1. Purpose
With the aim of promoting joint usage and joint research in the humanities and related fields with the cooperation and participation of researchers' communities, the Institute for Research in Humanities established the Center for Pluridisciplinary Joint Research in Humanities, which commenced service as a Joint Usage and Joint Research Center in 2010. The Center is committed to producing academic findings that will contribute to realization of a harmoniously co-existing global community though pluridisciplinary research on generation, transformation, interaction, and other aspects of multiple cultures from a global perspective.
To this end, the Institute invites collaborative research projects led by researchers from outside of the Institution, as follows:
2. Qualifying research projects
The project is expected to be in line with the Institute's purpose, as described above, and to make best use of the Institute's document archives and human resources.
3. Eligibility requirements
An applicant must be a member of teaching or research staff at an academic or educational institution, such as a university, either in Japan or overseas, or a person that the Director of the Institution deems to have equivalent abilities. No distinction will be made between part-time and full-time employment status and Japanese citizenship is not a requirement.
4. Details of Joint Research Projects
- "Collaborative Research Team"
To qualify for application, a project should be aimed at conducting research that is similar in approach to previously conducted Collaborative Research Projects at the Institution. Information on projects which are currently active at the Center or the Institute can be found on the Institute's website ( http://www.zinbun.kyoto-u.ac.jp/e/ ). Details of research activities conducted by teams to date have been published annually in the Institute's bulletins, "Toyo Gakuho", "Zinbun Gakuho" (in Japanese), and "Zinbun" (in English). - Organization, leader, and members of the "Collaborative Research Team"
The named applicant should be the team leader for the project (representative of the collaborative research group), and should choose and organize an appropriate number of candidates for membership (participants in the research) of the "Collaborative Research Team". Members do not necessarily have to be employed research or teaching personnel. Students in master's programs can participate as cooperating members; however, they will not be eligible to claim for reimbursement of travel and other expenses. - Participating member from the Institute
A teaching staff member from the Institute shall participate in the project as a deputy leader with responsibility for supporting research activities and administrative operations. Before application at the request of an applicant, the Institute will recommend an appropriate teaching staff member for the deputy leader role. - "Collaborative Research Seminars" to be held
Research seminars should be held at the Institute at least five times but usually around ten times per year. - International collaborative research
As necessary, members of a team can visit overseas research institutions under ongoing cooperative relationships to engage in discussions on the topic and to conduct research investigations at such institutions. Expenses for overseas trips purely for the purpose of on-site investigation will not be reimbursed. - Duration of project
The duration of a project starting from April 2016 will be three years. However, a project could be terminated in mid-course in the event that the Collaborative Research Committee judges a team's activity status to be inappropriate based on the bulletin report on activities to date and interim results, which should be submitted at the end of each fiscal year, or on a progress report provided in a debriefing session (see 9. Reporting research results). In principle, an extension of the term will not be granted. - Publication of research results
The Institute may ask a team to deliver presentations on its research results (including interim results) in symposiums related to the Center's activities, or to publish results in the Center's publications or on its website. - Holding symposiums
When a team presents at an international symposium or other event in order to promote the research project, the Center will accept a claim for expenses. - Reporting research results
The team leader is required to submit a paper reporting on the activities and the results of the project at the end of each fiscal year (Form 5). Upon completion of the project, a final report (Form 6) must be submitted to the Center' personnel in charge of Collaborative Research. A debriefing session for the purposes of publicizing and disseminating research results is held in December of each. In principle, all Collaborative Research Teams should deliver presentations in this session. - Publication of papers
Once results are compiled and published as a collection of papers, or in other forms, they are to be submitted to the Institute. Publication expenses can be claimed.
5. Expenses
In FY2016, each team will receive an expenses budget of between 1,000,000 and 1,400,000 yen. A budget must be filed for each fiscal year. Expenses should comprise costs for holding collaborative research meetings in Japan and, as necessary, costs for international collaborative research and other activities.
In addition, the following points should be taken into consideration in designing the research project:
- The number of team members should be limited within a range that enables the project to be operated appropriately.
- Teams shall be able to be funded by other sources when conducting the research project.
- Principally, collaborative research meetings held in Japan should take place in the Joint Usage Facilities of the Center (seminar rooms, meeting rooms, and collaborative research rooms of the Institute's Main Building, or the Center for Informatics in East Asian Studies).
- Promoting international collaborative research comprises visiting overseas research institutions under ongoing cooperative relationships to engage in discussions on the topic and conducting research investigation at such institutions. Expenses for overseas trips purely for the purpose of on-site investigation will not be reimbursed.
- Expenses for honoraria can be used to pay for cooperation in the research, translation work, lectures, and other contributions.
- All items of expenses should be disbursed in accordance with Kyoto University' rules, which are guided by the rules of funding of projects by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science). In the event of a major decrease or increase of more than 30% in an expense item, the reason for the discrepancy must be reported to the Director of the Center.
6. How to apply
Application procedure
After completing Form 1 (application form), Form 2 (research design), and Form 3 (candidates for team membership), please email all three documents, together with your resume and a list of your research achievements, as file attachments to the address below. These documents must be written in either Japanese or English. Please ensure that you receive a reply email from the Center acknowledging receipt of your application. If you have not received a reply from the Center within two days of sending your application (excluding weekends and national holidays), please contact the Institute on the phone number below.
Before submitting their applications, applicants should confirm that they are permitted under the employment rules of their respective workplaces to be assigned to serve as project leaders (representatives of collaborative research teams), and should obtain informal consent from the heads of the departments or organizations to which they belong. If your project application is accepted, you will be required to submit a letter of consent (Form 4) from the head of your workplace department or organization.
Documents required for application
- Application form, Form 1
- Research design, Form 2
- Candidates for team membership, Form 3
- Consent letter, Form 4 (included in Form 1)
- Team leader's resume and list of research achievements
Application deadline
Application documents must be received on or before Wednesday 30 September 2015.
Where to apply
Joint Usage and Joint Research Center, Institute for Research in Humanities
Yoshida-honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501 JAPAN
phone +81-75-753-6902
email <project(at)zinbun.kyoto-u.ac.jp>, replacing (at) with @
7. Selection
Applications shall be screened by the Collaborative Research Committee and the Operations Committee of the Center, comprising experts and intellectuals from within and outside of the Center or Kyoto University, and representatives of related academic communities. Final decisions shall be made by the Institute's professorate.
8. Notification of selection results
Selection result will be notified to applicants by the end of December 2015.
9. Inquiries
General Affairs Division, Institute for Research in Humanities
phone +81-75-753-6902/ fax: +81-75-753-6903
email <project(at)zinbun.kyoto-u.ac.jp>, replacing (at) with @
