The cooperation of Sylff steering committee members is critical to the effective management of the Sylff fund, administration of the Sylff fellowship program, provision of fellowships to the “best and brightest” students with leadership potential and commitment to making the world a better place for all, and operation of other Sylff-related programs and activities. To ensure smooth implementation of the Sylff program and sound management of the fund, the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research publishes the Sylff Operation Manual and distributes it to Sylff administrators. The Foundation also administers a new financial scheme that ensures the continuity of the program at institutions having difficulty generating sufficient investment income. In addition, the Foundation organizes Sylff administrators’ meetings to enable steering committee members and Foundation officers to discuss a broad range of issues concerning program operations, endowment management, and support programs.
Conventional Scheme
The Sylff Operation Manual is intended to provide the basic principles for the effective operation of the Sylff fellowship program and management of Sylff funds. Initially published in 1998, the Manual has been revised to reflect major changes in society. The latest edition is dated July 2021.
New Scheme
In the light of the ongoing low interest rates and financial uncertainty, the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research and The Nippon Foundation jointly launched a new financial scheme in 2014. The new scheme was developed as an alternative to the conventional Sylff program, freeing participating institutions of their fund-management responsibilities and enabling them to focus on working with fellows. The Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research provides up to US$50,000 in fellowships each year to outstanding students at each participating institution.
Sylff Program Administrators Meetings
The Sylff Administrators Meeting is an opportunity for representative of the Sylff institutions and Sylff Association secretariat members to meet and examine common issues in the administration of the Sylff program with a view to enhancing effectiveness. The meeting, also attended by Sylff fellows and Nippon Foundation representatives, will give Sylff institutions a chance to learn from each others’ best practices and to expand networking opportunities. Administrators meetings have thus far been convened in May 1997 (Vancouver, Canada), November 1997 (Barcelona, Spain), November 1998 (Uppsala, Sweden), May 2000 (San Diego, USA), December 2002 (Tokyo, Japan), December 2005 (Manila, Philippines), January 2007 (Copenhagen, Denmark), November 2010 (Beppu, Japan), and December 2014 (Tokyo).