Apply for NEF Research Grant Program

Deadline Date: October 14, 2025 Add to Google Calendar

 Donor Name: Nagao Natural Environment Foundation (NEF)

 Grant Size: $1000 to $10,000

 Category: Grant

 Reference URL:https://www.nagaofoundation.or.jp/e/research/research.html

The Nagao Natural Environment Foundation is seeking applications for its Research Grant Program to support academic and scientific research aimed at understanding nature, ecosystems, and biodiversity and contributing to conservation actions based on scientific data in developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

The programme is designed to enhance the research capability of young researchers in that region, and applicants are limited to individual researchers who prepare proposals, not to groups or organisations. They expect their applicants to take this opportunity to improve their skills and knowledge and enrich their experience through their research work.

Funding Information

• The maximum grant size in this programme is one million (1,000,000) Japanese yen per project, with a maximum duration of two years.

Role and Responsibilities

• If granted, recipients should:
  • conduct the approved research project following ethical standards as a responsible scientist;
  • submit a detailed progress report, with photographs taken and a financial report, within one year after implementation of the approved research project; and
  • submit a detailed final report, with photographs taken and a financial report, upon completion of the approved research project.

Eligible Projects

• A proposed research project must:
  • be scientific research contributing to the nature conservation of the country where the applicant currently works or studies;
  • focus primarily on living organisms;
  • be carried out in the country where the applicant currently works or studies;
  • involve fieldwork for data collection;
  • be the applicant’s own research work (team project is ineligible);
  • achieve its objective(s) and submit interim and/or final reports within a scheduled project period of not less than one year and not more than two years; and
  • be exclusively funded by the NEF Research Grant Programme.

Eligible Countries

• The target countries in the Asia-Pacific region include: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Fiji, Indonesia, Kiribati, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Vietnam.

Eligibility Criteria

• An applicant must:
  • be a national of developing country in the Asia-Pacific region;
  • be either of the following:
    • a researcher with at least three years of research experience and sufficient achievement in their field of study, working full-time at a research institution or relevant organisation in one of the countries listed, or
    • a full-time doctoral student enrolled at a research institution in one of the countries listed;
  • have research experience and skills sufficient to conduct and manage the proposed research project;
  • be able to communicate in English;
  • not have another application to the NEF;
  • not have another ongoing NEF-funded project at the time of application submission; and
  • not have had another NEF-funded project for the past two years.

Evaluation Criteria

• The NEF Secretariat will check applications to ensure all the requirements are fulfilled. Only qualified applications will be examined by the NEF Selection Committee based on the following criteria:
  • relevance and importance to nature conservation;
  • clearness of objectives and research questions/hypotheses;
  • originality and quality of the proposed research;
  • appropriateness and concreteness of methodology to achieve objectives and answer research questions/hypotheses;
  • feasibility of the research design and schedule.

Application Requirements

• Applicants are required to submit the five documents below:
  • two copies of a completed Application form, one in MS Word and the other in PDF;
  • a filled budget and timetable in excel;
  • a filled applicant’s background; and
  • one recommendation letter.