ArCS Arctic Challenge for Sustainability Project

Capacity Building

Application Guidelines of the Program for Middle- and Long-Term Visits for 2019

1. Purpose

The aim of the Arctic Challenge for Sustainability (ArCS) Project* is to train young researchers and practitioners actively participating in international discussions on Arctic-related issues and consequently promote international partnerships. The program for middle- and long-term overseas visits dispatches outstanding Japan-based young researchers to overseas research institutions focusing on the Arctic studies, enabling them to deepen their expertise, broaden their perspectives, and acquire relevant skills and knowledge. It also aims to communicate the findings with the Arctic community and foster a strong research network across industry, academia, and Japanese government.

* The Arctic-focused research project called Arcs is a national flagship program funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology. The National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR), Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), and Hokkaido University are key players in this project and will continue to perform their roles for four-and-a-half years between September 2015 and March 2020. The project aims to acquire a holistic understanding of the changes taking place in the Arctic realm and their multi-faceted impact on the planet; to identify the driving mechanisms behind these changes and recognize their impending socio-economic impacts under future scenarios; and to convey the information gleaned from these studies and potential solutions to Arctic-related issues to domestic and overseas stakeholders alike.

2. Framework

(1) Target fields

Research areas focused on the Arctic (engineering, agriculture, medicine, natural science, social science, etc.)

(2) Examples of eligible projects

・ A project consisting of a combination of different types of research activities, including attendance to an international conference and summer course on Arctic topics (e.g. Arctic Science Summit Week, ASSW) and an Arctic-involved research institution visits for exchanging ideas and information within a period between two weeks and a month.

・ A project where participants conduct a field study in the Arctic and visit laboratories of co-researchers to analyze data and have discussions during the visit, lasting between one and three months.

・ A project where participants set up a new research group and international collaborative research and conduct comparative studies in different Arctic areas that aims at implementing research activities in novel fields. This visit lasts for several to ten months.

(3) Period of visits

In principle, the visits may last between 2 weeks and ten months. Since the timing when the visits can start differs depending on the recruitment period, please refer to "Section 6. Application procedure under (2) the application period" for more detail.

3. Screening

(1) Eligible candidates: those who satisfy all the following conditions at the time of application and during the program

①Status (any one of the following)
・ A researcher who belongs to a Japanese University, a Japanese academic institution, etc.
・ A masters/doctoral student of a Japanese University
・ A practitioner who belongs to a Japanese company, a Japanese governmental agency, an NPO, etc. (including a self-employed individual, such as a freelance journalist)

②Age
In principle, under 40 years old

③Nationality
Any nationality

(2) The number of candidates: multiple

(3) Other considerations

①If the applicant is a practitioner or a researcher of the Arcs project for the promotion of international collaborative research
A practitioner or a researcher of the ArCS project for the promotion of international collaborative research can apply for the program but their priority may be lowered at the time of assessment depending on the content of the application.
●Examples of lowered priority
・ Field research that is implemented in any of the ArCS's themes
・ Participation in a conference held for the presentation of research results of any of the ArCS's themes.

②If an applicant has been chosen/sent by the program in the past
Those who have been chosen/sent by the program in the past can apply again. It does not affect the application whether or not the research content is related to the previous one. Incidentally, the priority may be lowered at the time of assessment from the perspective of equal opportunity, depending on the total period of the previous and current visit.

③A visit for learning a language as the main purpose is not accepted.

4. Host institutions

Universities and research institutions for Arctic studies. Please specify the institutions the applicant wishes to visit when applying for the program. Further, applications exclusively for attending international conferences or courses are not accepted for middle- and long-term visits.

5. Host researchers

Host researchers are those who belong to the institutions visited and are responsible for hosting the visiting researchers. An applicant specifies a host researcher when applying for the program and shall submit a summary of the host researcher's academic profile and achievements, etc. when applying (open format).
When applying, please ensure that you have obtained the host researcher's consent for hosting, including your research plan.

6. Application procedures

(1) Application forms
Please submit a copy of following documents from ① to ⑧. If the applicant is an employee by a certain employment budget, please confirm your full-time work obligations before applying for the program.

Application form (Word)
②A degree certificate or a certificate of student status at graduate school (only for those with a university graduate certificate or a student at a graduate school)
③A certificate of employment (open format)
*only for applicable persons
④A copy of the document that shows the status of residence (resident card, alien registration card, etc.)
*only for those who have foreign nationality
Written consent of the host (Word)(consent is required from the host researcher)
⑥A summary of the academic profile and achievements of the host researcher (open format)
A road map for a research plan (Word)
A budget plan (Excel)

(2) Period of application

①First recruiting round
Recruitment period: from Tuesday, January 22 to Thursday, February 28, 2019
Starting period of visits: from late-April 2019 to mid-February 2020
*In principle, the researchers are expected to return to Japan by the end of February 2020.

②Second recruiting round
Recruitment period: from Tuesday, May 21 to Thursday, June 27, 2019
Starting period for visits: from early-September 2019 to mid-February 2020
*In principle, the researchers are expected to return to Japan by the end of February 2020.

(3) An application procedure

Please send a complete set of application documents to the following address by using delivery certified mail or registered mail. Please also send the set of application documents converted into a PDF file (seal stamp is not required) to the following e-mail address. Both hard and soft copy of application forms must be received by the deadline shown above.

c/o the person in charge of the ArCS Program for Overseas Visits by Young Researchers Arctic Research Center, Hokkaido University
2F North Campus Integrated Research Center (the Frontier Research Center for Advanced Material and Life Science Building)
Nishi 11-chome, Kita 21 Jo, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 〒001-0021
E-mail: arc_capabil@arc.hokudai.ac.jp

*The application can be written in English but communication with the officer will be made mostly in Japanese.

7. Assessment and decision

The applications will be evaluated by the working group of the program for overseas visits for young researchers, and Hokkaido University will decide on the successful candidates for the program based on the results of the assessment. The results will be informed by letter to the contact address in the application approximately a month after the end of the application period.
Please note that applicants may be asked to answer questions by the assessors regarding the content of the applications or requested for improving a planned-activities or budget during the assessments.

8. Assessment criteria

The following criteria are used for assessment.

(1) Requirements (compatibility with the application criteria)

Whether conditions such as the eligible fields of study, the status, and the period of the visit meet the requirement.

(2) Evaluation criteria

①The logic of the research plan; its scientific and social significance

Whether the purpose and plan of the research are 1) consistent with the goal of the ArCS project, 2) written logically and clearly, and 3) significant both socially and scientifically

②Consistency between the feasibility of the research plan and content of the visit (such as the institutions to visit and period of the visits)

③Preparation, contact status, the ability to communicate
Whether the applicant has the preparedness that reflects his/her research experience, and has sufficient communication skills for conducting research in visiting place (the applicant is eligible for gaining extra points if he/she is qualified for language tests)

④Previous achievements
Whether the applicant has the ability and experience to conduct research, and successfully produced actual results based on the research

⑤Overall evaluation
The applicant's motivation and enthusiasm will be considered from the entire application documents for making an overall assessment.

Whether 1) the research plan is specific, 2) the content of the visits is appropriate for implementation of the plan, and 3) there is consistency between the research plan and road map, and budget plan

This program is also available for foreign researchers and students who are based in Japanese universities or research institutions, but in the case of foreign nationals, the applicants are also evaluated from perspectives such as whether they can contribute to the promotion of Japan's Arctic studies by the overseas visits, and the application is not intended for a temporary return to his/her home country.

9. Process after selected

Procedures until visiting the host are described as follows. Selected applicants must begin the necessary procedures through communication from the person in charge of the ArCS Program for Overseas Visits by Young Researchers of the Hokkaido University.

(1) Orientation

All successfully selected applicants receive an orientation based on the aim of the program, the assessors' comments on the research plan, and logistic arrangement (including the administrative procedures) through a video conference or a face-to-face meeting.

(2) Administrative procedures

Successful applicants will receive the mail including forms of a bank-account registration and a copy of the guidebook for the program. Please start the administrative procedures according to the guidebook.

10. Allowances

The following allowances will be paid by Hokkaido University according to the university's rules.

(1) Travel: Expenses for the round trip between the institution of the applicant and the institution the applicant
will visit; other travel costs required for the research plan (economy class flight fare)
(2) Accommodation: Expenses for accommodation will be paid according to the rules prescribed in the program.
(3) Visa application: Expenses for the application for a visa, etc. (actual cost)
(4) Miscellaneous: Other expenses that are considered as necessary for the research such as fees to participate in international conferences and summer courses as well as space charges.

*The program does not compensate salaries for participants such as post-doctoral researchers during the time joining the program.

11. Travel insurance

During joining the program, participants must take out overseas travel insurance that is prepared by Hokkaido University. The basic insurance premiums indicating below will be covered by the university.

①Death from a disability/disease
②Disabilities after injuries
③Liability
④Expenses for medical treatment/rescue

12. Personal information

Personal information in the application documents will be treated with the utmost care and used exclusively for the operations related to Hokkaido University and the ArCS project. The submitted applications will be disposed by the office after the assessments are completed.
When participants are chosen for the program, their names, institutions, research plans, and completion reports will be published.

13. Participants' obligations

(1) During the program

Participants have an obligation to focus on the research based on the research plans proposed in their applications. Furthermore, the participants who go to abroad more than a month are required to submit a monthly progress report based on the research plans to the person in charge of the personal development working group via video conference.

(2) After the program

①The obligation to submit a report
Participants have to submit a report in a prescribed format to Hokkaido University and the ArCS office within two weeks after the end of the visit. The submitted reports will be published on the ArCS website.
*Reference: The list of successful applicants for the fiscal year Heisei 29 (2017)

②The obligation to present the results
After the program, participants have to present their research results to the ArCS meetings such as an annual gathering.
Participants for the middle- and long-term visits are expected to play a primary role in planning for such meetings.
*Travel expenses for attending the meetings to present research results will be covered by Hokkaido University.

③Research cooperation obligation
Participants have to cooperate with Hokkaido University and the ArCS project surveys regarding the Arctic studies and this program.

④Participation in the information exchange community
Joining to the SNS community that are consisted of the participants is required.

14. Compliance requirements

Participants must comply with the following requirements during and after the program.

①To fulfill participants' obligations
②Not to accept other financial support that overlaps the allowances provided by the program
③Not to commit fraud in research activities
④No to receive money fraudulently
⑤No to use the research allowances fraudulently
⑥Not to act against public order and morals

If participants have violated above compliance matters or if they have been judged to fall under any of the following items by Hokkaido University, the university may take the following actions retroactively: cancel their program acceptance, suspend the allowance payment, and request the repayment of the allowances.
Selected participants have to submit a written pledge on the compliance requirements.

①The participant cannot continue his/her research due to illness.
②There is a serious problem for conducting research, and it is decided that achieving the expected goal is either impossible or extremely difficult
③A serious misstatement was found in the application documents
④The participant has been found as an unqualified person for the program
⑤The participant has been found to have committed fraud in research, fraudulently used research allowances, or acted against public order and morals in the past
⑥The participant has made unauthorized changes to the plan such as a temporary return to Japan or shortening the period of the visit
⑦The participant has failed to follow the instructions that are given by Hokkaido University in violation of the conditions indicated in the program's guidebook

15. Information

Academic information related to the Arctic studies can be viewed on the following website. Please use it as a reference when making a research plan.

You receive priority to use an office space in the International Arctic Research Center in the University of Alaska, Fairbanks reserved by the ArCS international cooperation center development for the international collaborative base if you are going to stay in the University of Alaska. Please have a contact with "16. Point of Contact" for more information. The address of the IARC as follows:

International Arctic Research Center
PO Box 757340 University of Alaska Fairbanks
Fairbanks, Alaska 99775-7340 USA

16. Contact information

c/o the person in charge of the ArCS Program for Overseas Visits by Young Researchers Arctic Research Center, Hokkaido University
2F North Campus Integrated Research Center (the Frontier Research Center for Advanced Material and Life Science Ward)
Nishi 11-chome, Kita 21 Jo, Kita-ku, Sapporo City, Hokkaido 〒001-0021 
E-Mail: arc_capabil@arc.hokudai.ac.jp