The International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL), with support from the U.S. Japan Foundation, seeks individuals or organizations to develop a curriculum to support the study of civil society law at Japanese universities and/or schools of law. This educational initiative will provide one grant to support the integration of a non-profit law, civil society, or civic freedoms course into the curricula of eligible universities and educational institutions. The proposed grant period is from June 1, 2025 through October 31, 2025.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis through May 10, 2025. The ceiling for this grant is $20,000 USD.

Overview

ICNL aims to provide a grant for the purpose of developing a non-profit law, civil society, or civic freedoms curriculum at a university in Japan. While some such modules are likely in existence, ICNL seeks to support additional knowledge-building around relevant international standards on non-profit regulation and civil society law. Such curriculum design would ideally expand knowledge among students, academics, future legislators, and individuals seeking to work in the non-profit space, including around appropriate regulatory mechanisms to facilitate the work of civil society.

The civil society curriculum should be publicized within the university and incorporated into actual course programming (whether as a stand-alone course or as an integral part of a pre-existing course), ideally within one year or sooner from completion of the curriculum development. This will help ensure that the curriculum is sustainable beyond the grant period, and that civic freedoms continue to be taught after the grant finishes. 

Activities

The types of activities that ICNL can support include (but are not limited to):

• The design of a course, module or full curriculum relating to non-profit law, civil society, or civic freedoms, including the plan for integration of this into the university structure;
• The preparation of a course syllabus or syllabi;
• The preparation of course materials (incl. lesson plans, lectures, discussion questions, activities, etc.);
• The translation of sample syllabi and/or course materials;
• Training for academics/professors on civil society law.

Content of Proposal

Interested applicants should submit a proposal, of no more than 4 pages in Japanese or English, addressing the following topics:              

• Describe the proposed activities, methodology, and timeline, including interim benchmarks, recognizing that activities must be completed no later than October 31, 2025.
• Describe applicant’s experience around non-profit and civil society issues, as well as curriculum development.
• If more than one person will be involved in this project, describe who will undertake different aspects of the project. ICNL reserves the right to approve or reject the use of any personnel.
• The cost proposal/line-item budget for this grant. The pricing for the cost proposal must be in USD and fully itemized. For personnel costs, please list each person to be involved in this project, the proposed day rate(s) and number of days. All other costs, if any, should be listed and explained. The proposed price should be inclusive of all taxes. ICNL expects to issue one Firm Fixed Price contract.

Eligibility Criteria

This grant is open to any law professors, academics, and/or institutions located in Japan.

Selection Criteria

Applications will be evaluated based on the following factors:

• Compliance with eligibility requirements and application procedures;
• Demonstrated commitment of applicant to promoting the study of civil society law;
• Likelihood that the proposed project will advance the study of civil society law in Japan;
• Sustainability of the proposed project beyond the grant period;
• Proposed budget and apparent value for money; and
• Inclusion of reasonable indicators to measure project success.

How to Apply

To apply for this grant, applicants must submit the following items by May 10, 2025:

• Proposal of not more than four pages, including line-item budget;
• Resume or curriculum vitae (cv) for individuals undertaking the research and writing the report; and any additional background information (e.g., website links, informational materials) as desired.

Applications should be sent to asia@icnl.org, with reference to “Japan Education Initiative” in the subject line. Application materials may be submitted in Japanese or English (with the caveat that while materials and curriculum can be in Japanese, grant management and communication with ICNL will be conducted in English). Questions related to this consultancy can be emailed to asia@icnl.org. Please note that ICNL is under no obligation to issue a grant and that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

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