Research

Measures to Prevent Misuse of Public Research Funds

Based on the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's Guidelines for the Management and Audit of Public Research Funds at Research Institutions (Implementation Standards) (February 15, 2007; revised February 1, 2021; hereinafter, "Guidelines for the Management and Audit of Public Research Funds"), Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU) established the “Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University Regulations for the Management of Public Research Funds”, revised partly August 2, 2022. Going forward, APU will implement measures for the proper usage of public research funds in line with these regulations.

National Guidelines

Guidelines on the Management and Audit of Public Research Funds at Research Institutions (Implementation Standards)
(Revised February 1, 2021; Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology; Available in Japanese only)
*Other ministries, including the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, have issued similar guidelines.

Parties Assuming Responsibility for Matters Pertaining to Misuse of Public Research Funds

In accordance with the “Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University Regulations for the Management of Public Research Funds”, the following persons-in-charge are required to bear responsibility for the misuse of public research funds as described below.

Person-in-Charge Position Responsibility/Authority
Chief Administrator President of Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (university name to be omitted hereafter) Bear final responsibility in the prevention of misuse of public research funds
General Administrator Vice President in charge of research Assist the Chief Administrator, bearing responsibility in the prevention of misuse of public research funds
Compliance Officer Dean of International Cooperation and Research Bear responsibility for informing and directing researchers in matters related to research ethics
Assistant Compliance Officers Manager of the Outreach Research Office Assist the Compliance Officer
Other persons designated by the Compliance Officer

Plan for Preventing the Misuse of Public Research Funds

Every year, the General Administrator designs and releases a plan for preventing the misuse of public research funds in response to factors resulting in misuse. The Outreach Research Office is in charge of implementing said plan across the entire university.

AY2024 Plan for Preventing the Misuse of Public Research Funds

Research Funds Usage Guidebook

Research funds must be used in accordance with the Research Funds Usage Guidebook. Said guidebook is available on the Research/Educational Support Homepage, which is accessible to faculty members only.

Research Compliance Training

APU has held research compliance training sessions regularly based on the “Guidelines on the Management and Audit of Public Research Funds at Research Institutions (Implementation Standards)”. To those who are unable to attend the training sessions due to unavoidable circumstances, the university offers an opportunity to view an online video instead. All faculty and students are required to attend said training sessions and submit the corresponding documents in order to apply for and receive public research funds (such as Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research) as well as internal research funds. For more information on the aforementioned training sessions, faculty members may refer to the Research/Educational Support Homepage. Students may click here .

Monitoring

In accordance with the “Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University Regulations on the Management of Public Research Funds", each fiscal year the Office of Inspections and Auditing performs an internal audit. The Office of Institutional Planning, upon request by the office responsible for the Plan for Preventing the Misuse of Research Funds, will also carry out an annual document audit.

Internal Audits
  1. Audits of the administrative framework of and status of activities undertaken by the office in charge of the Plan for Preventing the Misuse of Public Research Funds
  2. Audits using focused sampling
Documentation Audits

Audits to be conducted on a certain number of balance sheet samples focusing on issues with a high possibility of misuse of research funds

Point of Contact for Matters Related to Misuse of Public Research Funds

In accordance with the “Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University Regulations for the Management of Public Research Funds”, the point of contact for matters related to the misuse of public research funds is as below.

Contact Information for Consultations or Inquiries

Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University
Outreach Research Office
TEL:0977-78-1134 (ex. 531 -2513)
FAX:0977-78-1125 (ex. 531 -2519)
E-mail:reo@apu.ac.jp

Contact Information for Reports

*Please click here for more details. (Available in Japanese only)
The point of contact for reports involving misuse of public research funds is determined by the “Ritsumeikan Trust Report Handling Regulations”.

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