Daiwa Foundation Small Grants and Awards: 2027 Cycle
The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation has announced its next Small Grants and Awards round, with a 31 March 2027 deadline and application forms expected online from late November 2026. Small Grants offer £2,000–£9,000 and Awards £9,000–£18,000 for UK–Japan exchange and collaboration.
Daiwa Foundation Small Grants and Awards: 2027 Cycle
The next application deadline is 31 March 2027. The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation has announced that applications for its next Small Grants and Awards round will be available online from late November 2026. The deadline is future, but the forms are not yet available. Applicants should use the Foundation’s official pages for the eventual forms and current application notes; the guidance below summarizes the scheme rules currently published by the Foundation.
The Foundation funds exchange and collaboration between the United Kingdom and Japan through two open-competition schemes: Daiwa Foundation Small Grants and Daiwa Foundation Awards. Both programmes are listed for the 31 March 2027 round. The prior round closed on 30 September 2026; that date is included only as context. The official pages currently list the same grant ranges, core eligibility and exclusions for these programmes, but applicants should confirm the terms in the new application notes when they become available.
Upcoming 2027 round at a glance
| Item | Published information for the 2027 round |
|---|---|
| Funder | The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation |
| Programmes | Daiwa Foundation Small Grants; Daiwa Foundation Awards |
| Small Grants | £2,000–£9,000; typical awards around £3,000–£4,000 |
| Awards | £9,000–£18,000; average award around £9,000 |
| Application deadline | 31 March 2027 |
| Application forms | Expected online from late November 2026 |
| Expected decision | By the end of May or early June 2027 |
| General schedule described by the Foundation | Deadlines on 31 March and 30 September; decisions roughly two months later |
| Applicants for Small Grants | Individuals, societies, associations, or other bodies in the UK or Japan |
| Applicants for Awards | Collaborative projects involving British and Japanese partners, preferably in an institutional relationship |
| Application route | Online forms linked from the official programme pages |
| Enquiries | [email protected] |
| Official programme page | Daiwa Foundation Small Grants and Awards |
The Foundation’s current overview names 31 March 2027 as the next deadline, says forms will be available from late November 2026, and expects a decision by the end of May or early June 2027. Its individual scheme pages state 31 May 2027 as the decision date. The FAQ describes the recurring schedule as 31 March for a decision by 31 May and 30 September for a decision by 30 November. For this announced round, use the current overview and scheme pages as the controlling schedule.
Purpose and scale of the two schemes
Small Grants are available to individuals, societies, associations, or other bodies based in either the UK or Japan. The Foundation’s FAQ says applicants must be resident in the UK or Japan and demonstrate a long-term commitment to UK–Japan relations. The purpose was to promote and support interaction between the two countries. The Foundation says the scheme can cover all fields of activity and gives examples including educational and grassroots exchanges, research travel, conferences, exhibitions, and other projects and events that support UK–Japan interaction.
The listed request range was £2,000 to £9,000, but the typical award is lower than the ceiling. The Foundation says it usually awards in the region of £3,000 to £4,000 to successful Small Grant applications. It describes its funding as a contribution to the proposed project and says it rarely pays the whole project budget. For the announced round, applicants should check whether these amounts remain in force in the application notes and should explain what the Foundation’s share would pay for alongside other confirmed or anticipated resources.
Awards are intended for collaborative projects that enable British and Japanese partners to work together, preferably in an institutional relationship. The published range was £9,000 to £18,000, and the Foundation says the average successful Award is around £9,000. The scheme supports academic, professional, arts, cultural, scientific, and educational projects. The Foundation names museums and galleries, theatres and performing arts groups, schools and universities, grassroots organisations, and professional bodies as examples of partners. It seeks to encourage the development and sustainability of UK–Japan partnerships.
The practical difference is the partnership itself. A Small Grant can support an individual or organisation with a clear UK–Japan activity without requiring the formal bilateral institutional relationship expected for an Award. An Award needs meaningful involvement from both a British and a Japanese partner. The official Award guidance says any project without both partners is ineligible. A larger budget by itself did not make a project suitable for an Award.
Eligible activities and priorities
The Foundation’s published subject coverage was broad: visual and performing arts, humanities, social sciences, science and engineering, mathematics, business studies, and education. The guidance encompasses schools and universities as well as grassroots and professional groups. Across both schemes, the central test was whether the work would promote interaction, exchange, or collaboration between the UK and Japan.
New initiatives were especially encouraged. The Foundation says it is unlikely to support continuing events or activities held regularly unless there was a strong reason or need, or the activity marked a special occasion. Applicants for a later cycle should explain what is new about the work, why partners need to carry it out together, and what value the relationship may have after the funded activity ends. Those points follow the published priorities; they do not guarantee an award.
The Foundation also welcomed applications that foster gender equality and contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. These are stated priorities to address where they genuinely relate to the project. They do not replace the central requirement for a clear UK–Japan connection.
Costs and activities excluded
The currently published Small Grants guidance lists these exclusions for the announced programme:
- General appeals.
- Capital expenditure, including building refurbishment and equipment acquisition.
- Consumables such as stationery or scientific supplies.
- School, college, or university fees.
- Research or study by an individual school, college, or university student.
- Salary costs and professional fees.
- Commissions for works of art.
- Retrospective grants.
- Replacement of statutory funding.
- Commercial activities.
The Awards exclusions covered the same broad categories, except the Small Grants page separately lists consumables, and Awards added the requirement that a project involve both a British and a Japanese partner. In either scheme, the retrospective restriction matters for scheduling: the Foundation says it cannot fund activity taking place before results are announced. For the upcoming round, applicants should schedule funded work in line with the eventual decision date and the current rule against retrospective funding.
The scheme pages also describe support for travel between the UK and Japan. They state that up to £1,200 can go toward each requested UK–Japan flight and that accommodation and daily living allowances for travellers can be supported at £100 per person per day. The Foundation makes a separate £50 contribution for each supported UK–Japan flight toward environmental projects in Japan. These figures are part of the published guidance and should be checked again against any future application notes before budgeting.
How to apply for the 2027 round
Applications are submitted through online forms linked from the Foundation’s grants pages. Small Grants applicants applying from Japan should select the Daiwa Foundation Small Grants form marked 奨励助成申請; applicants applying from the UK should select the English Small Grants form. Awards have a separate application form for collaborative projects. The FAQ states that all application forms must be completed in English.
For the upcoming round, the Foundation says the application forms will be available online from late November 2026. Applications should be completed online using the form for the appropriate scheme. Small Grant applicants applying from Japan should use the Japanese-language Small Grants form (奨励助成申請); those applying from the UK should use the English Small Grants form. Awards use a separate form for collaborative projects. The Foundation encourages early submission and invites prospective applicants to contact [email protected] for advice. Its FAQ says online applications are automatically acknowledged. Read the application notes linked from the official pages before beginning, and confirm that the form is for the March 2027 round once it is published.
The published pages and application notes ask applicants to use the correct scheme form and read the application notes before beginning. For a well-prepared submission, the project plan should make the activity and its UK–Japan connection understandable, identify the people and organisations involved, and specify the requested amount and its use. A budget should show how the requested contribution fits with the whole project budget, since the Foundation says its grant rarely covers all costs. For Awards, both partners’ roles should be substantial enough to show genuine collaboration rather than a nominal association.
The official guidance does not frame these schemes as student-fee or personal research scholarships. It explicitly excludes research or study by an individual student and school, college, or university fees. Applicants with a question about an edge case should ask the grants team rather than assume an expense will be eligible.
Dates and application status
The announced upcoming round closes on 31 March 2027. The Foundation says its application forms will be available from late November 2026. The current overview expects decisions by the end of May or early June 2027; the individual scheme pages list 31 May 2027. The prior application round closed on 30 September 2026.
This is an announced opportunity, but applications are not yet available according to the official pages. The Foundation describes two deadlines each year, 31 March and 30 September. For this listing, the confirmed next deadline is 31 March 2027; do not treat the recurring September date as an announced application window. Check the official site for the forms and any updated dates before applying.
Choosing the right scheme
The Small Grants route is the closer fit for a modest project led by an individual or organisation in either country: for example, an exchange visit, research travel, a conference, an exhibition, or an educational activity that brings UK and Japanese participants into a shared piece of work. The published maximum was £9,000, though typical awards were around £3,000–£4,000.
The Awards route is designed for a more substantial collaboration in which a British partner and a Japanese partner work together, preferably through an institutional relationship. Projects could involve cultural, academic, professional, scientific, or educational organisations. The request range began at £9,000 and ran to £18,000, but the Foundation reported an average award around £9,000. An organisation considering a future application should review the current Award form and eligibility wording before deciding that its partnership meets the requirement.
For both schemes, applicants were encouraged to contact the grants team if uncertain. Advice from the Foundation is especially useful when the project crosses between scheme types, includes a cost that may be excluded, or depends on an institutional partner whose role is not straightforward.
Preparing a strong application
The published guidance makes clear that the grant is a contribution to collaborative activity, not unrestricted support for an organisation. A useful proposal connects the requested costs to specific exchanges, travel, shared events, or joint work. The expected contribution should be proportionate to the scheme, and the overall plan should remain viable if the Foundation funds only part of its budget.
The distinction between the schemes also matters. Small Grants allow applications from individuals and organisations in either country; Awards require both British and Japanese partners and focus on institutional collaboration. Both seek work that supports interaction between the countries, encourage new initiatives, and exclude retrospective activity. Those are features of the guidance currently published for the announced round; applicants should still read the March 2027 application notes when they appear.
Before submitting, check the Foundation’s official site for the forms expected from late November 2026, the current application notes, and any changes to amounts or eligible costs. The deadline for the announced round is 31 March 2027.