BRAIN

Call for Project Managers: Moonshot Research and Development Program for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

Posted on March 15, 2023

The Bio-Oriented Technology Research Advancement Institution (BRAIN) has opened the call for project managers to address the food loss reduction issues under the Moonshot R&D Program for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries having been carried out since FY2020. Applicants may submit proposals in accordance with the application guidelines.

1. Topics for the call

The call is to seek innovative and ambitious R&D proposals to address food loss reduction (*), aiming to adopt project managers (PMs) over humanitarian/social sciences and natural sciences. As a requirement, one or more private companies with a proactive business concept will have to participate in the research consortium. The example topics are listed below while proposals with other topics can be considered if food loss reduction issues will be fully addressed:
(i) Research to comprehensively grasp where and how the food loss emerges in macro perspectives,
(ii) Research to establish a social system to lead substantial food loss reduction with full awareness of the issue,
(iii) Research to creatively develop tasty food from "lost/wasted food",
(iv) Development of innovative technology for processed food production from "lost/wasted food"
(v) Development of innovative technology for long-term food preservation and storage

* For this call, the term "food loss" (reduction target) indicates the food and agricultural products that are produced but not consumed. They broadly include not only the food wasted throughout the food value chain but also the crops unharvested/left on the field.

2. Project period

The project period will be from FY2023 to FY2024, which might be extended to FY2029 at the longest based on the evaluation in FY2024. In addition, the project period may be changed (accelerated, decelerated or terminated) based on the annual evaluations with external experts.

3. Application period

Friday, March 3, 2023, to 12:00am on Tuesday, May 9, 2023 (Japan Standard Time)

4. Application guidelines and form

1) Application Guidelines

Note: For the application guidelines including all annexes and appendixes the Japanese version is official, and the English translation is provisional for reference purpose.

2) Proposal form

Of the above, Annex 5 is for submission and Annex 5-2 is a supporting excel file for creating tables to be pasted to Annex 5.
For some tables in the proposal, work with the Excel file first (i.e. Annex 5-2), and then copy and paste "as picture" the relevant part to the proposal form of word file (Annex 5).

Examples of descriptions and points to note are described in blue letters in the proposal form (Annex 5). When submitting, delete the blue letters and unnecessary parts and convert to PDF format. The Excel file (Annex 5-2) does not have to be submitted.

3) Explanatory notes on the call

Explanatory notes on the call for project managers for "Moonshot Research and Development Program for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries" (March 2023)【PDF : 1.3 MB】

4) Q&A

Q&A on the call for project managers for "Moonshot Research and Development Program for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries" (March 2023)【PDF : 285 KB】

5. Explanatory session of the call

An information session (only in Japanese) will be held online (Microsoft Teams) on Thursday, March 23 (15:30-17:00) while the participation is not mandatory for application.

6. Contract arrangement

BRAIN and the representative organizations (with which the adopted PMs are affiliated) should directly conclude the contracts for the projects. Refer to Annex 6 above "Procedures of the Contracts for the Moonshot Research and Development Program for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries".

Moonshot Research and Development program for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries test and research contract (draft)(Japanese Only)

Under the direction of the Program Director (PD), the adopted PM is to refine (review and embody) the contents of the project, including scenarios to achieve the MS Goal, the project plans, formation of collaborative research institutions and cooperating organizations (add or remove), and the amount and allocation of research funds.
Once the refinement is completed, the portfolio will be decided, and the consortium will be established. With the other necessities finalized, contract procedures will be completed, and then the activities under the research contract can be initiated.

Reference Information
E-learning Course on Research Ethics (Japan Society for the Promotion of Science)【External link】

7. Application submission

Application can be submitted only through "e-Rad" (the Cross-Ministerial Research and Development Management System). See Annex 4 above for the details. (No submissions will be accepted by post, delivery by hand, Fax nor E-mail.)
The candidate of PM should compile the research content of the research group and make the application.

8. Timeline (scheduled)

  • Open of this public call: Friday, March 3, 2023
  • Explanatory session (online in Japanese): Thursday, March 23, 2023
  • Deadline of the application: Tuesday, May 9, 2023, 12am (Japan Standard Time)
  • Document screening and interview: Mid to late-May 2023
  • Adoption and announcement: June 2023
  • Refinement: June to July 2023
  • Contract arrangement: August 2023
    (Note) The timeline above is subject to change.

9. Inquiries

1) BRAIN

Inquiries to BRAIN can be made only by e-mail. Do not contact the Program Director (PD) directly for the content of public call, proposals, and screening.

【Regarding this public call】
MS team, Strategic research development division, BRAIN
E-mail : seiken-moonshot[at]ml.affrc.go.jp
Please replace [at] with @.

【Regarding the contract procedure】
Research management division, BRAIN
E-mail : brain-jimu[at]ml.affrc.go.jp
Please replace [at] with @.

2) e-Rad

Contacts for the inquiries on e-Rad are as follows:
e-Rad Help desk phone number: +81-(0)3-6631-0622 (direct line)
e-Rad Help desk hours: Weekdays 9:00-18:00 (Japan Standard Time)
e-Rad Help desk inquiry:https://www.e-rad.go.jp/en/contact.html

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