Applications Now Open for the “FUTURE LENS” Collaborative Social and Environmental Design Program
Shaping the Future of Communities by Assessing and Promoting the Value of Initiatives Led by Local Social Entrepreneurs; Applications Open in Mid-December 2024
~A total of up to 10 million yen in pilot research funding will be provided over two years, with Nikken Sekkei and Z&C offering ongoing support. A program information session will also be held at Nikken Sekkei PYNT~

Nikken Sekkei Ltd. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Atsushi Omatsu; hereinafter “Nikken Sekkei”) announced today the opening of entries for the co-creation-based social environment design program “FUTURE LENS,” designed in collaboration with Zebras and Company, Inc. (pronounced “Zebra and Company”; Headquarters: Azabu-Juban, Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Yohei Azakami; Yoshitaka Tabuchi; hereinafter “Z&C”) to accept entries today for “FUTURE LENS,” a co-creative social and environmental design program. The deadline for entries is 11:59 p.m. on Friday, January 17, 2025. Additionally, three hybrid program information sessions are scheduled to be held during the application period.

This program was designed as a mechanism to share with society the “FUTURE LENS”—the perspective of local social entrepreneurs—by “systematizing” the value of their initiatives and “visualizing” the social issues they are among the first to address.A key feature of this program is that, in addition to providing funding for pilot studies, the FUTURE LENS management team (Nikken Sekkei’s PYNT team and Z&C) offers ongoing support.

For regional social entrepreneurs facing challenges such as “not being able to quantify the value of their initiatives” or “wanting to structure challenges to take their initiatives a step forward”—“I don’t know how to scale this initiative within the community,” the program draws on Nikken Sekkei’s expertise in social and environmental design—which involves connecting diverse areas of expertise, fostering consensus among stakeholders, and implementing concrete steps in the community—as well as its capabilities in visualization, quantification, and the ability to interpret and institutionalize systems.
By leveraging the experience and expertise Nikken Sekkei has cultivated over more than 120 years, combined with Z&C’s ability to build businesses that address social issues and its capacity to provide hands-on support throughout project implementation, we aim to advance initiatives that contribute to solving social issues.

In the context of co-creation, “social environment design” refers to the process of creating mechanisms that comprehensively address specific societal challenges—using cities and spaces as intermediaries—to improve people’s lives and the environment.
For example, by transforming individual building-level systems—such as neighborhood-wide joint delivery services and community heating and cooling systems—into shared community systems, it becomes possible to simultaneously alleviate traffic congestion by improving traffic flow and promote energy conservation through energy sharing.Furthermore, it is possible to reconfigure large-scale supply infrastructure—where maintenance and renewal pose significant challenges—into autonomous, decentralized systems, thereby creating sustainable systems that are easier to maintain.In this way, even “individual challenges” can be reframed from the “perspective of community development.” By proposing concrete solutions that achieve overall optimization and designing a new society and environment through the reconciliation of interests among various stakeholders, we aim to create a new vision.

<Application Period>
・Monday, December 9, 2024 – Friday, January 17, 2025, at 11:59 PM

<Number of Participating Businesses>
・Approximately 3 companies planned

<Amount and Duration>
・Up to 5 million yen per organization per year
・Generally a two-year term (however, renewal will be evaluated annually based on performance reports and other factors)

<Support Details>
・The Nikken Sekkei PYNT Team and Z&C will provide ongoing support for the program
*Support is generally limited to activities related to this program only
*We anticipate holding regular meetings with the PYNT team approximately once a week, as well as monthly discussions that include Z&C.
*In addition to the Nikken Sekkei PYNT Team, PYNT MEMBERS (PYNT co-creation partners: individuals outside Nikken Sekkei) may participate upon prior consultation.

<List of Documents to Submit Upon Entry>
① This Application Form
② Financial documents such as financial statements (for the most recent 3 years)
*If financial statements for the past three years are not available, please submit those for the most recent fiscal year for which the financial statements have been finalized.
*If this is the first year of business operations, please submit the business plan for the current fiscal year.
③ Materials explaining the business (e.g., company presentation materials)

<Application Process>
After completing the pre-entry below, please submit the required documents for the formal application via email to complete your application.
The registration confirmation email you receive after pre-registration will include the application guidelines and the official application form as attachments.
Please fill out the required information on the formal application form, attach the documents to the designated email address, and send them.

・送付先：innov@nikken.jp
・メールタイトル：【会社名】本応募書類提出
・送付期限：2025年1月17日（金）23:59まで
※書類ダウンロードは上部のプレエントリー申し込みフォームよりお願いします。

<エントリー後のスケジュール>
①書類選考結果通知
1月末頃予定
②審査会（ピッチ）
書類選考通過企業を対象に、2月末～3月末頃ピッチ審査を実施予定。
※内容によって選考確定前にヒアリングのお時間をいただく場合がございます。
③選考結果通知
3月末～4月上旬頃予定

＜支援開始＞
・2025年4月中旬予定

＜その他問い合わせ＞
下記よりお問合せをお願いいたします。
innov@nikken.jp
※尚、原則審査基準等に関わるご質問にはお答えできませんのでご了承下さい。

We will be holding a program information session for applicants.

❶ Wednesday, December 18, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM (Online): Program Information Session
❷ Thursday, December 19, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM (In-person / Online): Program Information Session
❸ Friday, January 10, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM (Online): Just Before the Deadline! Application Consultation Session
*For the December 19 session, a PYNT tour is scheduled to begin at 6:30 PM, prior to the information session. We will contact applicants separately regarding this.

・How to Participate
Online: Zoom (The link will be provided to those who register for online participation)
In-person: PYNT, 3F, Nikken Sekkei Tokyo Headquarters Building, 2-18-3 Iidabashi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

We are seeking initiatives that align with the four themes (Future Collectives) envisioned by Nikken Sekkei/PYNT for “the future of the ideal city.”
・INCLUSIVE: A city where everyone lives in harmony and can be their true selves
・VIBRANT: A vibrant city brimming with excitement and joy
・RESILIENT: A city prepared for risks and capable of flexibly addressing the challenges it faces
・REGENERATIVE: A city that is environmentally friendly and enables sustainable living
 

We are seeking the ideal co-creation partners who can effectively deliver our two core values—“measuring value” and “expanding value”—in alignment with the business growth phases of local social entrepreneurs (younger zebra companies) and long-established companies (older zebra companies) that operate their core businesses while also developing initiatives for the local community.

① Provision of research resources (funding for empirical research and personnel) necessary to demonstrate value
② Provision of Nikken Sekkei’s expertise necessary for visualizing and systematizing value
[Measuring Value] We identify and measure the value of solving social issues.
We organize ambiguous elements and reframe them as concrete data and structures.
[Expanding Value] We interpret policies and build systems.
We scale the value demonstrated in local communities to other locations and larger systems, implementing it throughout society.
③ Providing a Platform (PYNT) for People and Places to Foster Co-Creation

Leveraging Nikken Sekkei’s expertise and collaborating with local social entrepreneurs, we are working to create mechanisms aimed at solving broader social issues.Furthermore, by applying the insights and experience gained through this program—including skills that enhance our ability to identify latent needs in daily life—to the cities of the future, we will pioneer social and environmental design and realize the creation of new value in future cities.

Nikken Sekkei is a professional services firm specializing in architectural and civil engineering design and supervision, urban design, and related research, planning, and consulting services. For 120 years since its founding in 1900, Nikken Sekkei has been committed to creating value through "social environment design," which aims to solve both explicit and implicit social issues, in order to meet the demands of society and the diverse needs of its clients. To date, it has been involved in various projects in Japan, China, ASEAN, and the Middle East, and in recent years has expanded into India and Europe.

Under the theme “Different Scale, Different Future” (If we have a new yardstick, new growth will emerge and a new future can be created), we are a company that provides investment and management support with the goal of creating a “kind, healthy, and joyful society” where everyone can take on the challenge of solving social issues and achieving sustainable, healthy corporate management.Through investment and management support, collaboration with government agencies and financial institutions, and research and outreach regarding “Zebra Companies,” we are systematizing Zebra-style management. Our goal is to create a world where the concept of “Zebra Companies” is implemented across all businesses, thereby expanding the possibilities for new business models.

株式会社日建設計 広報室 Tel. 03-5226-3030　 e-mail：webmaster@nikken.jp