Aichi Prefecture Begins Accepting Applications for the "2026 Aichi Sports Innovation Project New Collaboration and Co-creation Program"

The Small Things Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Etsushi Tagami) has announced the launch of applications for the "2026 Aichi Sports Innovation Project New Collaboration and Co-creation Program" operated by Aichi Prefecture. This program invites sports clubs, athletic associations, and similar organizations to proactively address challenges within their organizations, communities, and society, and to create new value through co-creation with companies and startups.

The program aims to create new collaborative projects between sports and other industries by leveraging the on-site challenges faced by sports clubs and athletic associations in Aichi Prefecture and combining them with the technologies, services, and expertise of companies and startups.

The application period is from Tuesday, June 9, 2026, to Wednesday, June 24, 2026, at 5:00 PM. There is no fee to apply or participate.

For details on eligibility, participation conditions, application methods, and the future schedule, please refer to AiSIA NEWS (link).

Please note that this recruitment is for sports clubs and athletic associations. Recruitment for companies and startups is scheduled for around July 2026.

As the secretariat for this program, The Small Things Co., Ltd. will support the realization of co-creation projects between sports clubs/athletic associations and companies/startups.

■ Comment from Etsushi Tagami, President of The Small Things Co., Ltd.

"The on-site challenges and community touchpoints of sports clubs and athletic associations have the potential to lead to new services, businesses, and solutions to regional and societal issues through co-creation with companies and startups.

In this program, we will work with participating organizations to organize their challenges and needs, and support the creation of new value originating from sports through dialogue and demonstrations with companies and startups."

■ Benefits for Participating Organizations

Participating organizations can organize their challenges related to their own activities, community, and society as themes for co-creation with companies and startups. They will have opportunities to receive proposals from companies and startups that contribute to problem-solving. They can work on concretizing co-creation projects and designing demonstration experiments with the support of the secretariat. They will also have opportunities to disseminate their initiatives and achievements through results presentations and other events.

■ Target Audience

Sports clubs, athletic associations, and sports-related organizations active within Aichi Prefecture.

■ Initiatives Envisioned in This Program

Through application reviews and individual interviews, this program will identify the challenges and needs of participating organizations and set themes for proposal recruitment targeting companies and startups. Subsequently, based on the proposals received from companies, efforts will be made to concretize co-creation content and prepare for demonstration experiments in a phased manner.

The main flow is planned as follows:

Organizing challenges and needs through individual interviews

Setting proposal recruitment themes for companies and startups

Recruiting proposals from and matching with companies and startups

Building co-creation relationships and concretizing project details through innovation camps and open sessions

Conducting demonstration experiments

Reporting results

Note that the matching with companies and the implementation of demonstration experiments will be determined based on the proposals received from companies and the selection results of supported projects.

■ Application Period

From Tuesday, June 9, 2026, to Wednesday, June 24, 2026, 5:00 PM
*Applications submitted after the deadline will not be accepted.

*There is no fee to apply or participate.

■ Future Schedule (Tentative)

Recruitment of sports clubs and athletic associations: Tuesday, June 9, 2026 – Wednesday, June 24, 2026, 5:00 PM

Individual interviews: Scheduled to be held between 1:00 PM and 5:00 PM on Thursday, June 25; Friday, June 26; and Monday, June 29, 2026

Recruitment of companies and startups: July 2026

Selection of company proposals and contract procedures: August – September 2026

Concretization of co-creation projects and demonstration experiments: September 2026 – March 2027 (Mid-term reviews, innovation camps, and open sessions are planned during this period)

Results reporting: March 2027

*The schedule is tentative as of now and may be subject to change.
*Organizations selected for individual interviews will be contacted sequentially by the secretariat to arrange schedules.

■ How to Apply

Please check the AiSIA NEWS page below and apply through the application form.

AiSIA NEWS: link
Application Form: link

If you have any questions or need consultation regarding your application, please feel free to contact the secretariat at any time. We are also available to discuss the organization of your application content and its suitability for this program.

■ Organizer and Operator

Organizer: Aichi Prefecture Sports Bureau, Sports Promotion Division, Sports Innovation Promotion Group
Operator: The Small Things Co., Ltd.

■ About The Small Things Co., Ltd.

Founded on the principle of co-creation, The Small Things Co., Ltd. provides production and consulting services in the sports domain. We design environments for dialogue and collaboration where diverse stakeholders, including local governments, corporations, sports teams, and non-profit organizations, can gather. We offer comprehensive support from project management to policy implementation.

Through collaboration with communities, fans, sponsors, and athletic associations, we engage in creating new sports experiences, strengthening fan communication, developing community-based projects, and fostering business development initiatives rooted in sports.

■ Inquiries Regarding This Matter

The Small Things Co., Ltd.
HP: https://www.the-small-things.com/

Inquiry Form: https://www.the-small-things.com/free-consultation-inquiry