Daiwa Foundation Small Grants and Awards: £2,000–£9,000 and £9,000–£18,000 for UK–Japan Projects, Closing 30 September 2026
The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation runs two open-competition schemes twice a year — Small Grants of £2,000–£9,000 for individuals and organisations in the UK or Japan, and Awards of £9,000–£18,000 for collaborative projects with both a British and a Japanese partner — with the next deadline on 30 September 2026 and results announced roughly two months later.
Daiwa Foundation Small Grants and Awards: £2,000–£9,000 and £9,000–£18,000 for UK–Japan Projects, Closing 30 September 2026
The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation funds one thing, and it funds it consistently: contact between Britain and Japan. Not contact in the abstract — a specific set of people doing a specific piece of work together, on a budget the Foundation can partly cover. Its two open-competition schemes, Daiwa Foundation Small Grants and Daiwa Foundation Awards, run on the same twice-yearly calendar, share the same exclusions, and differ mainly in scale and in whether a formal bilateral partnership sits behind the application.
The next deadline for both is 30 September 2026. Application forms for this round have been available online since June 2026. Results follow roughly two months after the deadline — the Foundation’s scheme pages state a decision by 30 November, while its main grants page describes the timing as “the end of October, early November 2026.” Either way, applicants should plan on hearing in November and should not schedule any funded activity before then.
Key Details
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Funder | The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation |
| Schemes | Daiwa Foundation Small Grants; Daiwa Foundation Awards |
| Small Grants amount | £2,000–£9,000 (typical award £3,000–£4,000) |
| Awards amount | £9,000–£18,000 (average award around £9,000) |
| Next deadline | 30 September 2026 |
| Other annual deadline | 31 March |
| Decision | Roughly two months after the deadline; November 2026 for this round |
| Who can apply (Small Grants) | Individuals, societies, associations or other bodies in the UK or Japan |
| Who can apply (Awards) | Projects with both a British and a Japanese partner, preferably institutional |
| Application route | Online forms linked from the Foundation’s grants pages |
| Advice contact | [email protected] |
| Official page | https://dajf.org.uk/daiwa-foundation-small-grants-and-awards |
What the Two Schemes Actually Fund
Small Grants are the Foundation’s broadest instrument. Grants of £2,000–£9,000 go to individuals, societies, associations or other bodies in the UK or Japan “to promote and support interaction between the two countries.” The Foundation states that Small Grants can cover all fields of activity, naming educational and grassroots exchanges, research travel, the organisation of conferences, exhibitions, and other projects and events that meet that broad objective.
The number that matters most here is not the ceiling. The Foundation is explicit that in order to fund as many applications as possible on a limited budget, it “typically award[s] in the region of £3,000 to £4,000 to successful Small Grant applications.” A request pitched at £9,000 is not forbidden, but an applicant who builds a project that only works at £9,000 is building a project that most likely will not happen. Design the work so a £3,500 contribution is genuinely useful.
Awards are the larger, more structured scheme: £9,000–£18,000 for collaborative projects that “enable British and Japanese partners to work together in the context of an institutional relationship.” The Foundation lists academic, professional, arts, cultural, scientific and educational fields, and names the kinds of institutions it has in mind — museums and art galleries, theatres and performing arts groups, schools and universities, and grassroots and professional bodies. Its stated aim is to encourage the development and sustainability of UK–Japan partnerships between such organisations.
The same budget discipline applies at the larger scale. The Foundation says it typically awards an average of £9,000 to successful Award applications — the bottom of the published range, not the middle. Both schemes carry the same framing: the money “rarely covers an application’s budget in full, but is meant to be a ‘contribution’ to the proposed project.”
Across both schemes the Foundation describes its subject coverage broadly: the visual and performing arts, the humanities, the social sciences, science and engineering, mathematics, business studies, and education, including schools and universities as well as grassroots and professional groups. It also states that it welcomes applications that foster gender equality and contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Which Scheme Fits You
The dividing line is the partnership, not just the money.
Apply for a Small Grant if you are an individual researcher who needs to get to an archive, a collection or a field site in the other country; a small society running an exchange visit; an organiser covering the travel and venue costs of a conference or workshop; or a gallery, school or community group mounting an exhibition or event that brings British and Japanese participants into the same room. You do not need a formal partner institution — you need a credible plan and a demonstrable UK–Japan dimension.
Apply for an Award if two named organisations, one British and one Japanese, are doing something together and can each show what they contribute. The Foundation’s own phrasing — “preferably in the context of an institutional relationship” — signals that it wants the relationship to outlast the project. An Award application that reads like a Small Grant with a larger number attached, and a Japanese partner who appears only as a letter of support, is applying to the wrong scheme. Note the hard exclusion: any project that does not involve both a British and a Japanese partner is ineligible for an Award.
If you are genuinely on the boundary, the Foundation says it is happy to provide advice about possible applications. Write to [email protected] well before the deadline rather than guessing.
What Will Not Be Funded
The exclusions are specific, published, and worth reading before you write anything. Small Grants cannot be used for:
- general appeals
- capital expenditure, for example building refurbishment or equipment acquisition
- consumables, for example stationery or scientific supplies
- school, college or university fees
- research or study by an individual school, college or university student
- salary costs or professional fees
- commissions for works of art
- retrospective grants
- replacement of statutory funding
- commercial activities
Awards carry the same list — minus the consumables line, plus the requirement for both a British and a Japanese partner.
Two of these catch out more applicants than the rest. The first is salary costs or professional fees: you cannot pay yourself, a project coordinator, or a contracted specialist out of this grant. Budget the money against travel, accommodation, venue hire, translation and interpreting, materials that are not consumables, and the direct costs of putting people together. The second is research or study by an individual student: a PhD candidate seeking support for their own fieldwork or degree costs is not eligible, and no amount of framing changes that. Daiwa runs separate scholarship activity; the Small Grants scheme is not a student funding route.
The retrospective rule deserves its own sentence. The Foundation states plainly that it cannot fund any activity taking place before the results are announced. For the 30 September 2026 round, that means your project’s funded activity must begin after the November 2026 decision. If your exhibition opens in October 2026, this round cannot pay for it — apply to the 31 March cycle for later work instead.
Timeline for the 30 September 2026 Round
- June 2026 — application forms for the round go live online.
- Now through late September 2026 — draft, confirm partners and costs, request advice from [email protected] if needed. For Awards in particular, the Foundation encourages applicants to submit as early as possible rather than on the final day.
- 30 September 2026 — deadline for both Small Grants and Awards.
- October–November 2026 — trustee consideration. The main grants page indicates a decision by end of October or early November; the individual scheme pages state 30 November.
- From the announcement onward — the earliest date at which funded activity may take place.
- 31 March 2027 — the following deadline, if this round is not the right fit or you are unsuccessful.
How to Apply
Applications are made through the Foundation’s online forms, linked from the grants pages and hosted on its application portal. There is one instruction that trips people up every round: choose the correct form. If you are applying from Japan, use the Japanese-language Small Grants form (奨励助成申請). If you are applying from the UK, use the English Small Grants form. Awards have their own form. The Foundation also publishes application notes alongside the forms; read them before you start typing, because the forms are not designed to be filled in from memory in one sitting.
Practically, assemble the following before you open the form:
- A clear one-paragraph description of the project that states what will happen, where, when and with whom. If a reader cannot picture the activity after one paragraph, rewrite it.
- A budget that separates what you are asking Daiwa for from what you have secured or requested elsewhere. Because the grant is a contribution, showing the rest of the funding picture is not optional decoration — it is the evidence that the project will happen.
- Named partners and participants, with their institutional affiliations on both sides.
- Dates that fall after the November 2026 announcement.
- A short account of the UK–Japan dimension that goes beyond geography. Two countries being involved is the entry condition, not the case.
Preparation Strategy and Reviewer Expectations
The Foundation’s trustees are choosing among many applications with a limited budget, and the published guidance tells you what they weigh.
Ask for a realistic number. The typical Small Grant is £3,000–£4,000 and the typical Award is around £9,000. Build a budget where the Daiwa contribution does identifiable work — pays for the flights, or the venue, or the interpreter — rather than one where it is a share of an undifferentiated total.
Lead with novelty. Both scheme pages say new initiatives are especially encouraged, and both say the Foundation is unlikely to fund continuing or regular events unless there is a strong reason or need, or a special occasion. If your event is annual, do not hide that. Name the anniversary, the new partner, the first-time collaboration, or the expansion that makes this iteration different — and be honest if there isn’t one, because a recurring event with no distinguishing feature is the weakest possible pitch here.
Make the exchange bidirectional. The Foundation’s language is about interaction between the two countries. A project where British participants observe Japan, or where Japanese material is displayed in Britain with no Japanese involvement, is thinner than one where people from both countries do something jointly and both sides gain.
Engage the stated priorities where they genuinely apply. Gender equality and the UN Sustainable Development Goals are explicitly welcomed. If your project touches them, say so concretely and briefly. If it doesn’t, leave it alone — bolted-on SDG language is easy to spot and adds nothing.
Show the relationship will survive the grant. For Awards especially, the objective is the development and sustainability of UK–Japan partnerships. A sentence on what happens after the money is spent — a return visit, a joint publication, a standing agreement — is worth more than another paragraph of description.
Common Mistakes
- Applying for costs on the exclusion list. Salary, fees, equipment, consumables and student fees are the recurring offenders. Rebudget rather than argue.
- Scheduling activity before the decision. The retrospective rule is absolute and is stated on every relevant page.
- Using the wrong form. UK-based and Japan-based applicants use different Small Grants forms; Awards use another.
- Treating an Award as a bigger Small Grant. Without a genuine British and Japanese partner pairing, the application is ineligible.
- Requesting the ceiling by default. £9,000 for a Small Grant or £18,000 for an Award is possible but far from typical, and a plan that collapses below that figure signals fragility.
- Leaving no room for advice. The Foundation offers guidance at [email protected]. Asking a week before the deadline is not the same as asking in August.
- Submitting on the final day. The Awards page explicitly encourages early submission.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I apply from either country? Yes for Small Grants — individuals, societies, associations or other bodies in the UK or Japan are eligible. Awards require both a British and a Japanese partner in the project itself.
Am I eligible as a PhD student funding my own fieldwork? No. Research or study by an individual school, college or university student is on the exclusion list, as are school, college or university fees.
Can the grant pay a project coordinator? No. Salary costs and professional fees are excluded from both schemes.
Can I apply to both schemes? They are separate programmes with separate forms and different requirements. If your project has a genuine institutional UK–Japan partnership and needs more than £9,000, the Award is the right route; otherwise, apply for a Small Grant. Ask [email protected] if you are unsure which fits.
Will I get feedback if I’m unsuccessful? No. The Foundation states that all applicants are notified by letter, that the decision of the Trustees is final, and that it is unable to discuss unsuccessful applications.
Is there another chance if I miss 30 September? Yes — there are two deadlines every year, 31 March and 30 September, with results announced two months later in each case.
How transparent is the Foundation about who it funds? Unusually so. It publishes a press release and a list of funded projects after each round — including the March 2026 round — and it publishes its grants data in line with the 360Giving open data standard. Reading the most recent funded list is the single best calibration exercise available to an applicant.
Official Links
- Daiwa Foundation Small Grants and Awards overview: https://dajf.org.uk/daiwa-foundation-small-grants-and-awards
- Daiwa Foundation Small Grants: https://dajf.org.uk/daiwa-foundation-small-grants-and-awards/daiwa-foundation-small-grants
- Daiwa Foundation Awards: https://dajf.org.uk/daiwa-foundation-small-grants-and-awards/daiwa-foundation-awards
- Application portal: https://dajf.benefactorcloud.co.uk/Apply/Programmes
- Grants enquiries: [email protected]
Next Steps
If your project involves Britain and Japan, starts after November 2026, and needs a few thousand pounds to become real, this is one of the least bureaucratic routes to it. Do three things this month. Read the published list of projects funded in the March 2026 round and locate the ones nearest your own in scale and type. Rebuild your budget around a £3,000–£4,000 contribution for a Small Grant, or around £9,000 for an Award, and check every line against the exclusion list. Then email [email protected] with a two-paragraph summary and ask whether you are aiming at the right scheme — while there is still time to change your answer before 30 September.