For Researchers
Why don't you join academist
and make the world
a more exciting place?
We support researchers who want to get research funds or conduct outreach activities. We are looking forward to your challenge.
How academist works
academist is an academic crowdfunding platform for obtaining research funding. You can use the "Spot Support Type Crowdfunding (All or Nothing Type)" where you set a target amount and a deadline for your challenge, or the "Monthly Support Type Crowdfunding (All In Type)" where you receive monthly support payment. For more details, please refer to the "About academist” page.
In the case of the "Spot Support Type", we charge 20% of the total amount achieved (including a 3% settlement fee), and in the case of the "Monthly Support Type", we charge 10% of the total amount supported (including a 3% settlement fee). In both cases, there is no charge for posting your project.
Project Flow
The average time it takes from the start of project preparation to publication is about one and a half months. We can also respond in a few days to a few weeks, so please consult with us.
・Contact us from the consultation form on the website.
・Don't worry if you haven't decided on the content of the page, return ideas, or the target amount.
・If you are not sure whether your research theme, field of study, or project is appropriate for academist, please feel free to contact us.
・We are holding a crowdfunding information session for researchers every Wednesday(Only Japanese). Our staff will introduce the basic mechanism, past cases, and the flow of project production. If you are interested, please apply from this form.
Inquiry and consultation
・We recommend that you inform the person in charge of donations at your institution beforehand, as the research expenses will be transferred from our company to your institution as a donation when the spot support type project is completed.
・If you are a graduate student, please obtain permission from your academic advisor in advance.
・Please let us know if you would like us to transfer the research expenses directly to the challenger (since it will become income, you may need to file a tax return).
・If you are considering the donation type, you will need to have a prior meeting with your organization to obtain a receipt from them.
Confirmation with your organization
・If the project you have consulted with us about passes our internal screening process, we will arrange a date for an interview and research hearing.
・Interviews and research hearings are usually conducted via online meeting tools.
・This process also serves as the main screening process for projects, so depending on the results of the interviews and research hearings, we may decline to publish your project.
Interviews and research hearings
・After the hearing, our staff will send you a "Project Creation Sheet" that summarizes the proposed structure of the project page and the proposed returns. Please create your manuscript according to this sheet.
・We are also asking you to provide images that we could use for the project page. We can also include videos, so please contact us if you would like to do so.
・The academist editorial team will create an attractive project page based on your manuscript.
Manuscript preparation
・You will be able to see the preview page and make a final confirmation of your project. The challenge period and target amount will be finalized here.
・We will set up a meeting to discuss your advertising strategy prior to publication.
Preparation before release
・We will publish the project as soon as it is ready.
・During the challenge period, you will promote your project through your SNS and your community.
・Please feel free to contact our staff if you are worried about not being able to gather as much support as you would like.
・We will also promote your project through our official SNS and email newsletters.
Project start
・＜In the case of spot-type＞If the project is successful, the research expenses will be transferred by the 5th of the month following the month in which the crowdfunding challenge period ends. For example, if the challenge period is from March 15 to May 15, the payment will be made by July 5.
・＜In the case of the monthly support type＞The closing date is the end of the month, and the transfer date is the first day of the following month (or the first Monday if it is a holiday). For example, the amount of support for October will be transferred on December 1.
Goal achievement
・Please proceed with your research and implement returns as appropriate, such as sending a research report and holding a science cafe.
Provide returns to supporters
Eligibility/Screening Criteria
The following four points are the criteria for review. Any academic field is acceptable. We have a proven track record in fields ranging from the humanities and social sciences to science and engineering, medicine, dentistry and pharmacology.
1. two recommendations from doctoral candidates belonging to universities or research institutes
2. a record of achievement that demonstrates the ability to conduct research in the relevant field
3. a vision of the research and a roadmap to achieve the vision
4. a well-developed advertising strategy
・If you are an undergraduate/graduate student with no experience in writing papers, or if you are an independent researcher, we will respond to you individually. Please feel free to contact us if you are unsure about the decision.
・In some cases, we may decide not to publish your website after a comprehensive review by our company.
Why academist?
The first academic crowdfunding site in Japan
academist is the first academic crowdfunding site in Japan. With the cooperation of university administrators and researchers, we are steadily accumulating know-how and achievements.
content and return creation support
To ensure the success of your project, we will carefully discuss the page content, return structure, and advertising methods.
High achievement rate, high degree of freedom
academist's project achievement rate is over 85%. This is one of the highest rates among all academic crowdfunding sites in the world. Since there are no restrictions on the use of the research funds obtained, you can use them as research funds that are easy to use.
Anyone, anytime, can challenge
The academist is looking for challengers 24/7. We welcome challenges from researchers at universities and research institutes, as well as from wild researchers who do not belong to universities. Why don't you make your idea come true at academist?
Examples of Crowdfunding Use
As a step from "0" to "1" to obtain a public budget such as a scientific research grant
The research theme was once rejected for a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research because it was unprecedented, but they developed a prototype of the research device through crowdfunding and obtained data, which led to the acquisition of the Grant-in-Aid. The research results were published in Nature.
To acquire research funds that can be flexibly used to supplement the public budget
Although they had received grants from academic societies, they had insufficient research funds to conduct clinical research, and the public budget they could apply for was limited.
As an acquisition of travel expenses for conference presentations and fieldwork
You can also use the funds for research expenses to support your daily research activities, such as travel expenses for conference presentations and collection of materials.
As a means to bring my research to a wider audience.
Crowdfunding not only allows you to obtain research funding, but also has the advantage of making your research known to a wide range of people. This is an example of how crowdfunding was used to obtain research funding and achieve outreach at the same time.
