K. MATSUSHITA FOUNDATION

2024 Research Grant - Application Guidelines Areasmorialof research:Humanities
and social science・￥¥/¥¥Foundation
is to(I) Targeted Research
1. Areas of Research
Research activities in the areas of humanities and social science which are expected tocontribute to achieving the goal of the Foundation, by- promoting “international understanding” by solving various issues which exist between
Japan and other nations- promoting “co-existence of nature and mankind”
The research is required to have global perspective and be based on high social and academic
demand. Pioneering researches based on creative ideas are highly welcome.

(Ineligible researches)- Researches aimed at making profit- Researches which are considered to be actually completed.
- Researches which require a huge amount of research expenses- Researches whose period is less than 6 months in the grant period

2. Eligibility and Conditions- Students enrolled in a doctoral program and researchers within five years after finishing adoctoral program (Eligibility is determined according to the position at the time ofapplication)- Individuals who have not previously received any grants from the Foundation- Individuals who reside in Japan- Individuals who do not belong to graduate schools, organizations, research institutions, etc.
located outside Japan.

(II)Outline of the Grants

1. Number of Grant Recipients
Approx. 50 students and researchers
2. Amount of Grants- Maximum amount of grant per student/researcher is 500,000 yen.
- The amount of each grant will be assessed by the content of research plan and the rationalityof its budget.
3. Term of Grants- Term of grants shall be one year from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025.
4. Use of Grants- Grants are to be used for expenses necessary in carrying out research plans, and expenses
shall be itemized in accordance with the List of Items of Expenditures in a separate page.
The amount requested and the itemized budget should always match with each other.
5. Main Duties of the Recipients- The recipient of the grant shall submit a pledge to the Foundation at the start of the program,and within 1 months after the end of the grant period, he / she shall submit a report on theprocess and the results of the research as well as an accounting report. In case valid reports
are not submitted within 6 months after the grant period, we request the recipient to returnfull amount of grant he / she had received.
- In case the expense exceeds 10,000 yen, receipts should be attached to the financial report.
Receipts for expenses less than 10,000 yen shall be saved by the end of the grant period incase that the Foundation request to submit.
- Surplus must be returned to the Foundation.
- Please note that the process and results of the research will be made public through thewebsite of the Foundation.

(III)

Selection method and Criteria for screening

1. Screening method- Careful and fair screening will be conducted by the screening committee in mid-July, 2024.
2. Notice of the result- The results will be informed the applicants by e-mail by the beginning of August, 2024. Please
understand that the Foundation will not respond to any inquiries regarding the results.

3. Criteria of Screening
In screening, we focus on researches in the areas of humanities and social science which meetthe following criteria:
1)

Research which is in line with the objectives and activities of the Foundation2)

Research which has high social and academic importance3)

Research which is creative and pioneering

4)

Research which will be carried out by highly motivated and competent researchers andwith excellent research plans and setups

5)

Research with rational and appropriate budget plan.

(IV)

Application Procedures

1. Download the application forms
Please download the application forms from our website.
<Research Grant Application Form >https://matsushita-konosuke-zaidan.or.jp/en/works/research/data/2024_Application_NAME.docx

2. Fill in the application forms
Please fill in the forms in either Japanese or English.
Notes:
Application Form:

Fill in each item on the application form.
Provide an e-mail address to be reached during the screening period(July - September). This page needs signature or seal of the applicant.

Recommendation:

The letter of recommendation needs signature or seal of therecommender. English recommendations can be written in a different
format (including letter format), but must not exceed two pages.

Outline of Research: Explain the outline of the research.
Try to write in a way which can be easily understood by the membersof the screening committee with different areas of expertise.
Please use the designated font size and do not add pages.
Summary of themaster/doctor thesis: Fill in a summary of your master or doctor thesis. In case you do nothave a master thesis, provide a summary of an alternative article.
Please use the designated font size and do not add pages.

Budget:【Details of Expenditure】should include only expenses from the
grant of K. Matsushita Foundation. The total amount should beequivalent with the “amount of grant requested” indicated on theApplication Form. Please clearly explain the purpose of expenditureand the background of calculation in relation to the research plan.
Please refer to the "Items of Expenditures" on the last page of theguidelines in filling in this form.

Academic Backgroundand Recommender:

Please provide the name of a recommender who is a specialist in yourresearch theme. The recommender should be a person who writes aletter of recommendation.

3. Submit (upload) the application forms
1) After signed or sealed, please prepare the above documents converted to a PDF file.
When generating a PDF file, please set name of the file as:
2024_Application_Name.pdf (Example: “2024_Application_Taro Matsushita.pdf”)
2) Access the web form “Research Grant Program Application Form” page from the URL onour website.
3) On the page, please enter the following information;[Name of Applicant][Age][Nationality][e-mail address][Classification][Current Institution][Title of Research] and [Subtitle of Research (if any)][Amount of Grant Requested]
and then upload the PDF file (“Attachment of Research Grant Application Form”).
Please ensure this procedure finishes no later than May 10, 2024
4) After submitting the file, you will receive an email informing your “Applicant Number”.
*As for documents that require a signature or seal (i.e., “Application Form” and“Recommendation”), please make scanned data of the signed or sealed documents.
* “Recommendation” letter can be sent by post (as “ordinary registered mail” or “simplifiedregistration”) in case the recommender prefers to send it directly to the Foundation. In thatcase, please mention on the Recommendation page that the letter of the recommendation will

be send separately from the recommender.
* Notes
Following documents are not acceptable. (will be excluded from the screening process)-Documents with added pages-Documents in a different format instead of the one specified, or those written in smaller fontthan the designated font size.
- Documents whose contents are not shown properly when printed out in A-4 size
- Documents in which necessary items are not filled in.
As the application documents will not be returned once submitted, please make sure to save a
copy before submission.
If you are selected as a recipient of this grant, you cannot receive any other scholarship orgrant offered by K. Matsushita Foundation during you receive this grant.
4. Application period:
9:00 a.m. on April 1 (Mon) ~ 5:30 p.m. on May 10 (Fri), 2024
*The “Research Grant Program Application Form” page will automatically close at 5:30 p.m.
on May 10.
*Application documents sent by E-mail are not acceptable. It will be automatically excluded
from the screening process.
5. Inquiries for Application:
If you have any inquiries about application, please ask through the “Inquiry” page on ourwebsite. Please indicate your Reference Number if you have already acquired it.
The Foundation office will be closed from April 27 to May 6, 2024 for holidays. As ourresponse may delay due to rush of inquires after the holidays, please contact us before theholidays if possible.

K. MATSUSHITA FOUNDATION
Kyoto Officend2 floor, PHP Building, 11 Kitanouchi-cho, Nishikujo,Minami-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto 601-8411, Japan

Items of Expenditure
Items(1) Personnel
Reward / payment
to cooperators
Reward / payment
to assistants(2) Travel
Domestic
Overseas(3) Survey / Equipment
Contract survey
Computer software

Explanations
Rewards to cooperators for their advice and cooperation.
Rewards to staff temporarily employed to assist your research
including drivers, those engaged in data input work, etc.
Transportation and accommodation expenses required for a trip (forsurvey, attendance to conference, etc.) which exceeds 100 km oneway.
Miscellaneous expenses including overseas travel insurance.
Expenses incurred by contracting questionnaire surveys, datacollection, etc.
Expenses including development of computer programs, dataprocessing, computer rental fee and program rental fee.

(4) Documents & copying
Expenses for purchasing books and thesis, etc.
Purchase of books,
Expenses for purchasing recording media such as films, tapes, andMaterials, etc.
disks.
Expenses for printing questionnaire and data collection forms, etc.
Printing / Copying
and for copying books.
(5) Conference
Rent for a venue
Rental fee of the space used for conferences.
Miscellaneous(6) Communication /Transportation(7) Consumables(8) Miscellaneous

Refreshments and lunch served at the conference, communication
expenses, etc.
Transportation expenses required for research activities (trips
within 100 km one way), communication expenses and expenses
for transporting equipment
Office supplies and consumables.
Expenses which are not included in any of the above items.
Translation expenses, proofreading expenses, stenography
expenses, gifts to survey respondents, gifts to organizations
surveyed, maintenance expenses for equipment and fixtures,
attendance fee to conferences and other expenses.

The following expenses are not accepted:- Personnel / living expenses and tuition fee of a researcher- General operating expenses required for managing research organizations- Expenses required for printing reports, issuing publications, holding symposiums, etc.
-Expenses to attend an academic conference held outside the country of residence- Expenses to purchase equipment including personal computers, photo equipment, visualequipment, copying equipment and printing equipment, etc.
*Grant will be transmitted to the bank account of the recipient. It cannot be transmitted
to the institution, or universities the recipient belongs to.