The European Interest Group (EIG) CONCERT-Japan (Connecting and Coordinating European Research and Technology Development with Japan) announces the opening of its 6th joint call for proposals on the theme of Smart Water Management for Sustainable Society. 

The organisers welcome proposals from interested researchers to contribute solutions to the challenge of water sustainability.

Call for Proposals is open until Friday, 14 June 2019.

The “Smart Water Management for Sustainable Society” call is open to public and private Research, Technology and Development (RTD) entities, higher education institutions and non-university research organisations based in Japan and several European countries, including Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Turkey.

The following national and/or regional funding organisations* have agreed to participate in this joint call:

• Bulgaria: Bulgarian National Science Fund (BNSF)
• Czech Republic: Czech Academy of Sciences (CAS), Ministry of Education, Sports, Youth and Science (MEYS)
• France: National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS)
• Germany: Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
• Japan: Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST)
• Lithuania: Agency for Science, Innovation & Technology (MITA)
• Poland: National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR)
• Slovakia: Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAS)
• Turkey: The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK)

Requirements: Each project consortium should include at least one partner based in Japan, and two or more partners based in different European countries participating in the call.

Research projects with an innovative dimension will be funded for a period of three years in the field of water resource management. The research projects are expected to have mobility and networking dimensions apart from the core research component.

Given the critical need globally for developing novel innovative and sustainable solutions to water management challenges capable of withstanding both rapid natural and social change, EIG CONCERT-Japan is hopeful that this call can support research teams from Europe and Japan to collaboratively explore new areas of smart water management, which will ultimately stimulate practical solutions in the area of water sustainability.

Dr. Furumai, Board Member of the IWA and currently Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST)’s Program Officer of this call stressed the value of fostering research collaboration between European countries and Japan to tackle the Sustainable Development Goals. The research scope of this call tackles the SDGs, including, but not limited to, Goal 6 “Clean Water and Sanitation”, Goal 9 “Industry, Innovation and Infrastructures”, Goal 11 “Sustainable Cities and Communities” and Goal 17 “Partnership for the Goals”.

• Access the call documents here.
• View the guidelines here.
• Further information on the Call on Smart Water Management for Sustainable Society here.
• For more information on the EIG CONCERT-Japan, feel free to contact the Acting Joint Call Secretariat at concert@jst.go.jp.

About EIG CONCERT-Japan

EIG CONCERT-Japan is an international and multilateral joint funding initiative founded to support and enhance cooperation in science, technology and innovation (STI) research between European countries and Japan. Inclusive and flexible in nature, EIG CONCERT-Japan supports diverse types of collaboration to advance impactful research while simultaneously fostering meaningful international exchange between research communities.

* Specific Information and Annexes for Countries > http://concert-japan.eu/spip.php?article70