Ver2. Feb 2023

NEF Commemorative Grant Fund for Capacity Building of Young Scientists (CGF)
The NEF Commemorative Grant Fund for Capacity Building of Young Scientists (CGF)
Programme is directed towards helping young scientists in the Asia-Pacific developing countries growup as world-class scientists in the fields of conservation of wildlife and ecosystem in the region. Eachproject should be implemented by a young researcher as a project scientist (PS), under the guidanceand support of a project coordinator (PC) having excellent scientific achievements, in PS’s homecountry (or target countries) or in Japan while studying in Japan.
1. Target countries
The target countries in the Asia-Pacific region include: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Fiji,Indonesia, Kiribati, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federal of),Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Samoa, Solomon
Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Vietnam.
2. Eligibility to Project Scientist (PS)The Project Scientist (PS) must1） be a national of one of the above-mentioned countries, under 40 years old, and fall under
any of the following conditions: (Qualification A) a researcher who works in a university or research institution in one of theabove-mentioned countries and has a PhD or Doctor’s degree (or having at least 3 years of
research experience and corresponding research achievements).
 (Qualification B) a student who enrolled in or a prospective applicant for admission to a doctor(PhD) course of a university in Japan.
2） be not a recipient of on-going research or publication project of the NEF nor an applicantof any other grant of the NEF, at the time of submitting application.

3. Requested conditions and roles of Project Coordinator (PC)1） For Qualification A of PS: The Project Coordinator (PC) is requested to meet all of the following
conditions:having teach and/or work experience in a Japanese university or research institution as ascientist, as a general rule,understanding the content of PS research project,supporting and collaborating with the PS throughout the project proposed, while keeping
intimate contact with not only the PS but also the CGF Management Committee (MC) andthe Secretariat of the NEF.

2） For Qualification B of PS: The Project Coordinator (PC) must be a main supervisor of the PS. Inaddition, the PC is requested to contact intimately with the CGF Management Committee (MC)and the Secretariat of the NEF.
4. Requested conditions for the project
1The research project must:1) be planned by the PS with advice/support of the PC, and be implemented by the PS as theprincipal investigator, in a field survey as well,2) in case of the Qualification A of PS, be fieldwork-based research in the above-mentioned
countries and be approved by the head of department, to which the PS belongs, and3) in case of the Qualification B of PS, be related to the doctoral dissertation and be fieldwork-based
research in one of PS’s home country (or target countries) or in Japan.
5. Eligible research fields
The research project is expected to contribute to nature conservation of the home country of PS,
focusing on living organisms, especially wildlife and ecosystem, from such standpoints as follows:・biology, especially ecology, taxonomy, and distribution and current status of wild animal and plant,
・biodiversity (i.e., species diversity, genetic diversity, and ecosystem diversity),・threatened species, alien species, and restoration of ecosystem, and/or・relationships between nature and humans (e.g., ecosystem services and sustainable use of biologicalresources).
Notes: Examples of declined research proposals:
・be focussed on development of agricultural, forestry, and/or fisheries industries,
・be difficult in handling by an individual researcher but by a large group of researchers,
・be funded by other organisations, and・be already completed in the major part of the study.
6. Duration of research funded
Basically, two years, although, for the case of Qualification B of PS, the funded duration may be
extended to maximum of three years.
7. Amount of a grant
The maximum grant size varied from 1,500,000 to 2,500,000 Japanese yen per project, dependingon the Qualification of PS as follows (as shown in Table below):
1） For Qualification A of PS:
The upper limit of research expenses per project is 1,500,000 Japanese yen. In the researchexpenses, PS's travel expenses (transportation, accommodation, food expenses, etc.) in the homecountry or target country (hereinafter referred to as "local") are included. On the other hand, PC’stravel expenses (international airfare, travel insurance, accommodation, food, local transportation
expenses, etc.) to guide and support the research project and the PC’s management expenses(approximately 5% of annual research expenses) are separately provided to PC.
2） For Qualification B of PS:
All expenses necessary for the proposed research will be sent to the PC in case of Qualification B.
For budget expenses, PS and PC should work together to fill out the ‘Budget’ in the application
form of PS. The qualification B is divided into B-1 and B-2 according to the site of fieldwork as2

follows:
Qualification B-1 (the site of fieldwork being in the above-mentioned country): The upper
limit of research expenses per project is 1,500,000 Japanese yen. On the other hand, travel
expenses (international airfare, travel insurance, accommodation, food, local transportation
expenses, etc.) for PS and PC and the PC’s management expenses (approximately 5% ofannual research expenses) are provided in addition to the research expenses.

Qualification B-2 (the site of fieldwork being in Japan): The upper limit of research expenses
per project is 1,500,000 Japanese yen. In the research expenses, travel expenses(transportation, accommodation, food expenses, etc.) in Japan of both the PS and PC areincluded. On the other hand, the PC’s management expenses (approximately 5% of annual
research expenses) are provided in addition to the research expenses.
Qualificationof PSA

B-1

B-2

Upper
limit ofresearchexpenses(Jap. Yen)
1,500,000

Local travel
expenses

Travelexpenses inJapan

Overseas travel
expenses

Management
expensesPS

Included inresearch expenses----PC-1,500,000PSPC

1,500,000PSPaidseparately
Paid
separately
Paid
separately-

Paid
separately--

Paid
separately
Paid
separately
Paid
separately
--

PC--

Paid
separately

Included inresearchexpenses
Included inresearchexpensesPaid
separately-

8. Eligible and ineligible expenses
8.1 Eligible expenses
・travel expenses for field work (e.g., transportation, accommodation, and food expenses),
・expendables necessary to field survey and analyses (e.g., sampling gear and reagent),
・minimum wages and labour costs necessary to the study, except for a routine work,・reference materials (e.g., article and book), if specifically needed,
・costs for public awareness activities, if specifically needed for the research goal, and・expenditure for returning research results to society (limited to activities closely related to theresearch project and to cases where PS is the presenter at an academic conference or workshop in
the above-mentioned countries or Japan.)
8.2 Ineligible expenses
・personal expenses for the PS nor the PC,

3

・versatile equipment (e.g., personal computer, microscope, GPS, and digital camera),・administrative expenses and overheads of institution where the PS or PC works
9. How to apply
9.1 Download the documents
The PS is requested to download the “CGF Application Form for Project Scientist (PS)”corresponding to Qualification of PS from our website(URL:https://www.nagaofoundation.or.jp/e/research/cgf.html).
The PC is requested to download the “CGF Form for Project Coordinator (PC)” corresponding toQualification of PS from the same website.
9.2 What to prepare
The PS is requested to fill in all items of the “CGF Application Form for PS” corresponding to theQualification of PS, consulting carefully with the instructions shown in the form with blue ink, incooperation with the PC.
The PC is requested to fill in the “CGF Application Form for PC,” corresponding to Qualificationof PS and to send it to the PS.
9.3 Where to submit
The PS is requested to submit a set of completed forms, i.e., “CGF Application Form for PS” and“CGF Application Form for PC,” after transformation into PDF format, to the NEF Secretariat(cgf@nagaofoundation.or.jp) by e-mail.
9.4 Application deadlines
Application deadlines for this year are twice a year: 31 July 2023 and 31 January 2024.
10. Pass-or-fail judgement
The CGF Management Committee (MC), consisting of board members of the NEF and externalexperts, has all responsibilities about pass-or-fail decision of the applications, with support of the NEF
Secretariat; there are possibilities that the MC inquires of the PC and/or PS through the Secretariat
about questionable points mentioned in the application form. The MC and the Secretariat also checkbudget plans; there are possibilities of reducing the amounts of budget requested.
The following factors are considered in the selection process:・relevance and importance to nature conservation,・originality and quality of the research,・feasibility of the research design/plan and schedule,
・rationality and effectiveness of the budget,・the PS’s research skills and experience (including his/her publications), sufficient involvement in
the proposed research,・the PC’s teach and/or research experience as the academic supervisor of PS, and・efficacy of cooperation between PS and PC.
411. Notification of results
The selection results will be announced by three months after the deadline of each occasion ofapplication, by e-mail and/or a postal letter, to each PS and PC. Also, the title and the names ofawardee of the selected projects will be announced in our website.
The NEF Secretariat informs each PS selected as the recipient and his/her PC of time schedule ofcommunication with the Secretariat, remittance process and others for smooth procedure of theresearch project.
12. Subsequent procedure for recipient PS and PC
The recipient PS, with collaboration with the PC, is requested to send, at minimum, three reports to
the Secretariat: a brief (about 1 page) report, within three months from the date of acceptance,
describing the situation of fieldwork and other activities; a progress report (several pages), including
financial report, by one month after the end of each one year; and a final report, including financial
report, by three months after completion of the research project.
The respective PS and PC (the PC only in case of Qualification B of PS) are requested, as early as
possible, to indicate the full name and details of the organisation to which remittance will be sent(including its address, telephone, fax, and e-mail), and to provide the number of bank account where
the funds can be deposited. The first year’s budget of the approved fund will be transferred by the NEF
Secretariat to PS and PC, while the remaining fund will be transferred after receipt and satisfactory
review of the progress report.
13. Contact address
Nagao Natural Environment Foundation
Mailing address: 3rd Floor, Miyano Building, 4-20-9 Midori, Sumida-ku, Tokyo 130-0021 JAPANFax: Fax: +81-3-6659-2272
Phone: +81-3-6659-2070
E-mail: cgf@nagaofoundation.or.jp
URL: https://www.nagaofoundation.or.jp/e/index.html

5