars from various cultural and educational institutions across the United States and Japan.
• During the screening process, the Japan Foundation, New York (“JFNY”) staff may ask the applying organization questions as the need arises.
• Applicants will be notified of the results of the screening in April 2025 through JFNY

Application Requirements

• Please include all signatory names on the application form, with their titles and signatures. The Authorized Representative, the Project Director, and the Bursar must be three different individuals.
• Please include a 200-word abstract of the project.
• Institutional Information: Please provide a brief summary of the history and current status of Japanese Studies programs within your institution, such as course offerings, department activities and number of faculty and students. The necessity for grant support and level of financial need may also be included.
• Please list all grants received from JFNY, JFLA, and the Center for Global Partnership (CGP) within the past 10 years.

For more information, visit Japan Foundation.