New Zealand – Japan Joint Research Programme Call for Proposals 2024

About this opportunity

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) are supporting joint research projects to promote cooperation between New Zealand and Japan.

This opportunity is open to New Zealand research organisations for projects that align with the objective of developing enduring science and innovation collaboration partnerships with world-class Japanese partners.

Funding will be provided for research projects in the field of disaster mitigation, response and recovery, with a focus on the practical application of advanced technologies.

Areas of mutual interest are:

• Advanced materials and nanotechnology applications for disaster resilience.
• Research for the development of technology/device that collect information on the disaster area, or support the rescue of the survivors and response to the disaster.
• Hazard and risk modelling of high impact / low probability natural hazards events for example widespread flooding, great earthquakes, large magnitude volcanic eruption.
• Comparative research for New Zealand and Japan regarding reconstruction after recent disaster.

Proposals for research activities outside of these areas will not be considered eligible for funding.

We are seeking to fund the highest quality collaborative proposals. This may mean some topics will receive more funding than others or no funding at all. Proposals for joint research projects should achieve excellence beyond what has already been achieved within New Zealand.

The funding available

The total funding available is up to NZ$900,000 (excluding GST) over 3 years to support up to 3 joint research projects between New Zealand and Japanese researchers.

Successful New Zealand research teams will receive up to NZ$300,000 (excluding GST) each over a 3-year period.

New Zealand research teams must have a Japanese research partner who submits their own funding application to JST.

How funding can be used

What is fundable

Research funding from New Zealand can only be used to fund New Zealand researchers’ activities and reasonable expenses directly related to the project including:

• Research activity expenses for:
  • consumables and other research expenses 
  • personnel 
  • subcontractors.
• Research exchange expenses for:
  • flights/transport
  • accommodation
  • travel visas and travel insurance
  • meals.

Travel costs should not exceed 25% of the budget and all expenditure by individuals should adhere to the rules of the organisation they are affiliated with.

What is not fundable

The research funding must not be used for:

• expenses unrelated to the delivery of the contract
• any capital expenditure (unless otherwise agreed in writing with MBIE)
• dealing with accidents or disasters during the term of the contract
• alcohol
• expenses outside any categories listed in the project budget (without prior permission from MBIE).

Who can apply

For a proposal to be assessed it must meet the eligibility criteria set out below. Proposals that do not meet all of these criteria will be declined for funding on eligibility grounds.

• Proposals must be made by a New Zealand-based research organisation or a New Zealand-based legal entity representing a New Zealand-based research organisation.
• The Primary Investigator named on the New Zealand application must be employed by a New Zealand-based research organisation, or a New Zealand-based legal entity representing a New Zealand-based research organisation.
• Proposals must involve collaboration with a Japanese research organisation (your Japanese partner must apply for their own funding through JST).
• Proposals must be in the areas of mutual interest in the field of disaster mitigation, response and recovery.
• Proposals must not be made by a department of the public service as listed in Schedule 2 of the Public Service Act 2020.
• Proposals must not benefit a Russian state institution (including but not limited to support for Russian military or security activity) or an organisation outside government that may be perceived as contributing to the war effort.
• Proposals must be submitted in Pītau - our investment management portal before the closing date and meet all administrative requirements.

Research Organisation means an organisation that has sufficient internal capability for carrying out research, science or technology, or related activities.

Applicants may submit multiple proposals, but each proposal must be a significantly different research project. If a New Zealand research team submits multiple proposals based on the same project, all proposals for that project may be deemed ineligible.

Proposals which also involve world class partners from other countries will be accepted, where these demonstrate the potential for increased excellence and impact beyond what is achievable through a New Zealand and Japanese partnership alone. Proposals which involve private sector partners are also eligible.

Application information

New Zealand project teams applying to MBIE for funding 

New Zealand applicants need to submit an application in Pītau – MBIE’s investment management system by 4pm, 2 October 2024. If you do not have a Pītau login, you will need to request access at least 2 weeks before you want to submit your proposal.

Pītau Investment Management System Portal

A proposal template is provided in the key documents section of this call for proposals.

1. Before developing your proposal, you are encouraged to consider the eligibility criteria, the assessment criteria, and the terms and conditions relating to this opportunity.
2. New Zealand research teams must consult their Japanese partners as some sections of your proposal require their information. Your Japanese partners must apply for their own funding through JST.
3. The proposal template provides guidance on how to prepare your proposal and the information you are required to provide. We recommend you use the proposal template provided to draft the required information in a word processer and then when ready to submit, copy and paste your content into the appropriate Pītau fields and upload any supporting documentation where directed.
4. The information in your proposal is used for assessment and will form the basis of your contract if your application is successful.

Japanese project teams applying to JST for funding

Japanese research partners will need to submit their own applications to the Call for Proposals published by the JST.

Key documents

When developing your proposal, we encourage you to consult the following key reference documents:

• Catalyst fund webpages
• JST Call for Proposals(external link) — Japan Science and Technology Agency

Key dates

All dates and times are NZ standard times and are subject to change.

To be notified of any changes subscribe to our International science partnerships stakeholder alerts.

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Assessment information

Once you’ve submitted your proposal, this is the assessment process:

Pre-check stage

1. MBIE reviews applications to ensure they meet the eligibility criteria. MBIE may contact New Zealand applicants to confirm that a counterpart application has been submitted to the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST).

Shortlisting stage (if more than 15 proposals are received)

2. Up to 5 MBIE officials with subject matter expertise relevant to this investment will do an internal assessment of each proposal against the assessment criteria and where relevant, the Vision Mātauranga policy. Assessments will be recorded internally.

3. The 15 highest-ranking proposals from the internal shortlisting stage will be put forward for decision to the General Manager, Science System Investment and Performance.

4. Once the shortlist of proposals is approved for further assessment, the top 15 proposals will then be provided to the independent assessors.

Assessment stage

5. Assessors review the shortlisted proposals against the assessment criteria and, where relevant, the Vision Mātauranga policy. Assessor scores and comments are entered into Pītau.

6. Assessors attend an Assessment Panel meeting where the scores and comments are reviewed and ranked. The Panel reach a consensus about the preferred proposals, feedback comments, and recommendations which will inform the Panel Chair's report.

7. JST conducts a parallel assessment process for Japanese applicants.

Joint recommendation stage

8. MBIE and JST compare the ranked lists of recommended proposals and reach a consensus on which projects should be recommended for a final funding decision.  

Decision-making

9. The General Manager, Science System Investment and Performance will make the final decisions on which New Zealand proposals will be funded. This decision is based on the outcomes of discussions with JST.

10. MBIE will notify applicants of the final funding decision for their proposal and provide general feedback to all applicants on request.

Conflicts of interest 

If you are submitting a proposal, check the list of independent assessors below for any potential conflicts of interest.

If you identify an actual, potential, or perceived direct or indirect conflict of interest, you must notify us before the application closing date by emailing Internationalscience@mbie.govt.nz with the details for further discussion. You must also notify us if you identify an actual, potential, or perceived direct or indirect conflict of interest, after the application closing date and before the final funding decision date.

Conflicts of interest may occur on two different levels:

1. A direct conflict of interest, where an assessor is:
   • directly involved with a proposal (as a participant, manager, mentor, or partner) or has a close personal relationship with the applicant, for example, family members
   • a collaborator or in some other way involved with an applicant’s proposal.
2. An indirect conflict of interest, where an assessor:
   
   • is employed by an organisation involved in a proposal but is not part of the applicant’s proposal
   • has a personal and/or professional relationship with one of the applicants, for example an acquaintance
   • is assessing a proposal under discussion that may compete with their business interests.

Assessors

The assessment criteria

All assessors will assess proposals on each of the criteria (below) and score them from 1 (low quality) to 7 (high quality).

Funding decisions

The General Manager, Science System Investment and Performance at MBIE will make the final funding decision based on the Assessment Panel’s recommendations and the outcomes of discussions with JST.

The decision and recommendations may also:

• set pre-contract conditions which must be met before the investment is contracted
• set special conditions in addition to the general terms and conditions set out in the Funding Contract
• vary the proposed term of a proposal
• vary the funding allocated from what is proposed and require key performance indicators to be renegotiated to MBIE’s satisfaction to reflect the changed funding
• ensure there is no overlap with similar projects already being funded, or that are in the contracting process
• consider the risk that applicants do not have the capacity to complete the research project because of existing commitments to other research projects.

We will advise the proposal's contact person of the funding decision by email. The funding decision will be announced by press release and published on MBIE's website.   

Contracting, reporting, and monitoring

Contracting

Successful applicants will enter into a funding contract (see key documents section above for the template) with MBIE, subject to any special conditions being met.

Payments

The contract holder must manage the approved funding to ensure delivery of the contracted project. Subject to specific contract conditions, funding will be provided in equal, 6-monthly instalments, with the first instalment paid on the next available payment date after the contract has been signed by both parties.

All funding will be paid in NZ dollars to New Zealand-based bank accounts (no international fund transfers).  Any foreign currency transactions will be the responsibility of the New Zealand research organisation(s).  

Reporting and monitoring 

Successful applicants will need to provide annual reports and a final report in Pītau. Reporting information will be provided to successful applicants.

Annual Report

The Annual Report will include progress against the objectives and KPIs identified in the work programme and details of any emerging risks and what is being done to address them.

Final Report

Required at the end of the project and will include commentary on the overall project outcomes, including key achievements, the steps taken and, where applicable, the changes made to your approach.