Research Grant Program 2023 *July 31 deadline
Toward the Future
Where All People Live with Hope

The Univers Foundation was established in 1990 as a foundation that contributes to the enhancement of elderly welfare. However, in this day and age of fewer children, more older people, and a declining population, people of all ages and positions, not only the elderly, are facing social isolation and living difficulties; the COVID-19 pandemic makes that situation even more difficult. We conduct the grant program hoping to be of assistance to the creation of a future in which everyone can live a meaningful life with hope, by supporting research that addresses and solves these complex contemporary issues.

We expect research in various fields of healthcare, social welfare and social policy, and study not bound by conventional frameworks such as cross disciplinary issues and research of on-site practice, especially the challenges addressed by young researchers. We are looking forward to receiving your applications.

Download Application

Applications for the Research Grant Program were closed for the year 2023.

Research Categories

1) Mind and health

Supports research using a psychosocial approach to help all ages to stay physically and mentally healthy.

Possible research topics:

  1. Clinical psychology
  2. Lifelong developmental psychology/Elderly psychology
  3. Dementia
  4. Developmental disorders
  5. Mood disorders
  6. Dependence
  7. Schizophrenia
  8. Stress disorders
  9. Grief and loss
  10. Social rehabilitation


2) Social work practices related to social inclusion

Support practical research based on the perspective of social work that deals with people who are socially isolated by falling into the gaps of the corresponding systems while they face complicated life problems, and helps solve their problems.

Possible research topics:

  1. Support for social minorities
  2. Support for the underprivileged
  3. Rehabilitation support
  4. Prevention of abuse
  5. Long-term care and nursing
  6. Support for disaster victims
  7. Support for foreign workers, elderly, children and youth
  8. Support for school refusal, withdrawal and young carers


3) Developing a positive welfare environment for the future

Support research that prospects new welfare initiatives, such as the welfare system and mechanisms that will be needed by society in the future, and the commercialization of support services

Possible research topics:

  1. Welfare management
  2. Community-based comprehensive care system
  3. Technical innovation of care
  4. Judicial welfare and social readjustment
  5. Utilization of welfare administration and private resource
  6. Building a collaboration among different specialist categories
  7. Support system for disaster time
  8. Sustainable community development
  9. Diverse ways of working


Grant Period and Amount

The grant period is for one year, from November 2023 to October 2024.
The maximum amount of each grant is 1,000,000 yen per grantee. The actual amount of the grant shall be determined based on assessment of the proposal, including the contents and scale.

Usage of Grant

Grants should be used for personnel costs, travel expenses, equipment, commissioned surveys, rental fees, meeting expenses, research reference literature, printing expenses, correspondence expenses, supplies and others.

  • Please fill out the budget in detail along with the basis of the estimate, after carefully reviewing the list below; <List of Expense Items>; <Example of 3.1 Breakdown List for page 2 of the application form.> Please kindly specify the purpose of use so that the relationship with the research plan can be understood. You are not allowed to change any expenditure budget after your research project is selected.
  • You are required to submit all receipts for expenses or a billing statement to the Foundation with the final report.

List of Expense Items

Personnel CostsReward for the cooperation of researchers outside of the applicant’s research group, and adjunct workers, including personnel involved in document rearranging and data counting.
*DO NOT include wages for the applicant and research group members.
Travel ExpensesDomestic and international travel expenses, activity costs, accommodation costs, meals, transportation and insurance fees.
*DO NOT include travel expenses for participating in a society, attending lectures, class or other meetings for presenting the research results.
EquipmentEquipment necessary for the study that costs more than 100,000 yen.
*DO NOT include personal computers, tablets and monitors for general usage purposes.
Commissioned SurveyExpenses of outsourcing research and questionnaire surveys and data analysis.
Rental FeesFees to rental facilities, equipment, computers and other devices.
Meeting ExpensesExpenses related to renting a room, food, snacks and beverages.
*DO NOT include expenses for hosting a training, seminar, conference or symposium.
Research Reference LiteratureExpenses for buying materials such as books, papers, etc.
Printing ExpensesCost of printing survey sheets and photocopying materials.
*DO NOT include the cost of printing papers, reports or booklets on the research results.
Correspondence ExpensesCommunication costs, postal mail and delivery fees and transfer fees.
SuppliesStationary supplies, supplies related to COVID-19 countermeasures and other equipment supplies less than 100,000 yen.
OthersExpenses for translation and other costs which are not listed above.
*DO NOT include any overhead costs by your research institution or organization, entrance fees to participate in a society or a lecture class, article processing charges for research result papers, English proofreading fees and costs for ethical reviews.

Example of 3.1. Breakdown List for page 2 of the application form

3.1. Breakdown List

ItemAmount (JPY)Main Purpose
1Personnel Cost60,000●Preparation of research materials (900 x 20h x 2 part-time students = JPY36,000).
●Recording data at a research site (900 x 22h x 1 part-time student = JPY19,800).
2Travel Expenses140,000●Local travel costs (1,000 x 20 sites x 3 people = JPY60,000).
●Travel costs (Rail Pass 14,460 x both ways x 2 trips + Accommodations 7,000 x 2 nights=JPY71,840).

8Printing Expenses180,000●Printing fees of questionnaire for townspeople (30 x 3,000 copies = JPY90,000).
●Printing fees of reports for survey collaborators (feedback) (30 x 3,000 copies =JPY90,000).
9Correspondence Expenses30,000●Specific records mail; sending and receiving interview data (280 x 2 ways x 10 cases = JPY5,600).
●Express mail; confirmation of transcribed manuscript (520 x 2 ways x 20 cases = JPY20,800).

Please specify the unit price and payee.


Qualification

(Must meet both qualifications below)

  1. Be engaged in research activities at a university, research laboratory, research institution, educational organization, or be working in the social welfare field at a social welfare organization.
  2. Be enrolled in or graduated from a master’s/doctoral course, or hold equivalent degrees or qualifications.
    (Applicants who are enrolled in a master’s course, or are in their first half of a doctoral course must have an advisor be one of the research members when applying. The advisor’s name should be listed in the research members list on page 8 of the application form. An advisor’s assistance is not required for applicants in the second half of a doctoral course.)
  • In order for more researchers to share the grant, those who have received a grant from the Univers Foundation in the past are not eligible.

Application Procedure

Please fill out the application and send it to our office.
(Applications can only be accepted by postal mail and courier services. Neither bringing it in to the foundation office, nor sending by email or fax will be accepted.)

In order to avoid lost mail, confirmation service is recommended.
Any submitted documents will not be returned. You are responsible for making your own copies.

  • Applications must be printed on one side only and must not be stapled.
Note
  1. Regarding the applicant’s guarantee form (page 8 of the application form), we will accept only the authorized signature of the immediate manager of your organization/section. A supervisor’s signature shall not be accepted.
  2. Applications will not be accepted if the applicant and the authorized signatory of the organization is the same person.
  3. Please submit the application with the approval of your organization’s Ethics Committee. If you cannot apply to the Ethics Committee without the source of funding, you can apply for the grant program and clearly state that fact. However, bank remittance of grant funds shall be made after obtaining approval. Therefore, please kindly be prepared in advance so that you can apply to the Ethics Committee immediately in due course.
  4. Grants will be remitted to your bank account, which must be in the applicant’s name. We can arrange the remittance to your organization’s bank account only if they do not take an overhead fee or any indirect costs related to managing the funds.
  5. Please specify the countermeasures for the COVID-19 disease (pages 4-5 of the application form).
  6. Attachments other than the application form will not be subject to review. Please fill in the necessary information in the application form.

Application Deadline

Monday, July 31, 2023
(All applications must be received by no later than 5:00 p.m. Japan time.)

Selection Procedure

Grantees will be selected by our selection committee and approved by the Board of Directors. The results will be provided to each applicant. The Foundation will also officially announce the titles of the grant-awarded research projects. The Foundation will not reply to any inquiries regarding the screening process, reasons for the selection, nor application reviews.

Announcement of Application Result

November 1, 2023
(Bank remittance of grants will be completed by late November).

Grantee’s Commitments

  1. Those who receive a Univers research grant must submit a report on the research results by the end of March, 2025 after the grant period is over. Detailed information will be sent later. Submitted research reports will be published in the “Univers Foundation Research Grant Bulletin.”
  2. When the research results are to be announced publicly, grantees must submit a copy to the Foundation. Notation of “research funded by the Univers Foundation” shall be described in research publications.
  3. To best fulfill the completion of the grant, we will contact you for a follow-up survey 3-5 years after completion of the grant period. We would like an update on the reporting, publication, or presentation of your research results, as well as the development or possibility of a new or related study. Detailed information will be sent later.

Regarding Personal Information Protection

  1. Personal information received on applicants shall be only used for screening procedures such as selecting grantees and mailing application results letters.
  2. The Univers Foundation will officially announce grantees’ names, position, organization, research project titles and research contents to the public and academic information databases.


THE UNIVERS FOUNDATION

YPC Building 5F., 2-14-8 Yotsuya, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0004
Tel. 03-3350-9002 Fax. 03-3350-9008
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